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A  DICTIONARY 

OP 

SAINTLY  WOMEN 


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GEORGE    BELL   AND  SONS 

LONDON  I  PORTUGAL  8T.,  LINCOLN'S  INN 
CAMBRIDGE!  DEIGHTON,  BELL  &  CO. 
NEW  YORK  :  THE  MACMILLAN  00. 
BOMBAY  :     A.    H.    WHEELER     &  CO. 


A  DICTIONABY 

OF 

SAINTLY  WOMEN 

BY 

AGNES  B.  C.  DUNBAR 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES 
VOLUME  I 


LONDON 
GEORGE  BELL  &  SONS 

YORK  HOUSE,  PORTUGAL  STREET,  LINCOLN'S  INN,  W.C. 

1904 


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20 £f.  /^'X 
1/ 


f HARVARD 
UN'vERSITY 

L  '  r*>  R  ARY 
^UK  26  1960^ 


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Googk- 


CAROLINE 

VISCOUNTESS  SHERBROOKE 
THIS  BOOK  IS 

BY  PERMISSION 

DEDICATED 


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PREFACE 


For  nearly  half  of  a  long  life  it  has  been  my  vocation  to  collect 
and  arrange  legends  and  records  of  women  worshipped  as  saints  or 
so  considered.  Although  the  work  has  been  to  me  a  sanctuary 
from  the  anxieties  and  vexations  of  daily  life,  I  have,  during  the 
whole  time,  been  painfully  conscious  of  my  unworthiness  to  write 
on  the  subject  of  saints,  and  my  inability  to  approach  the  degree 
of  excellence  to  which  such  a  book  might  attain  in  better  hands. 
From  the  mass  of  information — often  contradictory — concerning  this 
vast  multitude,  I  have  selected  the  most  remarkable  incidents.  Some 
of  these  are  chosen  on  account  of  the  historical  importance  of  the 
heroine,  her  noble  character  or  wonderful  gifts,  or  because  of  some 
interesting  side-light  which  they  shed  on  customs  or  beliefs  of  her 
time  and  country.  Some  few  stories  have  been  included  as  examples 
of  the  extreme  absurdity  to  which  these  memorials  have  reached. 
Where  there  are  several  saints  of  one  name  they  are  arranged 
chronologically. 

My  information  has  been  gathered  lafgely  from  the  Acta 
Sanctorum  of  the  Bollandists,  from  the  histories  of  the  various 
countries  and  religious  orders  to  which  these  saintly  women  belonged, 
from  collections  of  Lives  and  legends,  and  from  many  other  sources. 
Authorities  are  given  for  each  article.  A  list  of  the  books  con- 
sulted will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  second  volume.  I  have 
generally  abstained  from  criticising  or  expressing  a  personal  opinion. 
Where  I  have  said  that  a  story  is  untrue  or  an  author  untrustworthy, 
the  statement  is  made  on  the  authority  of  some  accredited  Catholic 
writer. 

There  are  moments  when  it  seems  as  though  the  presenting  of  a 
subject  so  remote  from  modern  tendencies  almost  asks  for  an  apology'. 
If  such  be  needed,  let  it  be  found  in  the  reflection  that  in  the  same 
way  as  the  monasteries  preserved  the  slumbering  germs  of  culture 
and  civilization  through  hundreds  of  years  of  barbarism,  so,  throughout 
the  darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  the  spirit-deadening  struggle 


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viii 


PREFACE 


for  material  prosperity,  it  was  by  those  who  are  remembered  as  saints 
that  the  light  of  the  Christian  ideal  was  kept  alive. 

It  appears  that  there  is  at  present  in  English  no  complete 
dictionary  of  the  Christian  saints.  When  such  a  work  comes  to  be 
written  I  trust  that  my  book  may  be  of  use  to  the  compiler. 
Meanwhile,  I  hope  that  readers  will  find  in  these  pages  any  sainted 
woman  for  whom  they  are  likely  to  look  and  some  of  whom  they 
probably  never  heard. 

I  owe  a  great  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  kind  friends  who  have 
helped  me  in  various  ways.  Many  of  them  have  passed  over  the 
dark  river ;  to  those  who  remain  I  offer  heartfelt  thanks.  I  commend 
my  subject  to  the  toilers  and  the  idlers  of  the  busy  world,  and  my 
work  to  their  indulgence. 

A.  B.  C.  D. 

London, 

September,  1904. 


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ABB 


RE  VI ATIONS 


AA.SS   Acta  Sanctorum. 

A.  R.M   Appendix  to  Roman  Marty rology. 

B   Blessed. 

c.   circa. 

M   Martyr,  martyred. 

Mart   Martyrology. 

O.S.A   Order  of  St.  Augustine. 

O.S.B   Order  of  St.  Benedict. 

O.S.D   Order  of  St  Dominic. 

O.S.F  :  Order  of  St.  Francis. 

Pneter   Pnetermissi. 

RM   Roman  Martyrology. 

Ven   Venerable. 

V   Virgin. 

+   Died. 


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ERRATA 


Abia:  for  44  Theola  (1),"  read  "Thecla  (16)." 
Anna  (19) :  for  44  Legnitz,"  recul 44  Leignitz." 
Basilica  (2) :  for  44  Placidia  (1)/'  read  44  Placida." 
Bcncdicta  (17) :  /or 44  Varasio,"  r«id  "  Varese." 
Britta  (1) :  for 44  July  3,"  raorf  "  July  13." 
Catherine  (10) :  for  44  Varasio,"  read 44  VareBe." 
Dionysia  (5) :  for 44  Victobia  (19),"  read  "  Victoria  (24)." 
Emily  (1) :  for  44  Nyassa,"  read  44  Nyssa." 


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A  DICTIONARY  OF  SAINTLY  WOMEN 

A 


St.  Aagot,  Agatha. 
St.  Ab,  Ebba. 

St.  Abba  or  Alla,  May  7,  M.  in 
Africa,  with  an  immense  number  of 
others,  of  whom  about  90  are  named. 
AA.SS.  Boll,  from  the  Mart,  of  St. 

Jirome. 

B.  Abbatissa,  first  abbess  of  the 
Order  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  Salamanca, 
about  11th  century.  Guenebault,  Die. 
Iconographique. 

St.  Abda,  March  31,  M.  in  Africa. 
Mart  Bhinoviense.  AA.SS. 

St.  Abdela  (Adela,  Adla),  13th 
century.  Princess  of  Bohemia.  Abbess 
of  Gerenrhoda.  Half-sister  of  St.  Agnes 
of  Bohemia.  Daughter  of  Prcmislaus 
Ottocar  I.,  king  of  Bohemia  (1 198-1230), 
by  his  wife  Abdela  or  Adela,  daughter  of 
Otto,  margrave  of  Meissen.  The  queen 
was  divorced,  either  on  the  ground  of 
consanguinity  or  on  account  of  her 
siding  with  her  brother  in  a  quarrel 
with  the  king.  She  then  became  a 
Cistercian  nun  at  Wassenburg,  in 
Meissen,  leaving,  besides  Abdela,  two 
daughters  and  a  son.  Fabricius, 
Origines  Sazonum,  numbers  St.  Abdela 
among  the  saints  of  Saxony.  Chanowski, 
Bohemia  Pia.  Dlugosch,  Hist.  Polonica, 
ii.  C40.  Palacky,  Geschichte  von  Boh- 
men,  ii.,  Genealogical  Table. 

St.  Abia,  otherwise  Makiamxa  (3). 
See  Thecla  (1). 

St.  Abiata,  V.  M.   See  Bahuta. 

St.  Abundantia  (l),  Jan.  29, 
called  in  French  Abondanoe  or  Bonde. 
A  widow  who  lived  at  Spoleto,  and 
buried  St.  Gregory  and  other  martyrs 


there,  during  tho  persecution  by  Dio- 
cletian, c.  300.  Jacobilli,  Santi  DelV 
Umbria.  ' 

St.  Abundantia  (2),  V.  Jan.  19 
and  July  15.  "f  804.  Kepresented  as  a 
child,  before  the  imago  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  receiving  a  golden  apple  from  the 
Infant  Jesus.  Born  at  Spoleto,  of 
parents  who  had  long  been  childless. 
Her  birth  was  announced  by  the  spon- 
taneous ringing  of  tho  .bells  of  the  town. 
At  her  baptism  lamps  were  lighted 
without  human  hands.  One  day,  when 
about  eight  years  of  age,  sho  was  seized 
with  a  longing  for  a  golden  apple  she 
saw  in  tho  hand  of  an  image  of  the 
Infant  Christ  in  His  mother's  arms. 
He  gave  it  to  her.  She  ran  to  fetch 
Him  a  bouquet  in  return,  and  although 
it  was  mid-winter,  she  found  plenty  of 
beautiful  flowers,  which  she  gathered 
and  presented  to  the  Holy  Child. 
Majolo,  or  Nicholas,  abbot  of  St.  Mark's, 
at  Spoleto,  undertook  her  education. 
He  took  her  to  Palestine,  where  she 
remained  some  years.  She  spent  five 
years  as  a  recluse  in  the  cavo  of  St. 
Onuphrius,  and  then,  as  her  father  kept 
constantly  asking  to  have  her  home 
again,  she  returned  to  Spoleto.  At  her 
father's  death  she  gave  all  her  inherit- 
ance to  the  poor.  The  same  mysterious 
ringing  of  bells  which  hailed  her  birth 
was  also  heard  at  her  death,  in  804 ;  and 
where  her  funeral  passed,  leaves  and 
flowers  burst  forth  in  January,  and 
angels  wore  heard  to  sing  Veni  sponsa 
Christi.  She  performed  miracles  of 
healing  in  life  and  aftor  her  death. 

B 


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2 


ST.  ABYCE 


Ferrarius,  Catalogue,  Jan.  19.  Bucelinus, 
Men.  Ben.9  July  15.  Guerin,  Dec.  25. 
Cahier,  CaractSristiques,  "  Images." 
Petin,  Die.  Hag. 

St.  Abyce  or  Abycia,  Aog.  24, 
prioress  in  England,  according  to  Guerin 
and  Petin.  Perhaps  a  mistake  for  St. 
Alice  Eich,  who  is  honoured  on  this 
day. 

St.  Acacia,  March    29  (Acatia, 

ACHATIA,    ACHATIO,   AOHAETIO),   M.  at 

Antioch,  with  about  250  others.  Boll. 
AA.SS.  from  old  MS.  Martyrologies. 

SS.  Acapis,  Cionia,  and  Herene, 
with  Ixgeniana,  Saturninus,  and 
Secundus,  April  1.  Mentioned  in  Mart, 
of  Reichenau.  The  first  three  appear  to 
be  Agape,  Chionia,  and  Irene. 

St.  Achachildis  or  Atzin.  llth 
century.  Supposed  to  be  a  sister  of 
St.  Cunegund,  the  empress.  Achachildis 
is  represented:  (1)  presenting  five  in- 
fants to  her  husband;  (2)  performing 
various  charitable  miracles.  She  had 
five  children  at  a  birth,  after  which  she 
and  her  husband  took  a  vow  of  celibacy. 
She  passed  her  life  as  a  benefactor  of  the 
poor.  Her  tomb  was  found,  in  1447,  at 
Wendelstein,  near  Schwabach.  On  the 
stone  was  an  inscription,  calling  her  a 
holy  woman  and  founder  of  the  parish 
church  of  the  place.  After  the  discovery 
of  the  grave,  many  miracles  of  healing 
occurred,  especially  on  behalf  of  children, 
and  gifts  of  wax  and  many  other  offer- 
ings were  made  in  consequence.  The 
place  afterwards  became  protestant,  and 
the  worship  ceased.  Stadler  und  Heim, 
Heiligen  Lezikon. 

St.  Achartio,  Acacia. 

St.  Achatia,  Acacia. 

St.  Achatio,  Acacia. 

St  Achia,  Echea. 

St.  Acrabonia  and  Askama,  June 
29,  otherwise  Deueis  and  Caria,  wives 
of  Agrippa,  who  were  converted  by  St. 
Peter  from  a  sinful  life  to  virtue  and 
Christianity.  Honoured  in  the  Abys- 
sinian Church.    Papebroch,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Acrosia,  June  29,  a  disciple  of 
St.  Peter  the  apostle.  Honoured  in.  the 
Abyssinian  Church.  Boll.  AA.SS. 
Petin,  Die.  Hag. 

St  Acteie,  June  26,  at  Borne.  Mart, 
of  Beichenau. 


St  Actinea  and  Graciniana,  VV. 
MM.,  June  16.  Time  of  Diocletian  and 
Maximian.  Their  bodies  were  dis- 
covered in  the  monastery  of  SS.  Justus 
and  Clement  at  Vol  terra  in  1140,  by 
persons  who  were  excavating  in  search 
of  the  body  of  St.  Clement,  a  Camaldolese 
monk.    Boll.  AA.SS. 

St  Acuta  (1),  Jan.  3,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Acuta  (2),  April  15,  M.  in 
Mesopotamia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Acuta  (3),  May  6,  M.  at  Milan, 
supposed  in  the  time  of  Maximian. 
Mentioned  this  day,  among  many  others, 
in  the  MS.  Martyrology  of  Epternao  and 
others.  St.  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan 
(4th  century),  in  a  sermon  on  the 
festival  of  SS.  Nazarius  and  Celsus, 
says,  "Other  cities  boast  if  they  have 
the  relics  of  one  Martyr,  but  Milan 
possesses  a  population  of  Martyrs." 
Boll.  AA.SS. 

St.  Acutina  or  Agutina,  April  12, 
one  of  79  martyrs,  commemorated  to- 
gether in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome. 
Henschenius,  Boll.  AA.SS. 

Ada.  The  following  are  among  the 
variants  of  the  names  commonly  written 
Ada,  Alice,  Adelaide  : — Adalheidis, 
Adalinda,  Addula,  Adela,  Adelaide, 
Adelais,  Adeleidis,  Adelheit,  Adeliza, 
Adeloja,  Aden  eta,  Adilia,  Adna,  Ad- 
netta,  Adonette,  Adbechild,  Adee- 
HILDI8,  Adulla,  Aelicia,  Aeliz,  Aethel- 

IIEITHA,      ALAIDES,      AlAIS,  ALATSIA, 

Aletha,  Aletdis,  Alith,  Alix,  Aliz, 
Auzette,  Alizon,  Ateis,  Athala, 
Athila,  Athelais,  Azelia,  Elizabeth, 
Ethel,  Ezelind,  Hadala,  Hadeloga, 
Odilia,  Othilia,  Zelie,  etc. 

St  Ada,  Dec.  4  (Adeneta,  Adna, 
Adnetta,  Adonette,  Adbechild,  Adre- 
hildis),  6th  or  7  th  century.  Abbess. 
Niece  or  granddaughter  of  St.  Engelbert, 
bishop  of  Le  Mans  (Nov.  7 ).  She  was  a 
nun  at  Soissons,  and  Engelbert  promoted 
her  to  be  abbess  there,  and  afterwards 
transferred  her  as  abbess  to  the  monastery 
of  Pr6  (St.  Julian  de  Prato)  at  Le  Mans. 
Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben.  Petin,  Die.  Hag. 
Die.  des  Abbayes.  Gynecseum. 

St.  Adalasenda,  Dec.  25,  June  30 
(Adalsendis,  Adalsind),  V.  Daughter  of 
&t.  Rictrude,  and  nun  under  her  at 


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ST.  ADELA 


3 


Marchiennes.  Died  very  young,  but 
had  already  attained  to  great  perfection 
in  holiness.  One  of  a  family  of  saints. 
Butler,  Lives.  P6tin,  Die.  Hag.,  says, 
Nun,  under  her  sister,  St.  Eusebia,  at 
Hamay. 

St.  Adalinda,  the  Empress  Adelaide. 

St.  Adaloja,  Hadeloga,  abbess  of 
Kitzingen. 

St.  Adalsendis  or  Adalsind,  Adala- 
senda. 

St.  Adausia  or  Adavisa,  Aug.  29, 
M.  at  Rome.    Boll.  AA.SS. 

St.  Addula,  Adela  of  Pfalzel.- 

B.  Adela  (1),  Nov.  23.  c.  630  or 
664.  Of  the  blood  of  the  dukes  of 
Austrasia.  Mother  of  St.  Tron,  or 
Trudo,  or  Truyen,  priest.  Buried  on 
her  own  estate  at  Zeleem,  near  Dist,  in 
Brabant.  Some  of  Adela's  bones  are 
preserved  in  the  Benedictine  monastery 
founded  by  her  son,  at  the  place  since 
called  St.  Trond.  He  died  in  693.  Le 
Mire,  Fasti  Belg.  Butler,  Lives  of  the 
Fathers, «  St.  Tron,"  Nov.  23.  Gynecseum. 

St.  Adela  (2),  Dec.  24  (Addula, 
Athela,  and  perhaps  Adolena),  founder 
and  abbess  of  Pfalzel  (Palatiolum),  c. 
734.  St.  Irmina  of  Horres  and  St. 
Adela  of  Pfalzel  were  daughters  of 
Dagobert  II.,  king  of  Austrasia,  some- 
times called  Saint,  and  honoured  Dec. 
23.  Adela  married  Alberic,  and  had 
several  children.  About  700,  being  a 
widow,  she  took  the  veil  in  a  monastery 
built  for  her  by  Dagobert  and  St.  Mod- 
wald,  or  Eodoald,  archbishop  of  Treves, 
at  Pfalzel  on  the  Moselle.  The  arch- 
bishop's sister,  St.  Sever  a,  was  the  first 
abbess,  and  was  succeeded  by  Adela. 
She  is  probably  that  Adolena  to  whom 
St.  Elfleda  wrote  to  bespeak  her  kind- 
ness and  hospitality  for  another  English 
abbess  on  her  way  to  Borne,  supposed  to 
be  B.  Withburga  (2).  St.  Boniface 
visited  her  convent  on  his  way  from 
Frisia  to  Thuringia,  about  722.  She 
had  at  the  time  a  grandson,  named 
Gregory,  staying  with  her,  a  boy  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen,  who  read  aloud  from 
the  Holy  Scriptures  while  the  nuns  and 
their  guest  were  at  dinner.  St.  Boniface 
remarked  that  he  read  very  well,  and 
bade  him  explain  the  passage.  This  tho 
boy  could  not  do,  and  Boniface  took  up 


the  subject  and  preached  to  the  whole 
community  with  so  much  eloquenoe  and 
impressiveness  that  Gregory  told  his 
grandmother  he  must  go  with  the  holy 
man  and  become  his  pupil.  Adela  ob- 
jected to  let  her  darling  go  and  travel  in 
heathen  lands  and  unexplored  wilds ;  but 
he  feared  no  danger,  and  far  from  listen- 
ing to  any  dissuasion,  he  said  if  his 
grandmother  would  not  give  him  a  horse, 
as  became  the  grandson  of  a  king,  he 
would  follow  the  missionaries  on  foot. 
Adela  saw  in  the  earnestness  of  the  child 
a  divine  call,  and  furnished  him  with 
what  was  necessary  for  the  expedition. 
From  that  day  Gregory  never  left  St. 
Boniface,  until  he  witnessed  his  martyr- 
dom at  Docking,  or  Dockum,  in  Fries- 
land. 

Achery  and  Mabillon  give  a  copy  of 
Adela's  will,  in  which  she  leaves  every- 
thing to  her  convent,  except  an  estate 
which  she  bequeaths  to  her  son  Alberic. 
They  call  her  "  pious  "  rather  than  "  saint,"' 
as  her  worship  seems  uncertain.  She  is 
commemorated  in  the  French  Martyro- 
l°gy>  Dec.  24,  and  honoured  with  her 
sister  Irmina  in  several  martyrologies. 

Wion,  Lignum  Vitse,  p.  520,  calls  her 
"Saint  Athela."  Vies  des  Saintes  de 
France.  Lelong,  Bibl.  Hist  de  France* 
Achery  and  Mabillon,  AA.SS.  O.S.B.,  II. 
498,  Scec.  iii.  pars.  i.  p.  5*31,  etc.  Petin, 
Die.  Hag.  Brower,  Sidera.  Ceillier, 
Auteurs  sacres.  Adela,  Irmina,  and  Clo- 
tilda form  one  of  the  Triads,  who  were 
probably  heathen  tribal  goddesses.  The 
pilgrimages  to  their  shrines  and  the  rites 
there  observed  retain  traces  of  paganism. 
Eckenstein. 

St.  Adela  (3),  Jan.  8  (Adelais,. 
Adelaide).  +1071.  Princess  of  France. 
Countess  of  Flanders.  Abbess  of  Mee- 
sene.  The  countess-queen.  Daughter 
of  Robert  the  Pious,  king  of  France,  996- 
1031.  Sister  of  Henry  I.  1031-1060. 
Wife  of  Baldwin  V.  (of  Lille),  count  of 
Flanders,  1034-1067.  Mother  of  Bald- 
win VI.  Mother-in-law  of  William  the 
Conqueror.  This  appears  to  be  the  same, 
princess  who  was  married  in  her  infancy 
to  Richard,  duke  of  Normandy.  Whether 
Baldwin  of  Lille  was  her  first  or  second 
husband,  she  was  married  to  him  in  her 
childhood,  and  was  taken  by  his  father, 


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ST.  ADELA 


Baldwin  IV.,  to  Flanders,  to  be  brought 
up  in  his  own  family.    The  town  of 
Corbie  was  her  dowry.  Baldwin  rebelled 
against  his  father,  stirred  up,  says  Sis- 
mondi,  by  the  pride  of  his  wife,  who, 
being  a  king's  daughter,  thought  she 
ought  to  have  the  first  place  in  the  house 
of  a  count.    Finding  the  fortune  of  war 
against  him,  and  no  help  coming  from 
the  king  of  France,  he  craved  mercy  and 
pardon.    A  reconciliation  was  made,  on 
Baldwin  swearing,  in  presence  of  the 
Flemish  bishops  and  barons  and  of  the 
bodies  of  SS.  PharaIldib,  Walburga,  and 
other  famous  patron  saints  of  Flanders, 
to  submit  to  the  count's  authority  and 
keep  the  peace.  In  the  same  year,  1031, 
Robert,  king  of  France,  Adela's  father, 
died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Henry  I.    In  1036  died  count  Baldwin 
IV.,  Belle  Barbe,  after  a  long  and 
prosperous  reign.    He  left  his  country 
at  peace,  both  with  the  Emperor  and  the 
king  of  France — a  circumstance  which 
had  seldom,  if  ever,  occurred  before. 
Adela's  husband  succeeded  as  Baldwin  V. 
He  was  constantly  at  war,  either  refusing 
to  do  homage  to  the  Emperor  or  to  the 
king  of  France  for  his  possessions,  or 
punishing  others  for  refusing  to  acknow- 
ledge his  suzerainty.    Nevertheless,  he 
was  considered  the  best  prince  of  his 
time,  and  was  loved  by  his  subjects  and 
respected  by  his  neighbours.    On  the 
death  of  his  brother-in-law  Henry  I.  of 
France  (1060),  he  was  chosen  regent  of 
France  and  guardian  of  the  young  king 
Philip  I.,  the  Fair,  Adela's  nephew,  then 
only  eight  years  old.  His  letter  of  foun- 
dation to  the  church  of  St.  Peter  at 
Lille  says — 

"  I  Baldwin,  marquis  of  the  Flemings, 
Count,  regent  of  France,  guardian  of 
King  Philip  .  .  •  considering  that  by 
building  a  house  of  God  on  earth,  I  pre- 
pare for  myself  a  dwelling  in  heaven, 
.  .  .  and  acquiescing  in  the  good  advice 
of  my  wife  Adela,  and  my  son  Baldwin 
.  .  .  have  founded  a  college  of  canons  to 
implore  day  and  night  the  clemency  of 
God  for  .  .  .  my  soul,  the  souls  of  my 
predecessors,  my  wife  and  children,  and 
all  faithful  souls.  .  .  . 

"Done  at  Lille,  in  the  Basilica  of 
St.  Peter,  in  the  presence  of  Philip  king 


of  France,  in  the  seventh  year  of  his 
reign." 

King  Philip  also  signed  the  deed. 
Baldwin  and  Adela  built  the  Bene- 
dictine monastery  of  Meesene.  Several 
grants  by  them,  to  Meesene  and  other 
churches,  are  to  bo  found  in  Le  Mire's 
Notitia  Ecclesiarum  Belgii.  They  rebuilt 
the  monastery  of  Einham,  or  Iham,  on 
the  Scald,  and  gave  it  to  the  Benedic- 
tines in  1063.  Baldwin  made  the  Fossi 
neuf,  a  great  canal  between  Flanders 
and  Artois.  In  1069  he  gave  his  whole 
attention  to  his  approaching  death  and 
the  completion  of  his  pious  works.  His 
last  public  act  was  the  dedication  of  his 
new  church  of  St.  Bavo,  on  the  site  of 
the  former  one,  at  Ghent.  (See  Adel- 
trude.)  Ho  died  Sept.  1,  1069,  and 
was  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter 
at  Lille,  where  his  tomb  and  epitaph 
were  to  be  seen  in  the  18th  century.  After 
his  death,  Adelaide  chose  the  monastery 
of  Meesene  as  her  residence,  that  6he 
might  spend  the  remainder  of  her  life  in 
silent  prayer.  She  wished  to  receive  the 
religious  veil  from  the  hands  of  the  Pope, 
and  for  that  purpose  went  to  Rome.  She 
travelled  in  a  car,  covered  with  a  cur- 
tain, to  protect  her  from  wind  and  rain, 
that  her  prayers  might  not  bo  inter- 
rupted on  the  journey.  She  obtained 
from  the  Pope  some  of  the  relics  of  St. 
Sidronius,  as  well  as  the  veil  and  the 
papal  blessing.  She  then  returned  to 
Meesene,  and  remained  there  until  her 
death  in  1071. 

Her  children  were  Baldwin  VI.  of  Mons 
(the  Good),  Robert  the  Frisian,  Henry, 
Matilda  (married  William  the  Conqueror, 
duke  of  Normandy,  and  king  of  Eng- 
land), Judith  (married,  1st,  Tosti,  brother 
of  Harold,  king  of  England;  2nd,  Guelph, 
duke  of  Bavaria,  founder  of  the  younger 
line  of  the  house  of  Guelph,  from  whom 
the  present  royal  family  of  England  are 
descended).  Baldwin  VI.  was  a  good 
prince ;  in  his  time,  doors  were  left  open, 
and  people  could  go  about  without  sticks 
or  daggers.  His  secretary,  Thomellus, 
a  monk,  has  left  an  account  of  the  youth 
of  his  master,  valuable  as  illustrating 
the  manners  of  the  time. 

A  story  of  the  wooing  of  Matilda  by 
William  of  Normandy  has  often  been 


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ST,  ADELAIDE 


5 


rejected  by  modern  writers  as  incredible; 
but  Le  Glay  thinks  it  not  at  all  incon- 
sistent with  what  is  known  of  the  times 
and  the  people,  and  says  it  is  related  in 
some  very  old  chronicles.  The  account 
is  as  follows : — 

William,  duke  of  Normandy,  sent  a 
message  to  Baldwin,  count  of  Flanders, 
to  ask  the  hand  of  his  daughter  Matilda. 
Baldwin  was  pleased  with  the  offer,  but 
when  he  told  Matilda  of  it,  she  answered 
that  she  would  never  marry  a  bastard. 
Baldwin  made  tho  most  polite  excuses 
he  could  for  his  refusal.  A  considerable 
time  passed  before  William  heard  what 
the  young  lady  had  said.  He  was  ex- 
tremely sensitive  on  the  subject  of  his 
birth,  and  bitterly  resentod  any  slight 
or  insult  grounded  on  that  misfortune. 
When  Matilda's  answer  was  told  to 
him,  he  went  to  Lille;  rushed,  unan- 
nounced, into  Adela's  apartment,  where 
her  daughters  were  sitting  with  her; 
seized  Matilda  by  her  long  plaits,  dragged 
her  through  the  room,  threw  her  down, 
and  kicked  her;  then,  disappearing  as 
suddenly  as  he  had  entered,  mounted 
his  horse  and  rode  away  to  his  own 
dominions.  Very  soon  alter  this  strange 
incident,  the  young  people  were  recon- 
ciled and  betrothed.  As  Pope  Leo  IX. 
raised  objections  to  the  marriage,  on  the 
ground  of  consanguinity,  there  was  some 
delay ;  they  were  married,  nevertheless, 
at  Eu,  in  1050,  and  afterwards  obtained 
a  dispensation,  on  condition  that  each 
should  build  a  church.  William  built 
the  abbey  of  St.  Etienne,  at  Caen,  and 
Matilda  that  of  tho  Holy  Trinity,  in  the 
same  town.  Matilda  had  a  great  deal  of 
influence  over  her  husband,  which  she 
always  used  for  good. 

Mirteus  (Le  Mire),  Annates  Belgici  and 
Notitia  Ecclesiarum  Belgii.  Biografia 
JEcdesiattica  (Madrid, ,1848).  Petin,  Die. 
Hag.  L'Art  de  Verifier  les  dates.  Le 
Glay,  Hist,  des  Comtes  de  Flandre.  Sis- 
mondi,  Hist,  des  Francois.  Freeman, 
Norman  Conquest,  iii.  657.  Palgrave, 
History  of  Normandy  and  England,  iii. 
137,  264.  Biographie  Universelle.  Lap- 
penberg,  Saxon  Kings  of  England,  ii. 

St.  Adela  (4),  of  Bohemia,  Abdela. 

St.  Adelaide  (1),  June  9,  27,  of 
Bergamo.   Wife  of  St.  Lupo,  prince  of 


that  city,  a  virtuous  ruler  though  a 
heathen.  They  had  a  daughter,  St. 
Grata,  who  was  the  first  of  the  three  to 
become  a  Christian.  He  built  a  church, 
and  was  baptized  there,  with  many  of 
his  subjects ;  he  lived  fifteen  years  more, 
and  was  buried  in  his  church.  Adelaide 
and  Grata  were  widows  for  many  years, 
and  built  several  churches.  Legend 
places  the  lives  of  these  three  saints  in 
the  time  of  Dioclotian,  but  Henschenius, 
AA.SS.,  thinks  it  more  likely  that  they 
lived  in  the  7th,  8th,  or  9  th  century. 
The  mother  and  daughter  are  commemo- 
rated together  June  9 ;  and  separately, 
Adelaide,  June  27  ;  and  Grata,  Aug.  25. 

St.  Adelaide  (2),  Feb.  2.  Abbess  of 
Kitzingen,  Hadeloga. 

St.  Adelaide  (3),  Dec.  16,  12,  and 
17.  992.  Empress.  Queen  of  Italy. 
Queen  of  Germany.  Called  "  the  Happy  " 
and  "  the  Mother  of  the  Kings."  The 
richest  woman  in  Europe.  For  variants  of 
her  name,  see  Ada.  Adelaide,  daughter 
of  Eudolph  or  Kalph  II.,  king  of  Bur- 
gundy, and  his  wife  Bertha  of  Suabia, 
was  born  about  931.  At  sixteen  she 
was  married  at  Milan,  to  Lothaire,  who 
soon  afterwards  succeeded  her  father  as 
king  of  Italy.  Pavia  was  given  to  Ade- 
laide as  a  dowry.  In  950  Lothaire 
died.  His  death  was  attributed  to 
poisoned  wine,  given  to  him  during  a 
feast  at  Turin,  by  Berengarius,  who 
immediately  proclaimed  himself  king,  as 
Berengarius  II.  He  sought  to  strengthen 
his  position  by  marrying  his  son  Adal- 
bert to  Lothaire's  widow.  But  Adelaide 
indignantly  answered  that  if  she  ever 
married  again  it  should  be  a  man  who 
could  avenge  her  husband's  death.  She 
was  besieged  in  Pavia,  and  in  spite  of 
the  devotion  of  her  people,  and  the 
heroism  and  generosity  with  which,  when 
provisions  failed,  she  shared  everything 
with  them,  a  traitor  was  found  to  open 
the  gates,  and  before  the  queen  knew 
that  the  town  was  taken,  the  enemy 
stood  before  her.  At  first  Berengarius 
and  Villa,  his  wife,  treated  her  well; 
but  as  she  persisted  in  her  refusal  to 
marry  Adelbert,  she  was  imprisoned  at 
Como,  where  she  was  subjected  to  all 
kinds  of  insults  from  Villa,  who  is 
described  by  Liutprand  as  the  very  worst 


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ST.  ADELAIDE 


of  all  the  many  very  bad  women  in 
Italy.  In  vain,  when  words  of  flattery 
and  of  abuse  alike  failed,  did  Villa  cuff 
and  kick  Adelaide,  and  drag  her  by  her 
hair,  to  induce  her  to  become  her 
daughter-in-law.  From  Como  she  was 
transferred  to  a  castle  on  the  lake  of 
Garda,  and  only  allowed  the  attendance 
of  her  chaplain,  Martin,  and  one  maid- 
servant. Both  were,  however,  devoted 
to  her ;  and  Adelhard,  bishop  of  Reggio, 
having  promised  to  receive  her  into  a 
place  of  safety,  if  she  could  manage  to 
escape,  Martin  succeeded  in  making  a 
hole  in  the  wall  of  Adelaide's  room, 
through  which  she  and  her  maid  crept 
in  men's  clothes.  After  enduring  many 
fatigues,  and  narrowly  escaping  recap- 
ture, they  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
town  of  Canossa,  a  strong  fortress  on  a 
steep  rock  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  close 
to  Garda,  and  held  by  Azo,  Adelaide's 
uncle,  as  a  fief  of  Reggio.  From  there 
she  wrote  to  Otho,  emperor  of  Germany 
(936-973),  imploring  help ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  the  Pope,  Agapetus  II.,  ap- 
plied to  him  to  settle  the  disturbances 
in  Italy. 

The  beauty  and  accomplishments  of 
the  young  queen,  combined  with  her 
misfortunes  and  wrongs,  aroused  the 
sympathy  and  indignation  of  civilized 
Europe.  The  princes  whose  lands  bor- 
dered on  the  kingdom  of  Italy  took  a 
double  interest  in  her  cause,  as  there 
was  always  the  hope  of  acquiring  for 
themselves  some  little  slice  of  that 
pleasant  land.  Among  these  were  Henry, 
duke  of  Bavaria,  the  brother  of  Otho ; 
and  Liudolph,  the  Emperor's  son  by  his 
first  wife,  B.  Edith  of  England.  Otho 
was  touched  by  the  sad  fate  of  Adelaide, 
and  resolved  to  holp  her,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  to  turn  the  present  crisis  to 
his  own  advantage.  He  immediately 
sent  promises  of  help  and  proposals  of 
marriage.  The  knight  who  carried  the 
despatches,  unable  to  make  his  way  into 
Canossa,  watched  as  it  was  by  the 
enemy's  soldiers,  fastened  the  Emperor's 
letter  to  an  arrow  and  shot  it  over  the 
wall.  As  soon  as  possible,  Otho  has- 
tened to  Pavia,  whose  gates  opened  at 
his  approach,  and  there  he  was  pro- 
claimed king  of  the  Franks  and  Lom- 


bards. At  the  same  time,  he  sent  a 
strong  force  to  Canossa  to  escort  Ade- 
laide to  Pavia.  She  was  received  at 
the  gate  of  the  city  by  the  Emperor  and 
his  two  brothers,  Henry,  duke  of  Bavaria, 
and  St.  Bruno,  archbishop  of  Cologne. 
In  951  Adelaide,  who  little  more  than 
a  year  ago  had  left  Pavia  a  prisoner, 
re-entered  it,  amid  the  acclamations  of 
the  people,  as  the  bride  of  the  Emperor. 
Ofcho,  although  nearly  twenty  years 
older  than  Adelaide,  was  still  in  the 
prime  of  life,  a  man  of  gigantic  strength 
and  great  beauty,  with  long  fair  hair 
and  blue  eyes  of  extraordinary  brilliancy, 
and  to  these  personal  advantages  he 
added  barbaric  splendour  of  dress. 
Moreover,  he  was  by  far  the  ablest  king 
who  had  reigned  in  Germany  since 
Charlemagne.  Throughout  Germany 
the  new  empress  was  hailed  as  an  angel 
of  peace,  and  the  events  of  after-years 
justified  the  good  impression  she  had 
made  on  the  people. 

Adelaide  and  Otho  sent  missionaries 
to  convert  the  Sclavonians,  and  induced 
the  Pope  to  appoint  bishops  in  the 
countries  now  called  Prussia  and  Poland. 
St.  Adalbert,  archbishop  of  Magdeburg, 
was  sent,  in  961,  to  the  Bugi,  or  Rani, 
a  people  living  in  Pomerania,  between 
the  rivers  Oder  and  Wipper ;  but  when 
the  bishop  and  his  companions  arrived, 
the  people  massacred  some  and  sent  the 
others  out  of  the  country.  The  Rugi 
continued  heathen  for  two  centuries 
longer. 

In  course  of  time  Berengarius  broke 
an  agreement  which  had  been  made  with 
Otho,  but  was  soon  defeated,  and  sent 
as  a  prisoner  to  Bamberg;  his  wife, 
Villa,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the 
citadel  of  St.  Julius,  in  the  midst  of  the 
lake  of  Orta,  was  obliged  to  surrender, 
and,  loaded  with  chains,  was  brought 
before  Adelaide.  When  the  empress 
mildly  remonstrated  with  her  on  her 
crimes,  tho  prisoner  replied,  "  The  only 
crime  with  which  I  reproach  myself  is 
that  I  did  not  kill  you  when  I  had  you 
in  my  power."  Adelaide  instantly  had 
her  fetters  struck  off,  and  sent  her  in 
safety  to  her  husband.  Their  son  Adal- 
bert had  to  cede  his  possessions  to  the 
bishop  of  Modena,  but  Adelaide  adopted 


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ST.  ADELAIDE 


his  two  daughters,  and  brought  them  up 
at  her  court. 

On  Feb.  2,  962,  the  long-deferred 
coronation  of  Otho  and  Adelaide  took 
place  at  Eomo,  whither  they  were  in- 
vited by  John  XII. ;  but,  before  leaving 
Germany,  Otho  had  his  young  son,  Otho, 
crowned  at  Aix-la-Chapelle.  The  next 
year,  at  the  instance  of  a  council  of 
bishops,  the  Emperor  deposed  Popo 
John,  on  account  of  his  crimes,  and 
appointed  instead  his  own  secretary,  a 
layman,  as  Leo  VIII.  In  973  Otho 
died  at  Memleben,  universally  and 
heartily  regretted,  having  been  king  of 
Germany  thirty-six  years,  and  Emperor 
nearly  eleven.  He  was  buried  at  Magde- 
burg by  the  side  of  his  first  wife,  Edith 
of  England,  and  Adelaide  spent  much 
of  her  time  there  in  religious  retirement. 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Otho  II., 
who,  under  the  influence  of  his  wife, 
Theophanie,  banished  his  mother  from 
court.  Adelaide  went  to  her  native 
land.  The  empiro,  however,  did  not 
prosper  in  her  absence ;  the  people  were 
anxious  for  her  return;  and  a  recon- 
ciliation having  been  effected  by  St. 
Majolus,  Adelaide  kept  the  Easter 
festival  of  981  at  Eome,  with  her  son 
and  his  wife. 

Otho  died  at  Eome  in  983,  leaving 
Theophanie  regent  for  his  son,  Otho  III., 
then  nine  years  old.  Adelaide  and 
Theophanie,  although  not  always  in 
perfect  harmony,  agreed  in  bestowing  an 
excellent  education  on  the  young  king, 
who,  for  his  beauty  and  acquirements, 
was  called  "  the  Wonder  of  the  World." 
One  of  his  tutors  was  a  Frenchman, 
Gerbert  dAurillac,  a  man  so  learned 
that  he  was  accused  of  using  magic  arts. 
He  was  made  archbishop  of  Eheims,  and 
ultimately  Pope  Sylvester  II.  The 
empresses  quarrelled,  and  Theophanie 
boasted  that,  if  she  lived  a  year,  Adelaide 
should  not  havo  a  foot  of  ground  left  in 
her  possession.  It  seemed  probable  at 
the  moment  that  her  life  had  not  one, 
but  many  years  to  run,  but  in  one 
month  it  was  cut  off,  and  Adelaide  ruled 
alone.  Her  love  for  her  grandson  kept 
her  at  court  when  she  had  grown  weary 
of  its  splendour;  and  for  his  sake  she 
continued  to  employ  herself  in  worldly 


affairs  and  politics  when  their  yoke  had 
grown  irksome.  In  986  the  two  greatest 
crowned  heads  in  Europe  were  her 
grandsons,  namely,  Otho  III,  the  Em- 
peror, and  Louis  V.,  king  of  France; 
and  this  circumstance  led  Sylvester  II. 
(Gerbert)  to  style  her  "  the  Mother  of 
the  Kings."  About  this  year,  if  at  all, 
occurred  the  extraordinary  incidont  of 
the  crime  and  punishment  of  the  em- 
press Mary.  It  rests  on  no  contemporary 
authority,  but  is  spoken  of  as  a  fact  by 
accredited  historians  who  lived  within 
half  a  century  of  the  events. 

Historians  do  not  record  the  marriage 
of  Otho  III.,  but  the  legend,  which  is 
very  ancient,  has  it  that  he  was  married 
to  Mary  of  Aragon.  Mary  had  fallen 
in  love — as  Isolde  with  Tristram — with 
Count  Emmeran,  when  he  was  the  Em- 
peror's ambassador  to  bring  her  from 
her  father's  court.  As  Emmoran  was 
devoted  to  his  own  wife,  and  loyal  to  his 
master,  he  ignored  the  empress's  pre- 
ference, until  her  love  changed  to  vindic- 
tive hatred,  and  she  determined  that  he 
should  pay  for  his  coldness  with  his  life. 
She  accused  him  to  her  husband.  Otho, 
in  his  distress,  sought  counsel  of  that 
wisest  of  women,  his  grandmother.  She 
advised  him  to  make  no  scandal.  "  Let 
it  not  be  known,"  said  she,  "that  any 
one  mistook  the  empress  for  a  woman 
who  could  bo  disloyal."  Mary  stood  in 
awe  of  the  old  empress,  who  had  some- 
times gently  reproached  her  for  a  certain 
lack  of  circumspection ;  she  kept  quiet 
for  a  time,  but  hor  vengeance  suffered 
her  not  to  rest ;  she  so  wrought  on  Otho's 
feelings  that  he  charged  Emmeran  with 
the  crime.  Emmeran  would  not  tell  the 
real  circumstances ;  he  thought  it  nobler 
to  bear  the  unjust  imputation  than  to  dis- 
grace her,  and  wreck  the  young  king's 
happiness  by  disclosing  the  real  occur- 
rences, so  he  kept  silence,  and  was  be- 
headed. The  court  was  now  at  Modena ; 
and  the  Emperor,  in  accordance  with 
immemorial  custom,  sat  in  the  hall  to 
hear  complaints  and  redress  wrongs. 
Eound  him  stood  many  knights  and 
nobles,  but  he  was  sad  for  the  loss  and 
the  supposed  treachery  of  one  of  his 
best  and  bravest  companions,  and  as  he 
sighed  and  mused,  there  entered  a  pale 


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ST.  ADELAIDE 


lady  in  a  long  black  cloak,  and  she 
cried — 

"  Justice,  my  lord  king  I " 

"  What  is  your  complaint,  lady  ?  " 

"  My  husband  has  been  cruelly  slain, 
and  I  cravo  vengeance  on  his  murderer." 

"Yon  shall  have  it.  But  who  was 
your  husband  ?  " 

Anna  produced  from  under  her  cloak 
the  ghastly  head  of  Emmeran,  and  de- 
manded to  prove  his  innocence  by  "  the 
judgment  of  God." 

Here,  two  forms  of  the  story  diverge. 
The  Golden  Legend,  which  does  not  give 
the  name  of  Emmeran,  but  calls  him 
"  the  governor  of  Modena,"  says  Anna 
walked  barefooted  and  uninjured  over 
nine  red-hot  ploughshares,  which  proved, 
to  the  satisfaction  of  every  one,  that  her 
cause  was  just,  and  that  she  spoke  the 
simple  truth  when  she  said  her  husband 
was  innocent.  Otho  confessed  himself 
guilty  of  the  unjust  death  of  his  knight, 
and  said  he  was  ready  to  submit  to  be 
beheaded,  but  the  nobles  and  prelates 
gave  him  a  delay  of  ten  days,  in  which 
to  investigate  the  matter;  these  being 
ended,  they  gave  him  seven  days  more, 
then  six  more,  by  which  time  all  were 
convinced  that  the  real  crijninal  was  the 
empress  Mary.  Then  Otho  "dyde  do 
brenne  his  wyfe  all  quycke,"  and  gave 
four  castles  as  tcere-geld  to  the  widow  of 
Emmeran.  According  to  another  and 
probably  older  tradition,  the  ordeal  con- 
sisted of  plunging  her  arms  into  molten 
lead.  She  did  not,  indeed,  take  them 
out  uninjured,  but  she  bravely  held  them 
there,  with  unmoved  countenance,  keep- 
ing her  eyes  fixed  on  the  empress  Mary, 
who  gazed  at  her  in  horrible  fascination. 
Anna  died  with  her  arms  in  the  boiling 
lead  and  eyes  fixed  on  the  queen,  who, 
seized  by  an  impulse  beyond  her  own 
control,  threw  herself  at  the  Emperor's 
feet  and  confessed  her  crime.  She  was 
at  once  pronounced  guilty  of  the  death 
of  Emmeran  and  Anna,  and  of  untruth 
to  her  husband,  and  was  then  and  there 
condemned  to  be  burned  aliva  The 
sentenco  being  executed  the  next  day, 
Otho  declared  his  own  life  forfeited  for 
having  condemned  an  innocent  man ;  but 
his  nobles  and  the  great  ecclesiastics 
unanimously  granted  him  a  reprieve  of 


seven  yoars,  at  the  end  of  which  it  would 
doubtless  have  been  further  extended 
had  he  lived. 

Meantime  Adelaide  had  completed 
many  of  the  works  she  had  desired  to 
do,  and  she  saw  that  the  accomplishment 
of  other  projects  must  remain  unfulfilled 
or  be  left  to  other  hands,  for  her  work- 
ing day  was  done,  and  she  must  now 
prepare  for  her  final  rest ;  she  had  out- 
lived many  of  her  dearest  friends,  and 
all  the  near  relations  who  at  all  ap- 
proached her  own  age.  A  great  afflic- 
tion, too,  was  the  death  of  her  daughter, 
the  abbess  Matilda,  who  had  fulfilled 
her  dearest  aspirations,  and  to  whom  she 
looked  for  comfort  to  the  last ;  but  she 
was  cut  off  about  a  year  before  her 
mother.  After  Adelaide  had  retired 
from  all  worldly  affairs,  she  thought  it 
right  to  leave  her  seclusion,  in  response 
to  the  call  of  her  nephew,  Eudolph  III., 
of  Burgundy,  who  had  quarrelled  with 
his  subjects,  and  wanted  her  to  make 
peace.  Sho  accomplished  this  for  him, 
visiting  on  her  way  several  churches  and 
monasteries  sho  had  built  or  endowed. 
He  came  to  meet  her  at  Lausanne,  and 
conducted  her  to  Orbe,  where  th.o  desired 
reconciliation  took  place.  She  now  be- 
took herself  to  the  monastery  of  Saltz, 
in  the  diocese  of  Strasburg,  where  she 
spent  the  very  short  time  she  still  had 
to  live. 

Her  talents,  her  wealth,  her  piety,  her 
beauty,  her  superior  education,  her  dis- 
cretion, and  the  universal  confidence  and 
admiration  inspired  by  her  character, 
combined  with  her  exalted  station  to 
render  her  a  conspicuous  figure  in  Europe 
for  half  a  century.  She  is  a  rare  ex- 
ample of  a  woman  having  immense  power 
and  influence  and  invariably  using  it  for 
good;  almost  as  rare  was  the  courage 
with  which  she  bore  misfortune  and  in- 
justice ;  for  this  woman,  so  great  and  so 
happy,  had  also  known  the  depths  of 
misfortune,  insults,  blows,  starvation,  the 
hardships  and  privations  of  a  prison,  the 
hairbreadth  escapes  of  flight.  St.  Majolus, 
abbot  of  Cluny,  who  was  at  one  time  her 
confessor,  considered  that  she  never  would 
have  been  the  noble,  magnanimous,  chari- 
table woman  she  was,  but  for  those  four 
months  of  imprisonment  at  Garda ;  sho 


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ST.  ADELAIDE 


9 


bad  time  to  reflect  on  a  great  many 
things,  and,  by  God's  grace,  she  resolved 
never  to  condescend  to  spitefnl  retalia- 
tions. Years  after,  when  her  enemies 
were  in  her  power,  she  returned  them 
good  for  evil.  She  never  forgot  a  kind- 
ness or  remembered  an  injury.  Besides 
many  benefactions  to  divers  churches, 
nunneries,  and  other  monasteries,  she 
resolved  to  make  a  thank-offering  to  God 
for  her  worldly  prosperity,  by  building 
a  church  for  each  of  the  three  crowns 
worn  by  her  husband  and  son ;  namely, 
those  of  Germany,  Italy,  and  the  Empire. 
Accordingly,  she  built  a  monastery  in 
the  kingdom  of  Burgundy,  at  Paterniac, 
called  also  Paterae  and  Peterlingen 
(Mabillon),  where  her  mother  was  buried. 
It  was  dedicated  in  honour  of  the  Mother 
of  God,  and  she  gave  it  to  St.  Majolus, 
who  was  afterwards  abbot  of  Cluny, 
and  was  succeeded,  first  at  Paterniac, 
and  then  at  Cluny,  by  St.  Odilo.  She 
next  built  a  grand  church,  dedicated  to 
the  Saviour  of  the  world,  in  her  own  town 
of  Pavia.  In  987,  twelve  years  before 
her  death,  she  founded  a  monastery  at 
Salsa,  or  Seltz,  "mb  libertate  Romana" 
dedicated  to  God  and  St.  Peter.  It  was 
eight  years  in  building,  and  was  con- 
secrated by  Widerald,  bishop  of  Stras- 
burg,  in  995.  These  are  the  three  great 
foundations  named  in  St.  Odilo's  Life  of 
Adelaide.  Phele  was  also  of  her  build- 
ing, and  her  friend  and  director,  St. 
Eumagne,  was  its  first  abbot. 

By  her  first  marriage,  she  had  one 
child,  Emma,  who  married  Lothaire,  king 
of  France,  and  was  the  mother  of  Louis 
V.,  called  le  Faineant,  the  last  of  the 
Carlovingian  kings;  he  only  reigned  a 
lew  months,  and  was  succeeded  by  Hugh 
Capet,  987,  who  was  Adelaide's  second 
cousin  by  birth,  and  nephew  by  marriage. 
By  her  second  marriage,  besides  children 
who  died  young,  she  had  Otho  II.  and 
B.  Matilda,  abbess  of  Quedlinburg. 

Adelaide's  romantic  adventures  were 
the  subjects  of  song  and  legend  for  a 
century,  particularly  in  Italy.  Her  life 
is  promised  by  the  Bollandists  when 
their  calendar  arrives  at  the  middle  of 
December.  The  short  life  of  her  by  St. 
Odilo,  abbot  of  Cluny,  her  friend  and 
confessor,  is  a  narrative  of  facts  related 


to  him  by  herself.  It  is  preserved  in 
Bouquet,  RScueil  de  Documents;  Pertz, 
Monumenta;  Mabillon;  Leibnitz;  and 
other  collections.  Among  the  contem- 
porary Monumenta  of  her  time  must  be 
mentioned  the  writings  of  Hrotswitha,  a 
nun  of  Gandersheim,  which  was  one  of 
the  great  nunneries  founded  by  the  house 
of  Saxony.  (See  St.  Hadumada.)  She 
was  one  of  the  earliest  authoresses  of 
Germany,  and  besides  her  dramas  she 
has  left  a  panegyric  on  Otho  the  Great. 

Many  interesting  particulars  of  the 
reign  of  Adelaide's  husband,  son,  and 
grandson  are  pleasantly  told  by  Giese- 
brecht,  Deutschlands  Kaiserzeit.  The 
Golden  Legend  gives  the  nucleus  of  two 
wonderful  legends  of  Otho  II.  and  Otho 
III.,  which  are  told  at  greater  length 
and  from  older  sources  by  Collin  de 
Plancy.  Bryce,  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
and  Gregorovius,  Rom.  in  Mittelalter, 
give  much  interesting  information  about 
the  state  and  the  customs  of  Europe 
during  the  reigns  of  the  three  Othos. 
See  also  Ditmar's  Chronicle;  Muratori, 
Annates;  Nouvelle  Biographie  Universelle; 
Menzel,  Hist,  of  Germany;  Yepez, 
Baillet,  Butler,  Wetzer  u.  Welt,  Wattem- 
bach,  etc. 

St.  Adelaide  (4),  Feb.  5  (Ada, 
Alice),  V.  of  Willich.  c.  1015.  Daughter 
of  SS.  Mengo  or  Megengoz  and  Gerberg, 
count  and  countess  of  Gueldres.  Abbess 
of  the  Benedictine  monastery  at  Willich, 
near  Bonn,  and  afterwards  of  that  of  Our 
Lady  of  the  Capitol  at  Cologne.  She 
was  educated  in  a  cloister,  and  was  a 
pious,  sensible,  and  studious  girl.  Her 
parents,  having  lost  a  much-loved  son  in 
battle,  determined  to  dedicate  a  large 
portion  of  their  wealth  to  the  service  of 
God.  They  accordingly  built  and  richly 
endowed  a  monastery  at  Willich.  Ade- 
laide was  appointed  abbess  of  the  new 
house,  but  before  entering  on  this 
important  charge  she  went  to  learn  the 
regular  observance  in  the  monastery  of 
Notre  Dame  du  Capitole  at  Cologne. 
She  ruled  the  house  at  Willich  for 
several  years,  and  was  distinguished  for 
her  charity,  humility,  and  self-denial. 
Her  mother,  Gerberg,  became  a  nun 
under  her,  and  died  at  Willich;  her 
father,  B.  Mengo,  lived  three  years 


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ST.  ADELAIDE 


longer,  and  Adelaide  buried  him  at 
Willich  beside  her  mother.  His  day  is 
Dec.  19.  Her  sister  Bertrade  was 
abbess  of  Notre  Dame  at  Cologne.  The 
fame  of  Adelaide's  sanctity  spread  over 
the  whole  diocese,  so  that,  on  the  death 
of  Bertrade,  the  bishop  invited  Adelaide 
to  be  her  successor.  She  removed  to 
Cologne,  and  spent  the  remaining  three 
years  of  her  life  there,  still,  however, 
maintaining  constant  intercourse  with 
and  a  motherly  interest  in  her  Willich. 
She  is  said  to  have  wrought  many 
miracles  both  before  and  after  her  death. 
She  procured  by  her  prayers  an  abundant 
and  unfailing  spring  of  water  in  a  place 
near  Willich,  whero  the  peasants  were 
in  great  distress  for  want  of  it.  One  of 
her  nuns  had  so  harsh  a  voice  that  she 
destroyed  the  harmony  of  the  choir  when 
she  joined  in  the  hymns ;  but  Adelaide 
struck  her  on  the  cheek,  and  she  became 
permanently  possessed  of  a  voice  so 
sweet  and  powerful  as  to  be  a  great 
acquisition  to  the  musical  services  of 
the  community.  Certain  nuns  were  long 
too  ill  to  join  in  the  common  employ- 
ments of  the  rest,  but  when  she  rebuked 
them  as  useless  and  expensive,  they  at 
once  recovered.  She  died  at  Cologne 
about  1015,  and  the  nuns  of  Willich 
wished  to  have  her  buried  amongst 
them ;  but  St.  Heribert,  the  bishop,  said 
he  would  not  give  up  the  body  of  the 
holy  abbess  on  any  account,  not  even  if 
they  could  give  him  the  body  of  St. 
Agatha  for  it.  Adelaide,  however, 
showed  her  preference  for  her  first 
monastery,  for  her  coffin  floated  up  the 
Rhine  without  oars  to  Willich,  and  there 
she  was  buried.  AA.SS.  Helyot,  Ordres 
Monastiques,  v.  53.  Bucelinus,  Men. 
Ben. 

B.  Adelaide  (5)  of  Susa,  Dec. 
19.  c  1010-1091.  "  The  mighty  Mar- 
chioness,"  countess  of  Turin.  Regarded 
as  one  of  the  founders  of  the  house  of 
Savoy.  That  family  was  already  extend- 
ing its  borders  on  the  ruins  of  the 
kingdom  of  Burgundy,  but  its  first 
footing  in  Italy  was  given  to  it  by  the 
marriage  with  Adelaide,  elder  daughter 
and  heir  of  Manfred,  marquis  of  Susa, 
whose  rule  extended  from  the  top  of  the 
Alps  to  the  Dora  Baltea  and  the  Po. 


His  wife  was  Bertha,  daughter  of  Aubert, 
marquis  of  Ivrea,  and  sister  of  Hardouin, 
king  of  Italy. 

Adelaide  married  three  times:  (1) 
Herman,  duke  of  Suabia ;  (2)  Henry  of 
Montferrat;  (3)  Odo  of  Savoy.  It  is 
supposed  that  she  was  not  very  young  at 
the  time  of  her  first  marriage.  The 
marquisate  of  Susa  could  not  be  held  by 
a  woman,  but  she  could  transfer  her 
claim  to  her  husband.  Accordingly, 
Herman  obtained  the  investiture  of  the 
marquisate  from  his  stepfather,  the 
Emperor,  Conrad  II.  Herman  died,  still 
young,  in  1038,  and  Adelaide  took  upon 
herself  the  government  of  her  father's 
inheritance.  She  soon  married  again, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  she  was  again 
a  childless  widow.  In  1044  she  married 
Odo,  son  of  Humbert,  of  the  race  of  the 
counts  of  Savoy,  lord  of  the  countships 
of  Maurienne  and  Tarantaise,  one  of  the 
most  powerful  princes  of  the  kingdom  of 
Burgundy.  Humbert  died  in  1048, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son 
Amadeus  I.,  surname!  Cauda,  and  he, 
in  1069,  was  succeeded  by  his  brother 
Odo,  the  husband  of  Adelaide.  Little 
is  known  of  him ;  Adelaide  is  the  more 
prominent  person.*  With  masculine 
courage  and  energy,  she  know  right  well 
how  to  rule.  It  was  of  immense  import- 
ance to  the  family  destined  to  become  so 
great  that  Adelaide  could  hold  the 
command  of  the  Burgundian  as  well  as 
the  Italian  possessions  of  the  house. 
Far  and  wide  the  marchioness  of  Susa 
was  known  as  a  woman  of  no  less  decision 
than  prudence.  As  her  sons  Peter  and 
Amadeus  grew  up,  she  used  them  as 
assistants,  but  kept  the  power  in  her  own 
hands.  She  maintained  order  and  justice 
in  her  territories.  She  was  grasping 
and  hard,  rather  feared  and  respected 
than  beloved,  Her  neighbours  had  to 
be  on  the  alert.  She  more  than  once 
took  up  arms  against  her  own  towns. 
She  waged  a  long  war  with  the  citizens 
of  Asti,  and  in  1070  she  took  the  town 
and  destroyed  it.  The  year  before  that 
she  had  besieged  Lodi  and  reduced  it 
almost  to  a  heap  of  rubbish.  Thousands 
of  persons  were  killed;  cloisters  and 
churches  were  not  spared.  She  inflicted 
so  much  misery  that  when  she  asked  the 


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ST.  ADELAIDE 


11 


Pope  for  absolution  he  had  difficulty  in 
devising  a  sufficient  penance  for  her. 
She  was  in  touch  with  all  the  conflicting 
movements  of  that  restless  time,  yet 
carried  away  by  none  of  them,  and 
although  upright  and  conscientious,  sho 
kept  her  eye  constantly  on  the  interests 
of  her  own  family  and  country.  She 
was  an  enthusiastic  partisan  of  the 
German  Imperial  side  against  the  Papal 
party  ;  but  still  she  was  religious,  and 
favoured  the  ecclesiastical  reforms  then 
emanating  from  Home,  including  steps 
and  protests  against  simony  and  the 
marriage  of  the  clergy.  Such  was  the 
woman  whose  alliance  was  sought  by 
the  Emperor,  Henry  III.,  the  Black,  in 
order  to  balance  the  power  of  two  other 
masculine  and  masterful  women,  the 
marchioness  Beatrice  of  Tuscany,  and 
her  daughter  the  countess  Matilda, 
whose  influence  was  often  in  the  opposite 
scale  to  his  interesta  In  1055  he  be- 
trothed his  son  Henry  at  five  years  old 
to  Bertha,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Ade- 
laide. In  less  than  a  year  that  good 
Emperor  died.  Henry  IV.  and  Bertha 
were  married  July  13,  1066,  but  the 
young  Emperor  meantime  had  fallen  into 
bad  hands,  and  suspected  everybody. 
He  supposed  his  wife  to  be  a  tool  of  his 
enemies,  and,  notwithstanding  her  beauty 
and  amiability,  he  lived  apart  from  her, 
and  in  1069  declared  his  intention  of 
being  divorced,  although  he  made  no 
accusation  against  her.  This  resolution 
was,  however,  overruled,  and  when 
almost  under  compulsion  he  brought  her 
to  court,  he  fell  in  love  with  her,  and 
they  continued  to  be  devotedly  attached 
to  each  other  as  long  as  Bertha  lived. 

Instead  of  the  brotherly  co-operation  of 
the  Emperor  and  Pope  when  Henry  III. 
planned  reforms  with  Leo  IX.  and  his 
successor,  Victor  II.,  twenty  years  after- 
wards, there  was  a  long  and  obstinate 
struggle  going  on  between  Gregory  VII. 
(the  famous  Hildebrand)  and  Henry  IV. 
A  violent-tempered,  self-indulgent  youth 
like  Henry  could  never  bo  the  victor  in 
a  long  and  complicated  dispute  and 
rivalry  with  Gregory,  a  far-seeing, 
patient,  determined  man  of  extraordinary 
ability  and  blameless  life.  In  1076 
Henry  drew  upon  himself  the  ban  of  the 


Church,  which  gave  strength  to  many 
powerful  rebels  in  his  own  country, 
while  it  hampered  and  depressed  his 
adherents.  It  was  most  important  to  all 
his  interests  to  have  the  sentence  re- 
scinded, and  for  this  purpose  he  resolved 
to  go  and  meet  the  Pope,  who  was  now 
on  his  way  to  cross  the  Alps  and  enter 
Germany,  there  to  hold  a  council,  which 
would  probably  depose  the  Emperor  and 
set  up  in  his  place  Rudolph  of  Suabia, 
who  was  married  to  Adelaide's  younger 
daughter  Adelaide.  Henry's  mother, 
B.  Agnes,  empress,  was  in  great  grief 
about  him,  but  although  Gregory  had  a 
warm  regard  for  her,  she  was  of  little 
account  in  politics,  and  was  powerless  to 
help  or  guide  her  son.  In  his  dire 
distress  Adelaide  of  Susa  undertook  to 
assist  him,  and  but  for  her  aid  he  would 
probably  have  lost  his  crown  and  his 
liberty.  At  the  same  time,  she  exacted 
from  his  necessity  some  increase  to  her 
own  dominions,  for  she  bargained  for  the 
cession  of  five  rich  bishoprics  as  the 
reward  of  her  assistance. 

Beauregard  supposes  that  tho  advan- 
tage she  then  obtained  from  her  son-in- 
law  was  the  right  to  certain  territories 
and  privileges  in  the  marquisate  of 
Ivrea,  to  which  she  had  a  claim  through 
her  mother,  but  which  she  could  not 
grasp  without  the  imperial  sanction. 
She  must  now  have  been  very  near 
seventy ;  but  she,  with  her  son  Amadeus, 
came  to  meet  the  fugitive  Emperor,  his 
wife  and  infant  son  Conrad,  and  braved 
with  them  the  hardships  and  difficulties 
of  the  passage  across  the  Alps  in 
January,  1077.  It  was  one  of  the 
coldest  winters  ever  known,  and  the 
snow  lay  deep  in  Borne  for  weeks ;  the 
Bhone  and  the  Po  were  frozen  so  hard 
that  horses  and  carriages  passed  over 
on  the  ice.  The  usual  routes  were  well- 
nigh  impassable.  They  had  oxen  led 
by  the  peasants  to  trample  a  path  before 
them  through  the  masses  of  snow.  Th3 
horses  proceeded  with  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty, and  some  of  them  perished  in  the 
struggle.  Arduous  as  was  the  ascent, 
their  plight  was  even  worse  when  they 
had  passed  the  summit  and  began  to 
descend  on  the  Italian  side— the  way  was 
so  steep  and  so  slippery  that  they  almost 


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12 


ST.  ADELAIDE 


despaired  of  getting  any  further.  Creep- 
ing, climbing,  scrambling,  rolling,  came 
the  men,  cutting  thoir  hands  on  the  ice. 
The  women  were  dragged  along  in 
sledges  made  of  ox-hides,  the  guides 
holding  on  to  the  ice  by  grappling-irons. 
At  last  they  arrived  at  a  hospitable 
monastery  in  the  Val  d'Aosta.  They 
were  well  received  in  Italy,  where  there 
seemed  more  favour  for  the  king,  and 
less  for  the  Pope,  than  in  Germany; 
but  even  now  all  would  be  lost  if  Henry 
did  not  receivo  the  Holy  Father's  abso- 
lution, so,  leaving  his  wife  and  child  at 
Eeggio,  he  hurried  on,  accompanied  by 
his  heroic  old  mother-in-law,  to  Canossa, 
where  Gregory  was  resting  in  the  im- 
pregnable castle  of  his  devoted  partisan, 
the  countess  Matilda.  These  two 
famous  women  had  so  much  power  in 
the  affairs  of  Italy  that  the  king's  fate 
was,  to  a  considerable  degree,  in  their 
hands.  Matilda,  though  devoted  to 
Gregory,  pitied  the  humiliations  and 
sufferings  to  which  the  Emperor  was 
subjected,  and  it  was  she  who  at  length 
prevailed  on  her  guest  to  put  an  end 
to  the  cruel  delays  and  abasement  of  his 
unfortunate  penitent,  so  that  after  days 
of  miserable  entreaty,  during  which  he 
shivered  outside  the  gate  in  the  garb 
of  the  humblest  penitent,  on  Jan.  28, 
1027,  he  was  admitted  to  the  Pope's 
presence,  and  threw  himself  at  his  feet. 
Gregory  gave  him  absolution,  but  made 
his  own  hard  terms,  to  which  Henry  was 
obliged  to  agree. 

Adelaide's  other  son-in-law,  Rudolph 
of  Snabia,  who  still  had  a  large  party 
on  his  side,  did  not  at  once  give  up  the 
struggle  for  the  crown.  He  won  a  battle 
against  Henry,  but  died  of  his  wounds 
the  next  day.  Adelaide  lived  fourteen 
years  after  the  melancholy  expedition 
to  Canossa.  She  was  still  alive  when, 
in  1084,  Henry  led  an  avenging  army 
to  Rome,  and  compelled  Gregory  to  take 
flight  to  Salerno. 

In  her  old  age  her  conscience  was 
troubled,  not  apparently  by  the  slaughter 
of  her  rebellious  subjects,  but  because 
she  had  had  threo  husbands.  She  tried 
to  atone  for  her  sins  by  works  of  bene- 
ficence, and  gave  bountifully  to  reli- 
gious institutions.  Fructuaria  and  other 


monasteries  throve  under  her  patronage. 
She  died  very  old,  Dec.  19,  1091,  at 
Canischio,  where  the  remains  of  her 
tomb  are  still  to  be  seen.  By  her  third 
marriage  she  left  five  children — Peter, 
to  whom  she  bequeathed  the  marquisato 
of  Italy ;  Amadeus,  called  by  the  Italians 
Adelao;  Odo,  bishop  of  Asti;  Bertha, 
the  empress ;  and  Adelaide,  who  married, 
as  his  second  wife,  Budolph  of  Snabia, 
the  rival  Emperor.  He  was  unkind  to 
his  wife,  and  this  circumstance  was, 
perhaps,  not  without  weight  in  Ade- 
laide's ardent  espousal  of  the  fortunes 
of  Henry  and  Bertha. 

Her  life  is  promised  by  the  Bollan- 
dists  when  their  calendar  comes  down 
to  her  day.  She  appears  in  Ferrarius' 
Catalogue  of  the  Saints  who  are  not  in 
the  Roman  Martyrology.  She  occupies 
an  important  place  in  every  history  of 
the  house  of  Savoy.  Frezet,  Eistoire 
de  la  Maison  de  Savoie.  Costa  de  Beau- 
regard, Memoire  Eistorique  de  la  Maison 
royale  de  Savoie.  Saint-Genis,  Savoie. 
Paradin,  Chronique  de  Savoie.  Sismondi, 
Eistoire  des  Francais,  iii.  161.  Stephen, 
Eildebrand  and  his  Times.  Giesebrecht, 
Deutschlands  Kaiserzeit,  iii.  Biographic 
Universelle. 

Ven.  Adelaide  (6)  Dec.  15.  llth 
and  perhaps  the  beginning  of  tho 
12th  century.  Countess  of  Mispilin- 
gen.  With  her  husband,  Aewic,  or 
Alwic,  count  of  Sultz,  she  built  the  con- 
vent of  Alberspac,  O.S.B.,  in  Wittem- 
berg,  dedicated  in  honour  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and 
All  Saints.  In  1095,  at  her  husband's 
death,  she  became  a  nun.  She  is  vene- 
rated in  the  monastery  of  Zwifalt,  on 
the  Danube,  three  miles  above  Ulm. 
This  abbey,  in  1482,  was  joined  to  the 
congregation  of  Bursfeld.  Gal.  Christ., 
v.,  1064,  "La  skrie  de  douze  abbes.1' 
Migne,  Die.    Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 

B.  Adelaide  (7),  April  4,  Sept.  1 ; 
translation,  May  3  (Alaysia,  Alice, 
Aleydis,  Elisabeth,  etc.),  c.  1105  or 
1110.  Mother  of  St.  Bernard  of  Clair- 
vaux.  Called  by  Husenbeth  "Saint." 
Bepresented  in  a  window  on  the  north 
side  of  Cossey  Hall  Chapel,  standing 
behind  her  son,  St.  Bernard.  Daughter 
of  Bernard,  lord  of  Mombard.   Wife  of 


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ST.  ADELAIDE 


13 


Tescelin  Sorus  (sometimes  called  B. 
Tescelin),  lord  of  Fontaines,  a  member 
of  the  ancient  and  powerful  Burgundian 
nobility.    Tescelin  and  Adelaide  lived 
at  the  castle  of  Fontaines,  near  Dijon. 
They  were  kind  and  good  to  their  vassals 
and  the  poor ;  they  maintained  order  and 
propriety  and  religious  observances  in 
their  own  house.     Tescelin  was  dis- 
tinguished by  his  valour  in  war,  but 
from  religious  motives  he  would  never 
fight  a  duel.  Adelaide  nursed  her  seven 
children  at  her  own  breast,  and  tended 
them  with  her  own  hands,  lest  they 
should  imbibe  evil   tempers  or  dis- 
tempers from  the  milk  of  hirelings,  or 
be  taught  anything  unseemly  by  the 
attendants  of  their  infant  days.  Both 
Tescelin  and  Adelaide  were  careful  to 
bring  up  all  their  children  in  the  fear 
of  God  and  the  love  of  their  neighbours. 
Their  only  daughter  was  St.  Humbeline. 
Their  sons  were  Guy,  B.  Gerard,  St. 
Bernard  (Aug.  20),  Andrew.  Bartho- 
lomew, and  Nivard.    They  all  became 
monks   eventually.     Adelaide  offered 
Bernard  more  especially  to  God  from 
his  infancy,  and  brought  him  up  with 
double  care  and  tenderness  until  he  was 
old  enough  to  be  sent  to  the  college  of 
Chatillon,  to  be  trained  for  the  priest- 
hood.   Her  prayers  for  him  were  an- 
swered, even  in  her  life ;  for  his  piety, 
charity,  innocence,  and  self-denial  were 
wonderful  in  one  so  young.  His  greatest 
fame  arose  from  his   preaching  the 
second    Crusade,   1147,  under  Pope 
Eugenius  III.,  who  had  been  one  of  his 
monks.     Adelaide  was  considered  a 
saint  during  her  life,  on  account  of  her 
fasts,  her  hospital-visiting,  and  her  other 
good  deeds.    She  had  a  great  devotion 
to  St.  Ambrose,  and  used  to  invite  a 
number  of  clergy  from  Dijon  to  celebrate 
his  festival.    On  the  vigil  of  that  day 
(the  Great  St.  Ambrose's  day  is  Dec. 
7 ;   but  perhaps  this  is  St.  Ambro- 
sinian,  patron  of  Fontaines,  near  Di- 
jon, Sept  1,  as  Adelaide  seems  to  be 
honoured  on  that  day),  in  tho  year 
1110,  she  was  taken  ill  of  a  fever,  and 
next  day  she  received  the  last  sacra- 
ments, and  while  all  her  clerical  com- 
pany commended  her  soul  to  God,  she 
joined  in  the  prayers  and  responses, 


and  died.  St.  Bernard  was  then  19 
years  old,  and  from  that  time  he  daily 
recited  seven  psalms  for  her  soul.  She 
was  buried  in  the  church  of  the  mon- 
astery of  St.  Benignus,  at  Dijon ;  but, 
in  1250,  the  abbot  of  Clairvaux  begged 
to  have  her  body  as  a  precious  relic ;  it 
was  therefore  solemnly  taken  up  and 
translated  to  Clairvaux,  and  the  transla- 
tion is  celebrated  May  3.  Mrs.  Jameson, 
Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  and  Legends 
of  the  Monastic  Orders.  Henriquez, 
Lilia  Cistercii.  Husenbeth,  Emblems  of 
Saints. 

B.  Adelaide  (8),  of  Lanckuvade,  or 
Lonkwend,  in  Germany,  Feb.  13,  also 
called  Aleyd  the  Penitent,  c.  1200.  She 
led  a  wicked  life,  and  the  devil  tried  to 
stifle  her  repentance  and  prevent  her 
conversion  by  horrible  apparitions.  She 
became,  however,  a  holy  penitent  and 
nun  in  the  Cistercian  convent  of  Lenk- 
wend.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben.  Henriquez, 
Lilia  Cist. 

B.  Adelaide  (9),  Aug.  29,  1211. 
Daughter  of  Casimir  II.,  king  of  Poland. 
Cistercian  nun  at  Trebnitz,  in  the  mon- 
astery built  by  St.  Hedwiq.  Adelaide 
is  probably  the  nun  Aleydis  Virgo,  to 
whom  St.  Hedwig  told  her  prescience, 
or  second  sight,  of  the  death  of  her  son. 
Henriquez,  Lilia  Cist.  No  authority  for 
her  worship.  AA.SS. 

St.  Adelaide  (10),  June  11,  15 
(Aleth,  Alix,  Alizette,  Alizon,  etc.), 
1250.  At  the  age  of  11,  Adelaide  of 
Scarbek,  or  Scharembeka,  went  into 
the  Cistercian  convent  of  La  Cambre 
(Camera  S.  Marite),  near  Brussels.  She 
was  soon  the  best  scholar  among  the 
children,  and  continued  to  be  distin- 
guished more  and  more,  for  all  good 
qualities,  for  several  years.  One  day, 
when  they  were  all  singing  in  the  choir, 
the  candle  fell  out  of  its  stand,  which 
was  a  sort  of  lantern,  called  absconsa,  in 
use  in  convents.  Adelaide  took  it  in  her 
hand,  and  it  lighted  again  of  itself.  In 
order  that  she  might  have  no  regard  for 
anything  earthly,  God  afflicted  her  with 
leprosy;  and  in  consequence,  she  was 
separated  from  all  her  sister  nuns,  which 
was  a  great  trial.  A  little  building  was 
erected  for  her.  She  was  received  there 
by  her  heavenly  Spouse,  who  promised 


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B.  ADELAIDE 


to  remain  with  her  as  long  as  she  lived. 
One  night  a  pious  woman  saw  Adelaide's 
dwelling  brilliantly  lighted  up,  and  going 
nearer,  saw  the  saint  as  if  she  were 
made  of  flame.  Onee  when  she  was  very 
ill,  it  was  revealed  to  her  that  she  should 
live  a  whole  year  longer  and  suffer  much, 
and  that  her  torments  should  avail  for 
the  living  and  for  the  dead;  therefore, 
when  she  lost  her  right  eye,  she  offered 
that  for  the  salvation  of  William,  count 
of  Holland,  who  had  just  been  elected 
king  of  the  Eomans,  1247 ;  and  when 
she  lost  her  left  eye,  she  assigned  the 
fruit  of  that  penance  to  St.  Louis,  king  of 
France  (IX.  of  his  name),  who  was  then 
in  Palestine  with  the  crusading  army. 
Although  herself  a  leper,  she  had  the 
privilege  of  curing  other  lepers  by  her 
touch.  A  golden  cross  was  sent  to  her 
from  heaven.  On  St.  Ursula's  day,  she 
heard  the  nuns  singing  Matins,  and  prayed 
that,  although  exoluded  from  the  choir 
on  earth,  she  might  be  associated  with 
the  sainted  virgins  in  heaven ;  she  was 
answered  that  she  should  be  placed  not 
only  with  the  companions  of  St.  Ursula, 
but  in  a  higher  rank.  She  died  1250, 
and  her  spirit  was  seen  to  be  received 
by  Christ  and  the  angels.  Henschenius, 
in  AA.SS.  Boll.,  from  a  Cistercian  writer 
of  the  13th  century,  June  11.  Buce- 
linus,  Men.  Ben.,  June  11.  A.B.M.  Cist., 
June  15. 

B.  Adelaide  (11),  or  Alix,  Aug.  2, 
countess  of  Blois.  1243-1288.  Daughter 
of  John  I.,  duke  of  Brittany.  Married, 
1254,  to  John  de  Chatillon,  first  count 
of  Blois.  She  went  to  the  Holy  Land 
in  1287,  and  died  on  her  return,  Aug. 
2,  1288.  Her  body  was  placed  near  that 
of  her  husband,  in  the  abbey  of  la  Guiche 
(which  she  had  founded),  near  Blois. 
Collin  de  Plancy,  Saintes  et  bienheureuses. 

St.  Adelberga,  Ethklburga,  queen 
of  Northumberland. 

B.  Adelina  (l),  Adelind. 

St.  Adelina  (2),  Oct.  20.  c.  1152. 
V.  Abbess.  Granddaughter  of  William 
the  Conqueror.  Sister  of  St.  Vitalis, 
abbot  and  founder  of  the  famous  Cister- 
cian monastery  of  Savigny,  in  Anjou. 
He  built  a  house  near  his  own,  for 
Adelina  and  a  community  of  nuns ;  but 
after  a  few  years  he  transferred  them  to 


Mortain,  in  La  Manche,  in  Normandy, 
founded  by  their  brother  William,  count 
of  Mortain.  Adelina's  nunnery  was 
popularly  called  Let  Blanches,  the  White 
Ladies  of  Mortain.  She  died  about  the 
middle  of  the  12th  century,  and  was 
buried  at  Mortain  ;  and  about  100  years 
afterwards,  was  translated  to  Savigny, 
and  laid  beside  her  brother  Vitalis  and 
another  brother,  Godfrey,  also  abbot  of 
Savigny.  The  church  of  Little  Sod- 
bury,  in  Gloucestershire,  is  dedicated  in 
her  name.  Boll.,  AA.SS.  Migne,  Die. 
aes  abbayes.  Miss  Arnold  Forster,  Dedi- 
cations. 

B.  Adelind,  Aug.  28  (Adelina  (1), 
Adeline).  8th  and  perhaps  part  of 
9th  century.  Founder  and  first  abbess 
of  Bnchau,  or  Buchen,  in  Suabia.  Born 
in  the  castle  of  Andechs.  Represented 
distributing  loaves  to  the  poor.  Sister 
of  St.  Hildegard,  wife  of  Charlemagne. 
Married  Hatto  or  Otho,  count  of  Eessel- 
burg,  who  was  killed,  with  their  three 
sons,  in  a  great  battle  against  the  Huns, 
at  a  place  called  afterwards  the  Valley 
of  Tears.  They  had  another  son,  a 
deacon,  who  died  of  grief  soon  after  the 
death  of  his  father  and  brothers.  After 
the  Huns  were  driven  out  of  Germany 
by  Charlemagne,  Adelind  founded  a 
monastery  in  memory  of  her  husband 
and  sons;  buried  them  within  its  pre- 
cincts; took  the  veil,  and  became  first 
abbess  there.  She  died  Aug.  28,  and 
is  honoured  on  this  day  or  Aug  21. 
Perier,  the  Bollandist,  in  AA.SS.  Petin, 
Die.  Hag.  Moustier.  Guenebault,  Die. 
d'lcon. 

St.  Adeliza,  Ada,  Adela. 

St.  Adeloga,  Hadeloga. 

St.  Adeltrude  (1),  Feb.  24,  25 
(Aldetrude,  Madeltrude),  V.  7th 
century.  Abbess.  Daughter  of  B. 
Vincent  and  St.  Waltrude,  and  grand- 
daughter of  SS.  Walbert  and  Bertilla 
(1).  Represented  with  rats  and  mice ; 
but  this  is  supposed,  by  Cahier,  to  be 
a  mistake  for  St.  Gertrude.  While 
Adeltrude  was  a  young  girl,  her  aunt, 
St.  Aldegundis,  like  a  careful  house- 
wife, ordered  all  the  scraps  of  wax  to 
be  gathered  together  and  melted  into 
one  mass  in  a  pot.  It  was  allowed  to 
get  too  hot,  ran  over  the  edge  into  the 


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ST.  ADFALDUID 


15 


fire,  and  blazed  up.  Adeltrude  rushed 
to  the  fire,  and  took  off  the  pot,  which 
she  placed  safely  on  the  ground  without 
burning  her  hands  or  arms  in  the  least — 
a  miracle  which  was  attributed  to  her 
great  devotion  to  the  Virgin  Mary.  In 
660  she  succeeded  St.  Aldegundis  as 
abbess  of  the  convent  of  Maubeuge. 
Boll.,  AA.SS.,  Feb.  25.  Martin,  Feb. 
25. 

St.  Adeltrude  (2),  March  19  (Adel- 
trudis,  Anoletrudb),  V.  7th  century. 
Daughter  of  Allowin,  afterwards  St 
Bavo,  patron  of  Ghent.  Niece  of  St. 
Adilia.  Adeltrude  showed  very  early 
signs  of  piety.  An  angel  foretold  that 
she  should  never  have  any  children,  but 
should  bring  forth  many  good  works. 
Her  father  was  a  worldly  and  dissipated 
man,  until  he  was  converted  by  the 
preaching  of  St.  Amandus.  He  then 
betook  himself  to  a  life  of  solitude  and 
penance,  and  eventually  gave  his  estate 
to  Amandus,  to  found  a  monastery  and 
church,  which,  in  1559,  became  the 
cathedral  of  St.  Bavon,  of  Ghent.  Bavo 
died  about  657.  Boll. ,  AA.SS.,  Mar.  19, 
"Lives  of  St.  Bavo  and  St.  Landoald." 
Butler,  Lives.  Baillet,  Vies.  Wion, 
Lignum  Vitee.   Le  Glay,  Gaule  Belgique. 

St.  Adeltrude  (3),  Nov.  14.  9th 
century.  Wife  of  a  count  of  Aurillac, 
who  built  a  church  and  abbey  there, 
under  the  invocation  of  St.  Clement  and 
rule  of  St.  Benedict.  In  855  they  had 
a  son,  Gerald,  whom  they  brought  up  so 
piously  that  he  became  a  great  saint. 
Adeltrude  was  buried  in  St.  Clement's 
Church,  wfcere  her  miracles  drew  a  great 
concourse  of  pilgrims,  until  the  16fch 
century,  when  the  Calvinists  dispersed 
her  relics.  P.B.  Butler,  "  St.  Gerald," 
Oct.  13. 

St,  Adelviva,  Jan.  25  (Adelwiff, 
Adunalif,  Adunaliva,Ethelvive).  1048. 
Mother  of  St.  Poppo,  abbot.  She  mar- 
ried Tizekin,  a  valiant  warrior  of  Flan- 
ders. Her  son  was  a  seven-months' 
child,  and  such  a  poor  little  specimen 
of  humanity  that  he  would  have  died  as 
soon  as  he  was  born  had  not  his  pious 
grandmother,  by  direction  of  God,  or 
at  least  of  the  common  sense  with  which 
He  had  endowed  her,  wrapped  him  in  a 
very  soft  woollen  cloth,  and  taken  great 


care  of  him  until  he  had  attained  the 
size  and  strength  of  other  babies.  To- 
wards the  end  of  the  10th  century, 
Tizekin  was  killed  at  Hasbain,  in  Bra- 
bant, in  a  war  between  Arnulf,  count  of 
Flanders,  and  the  sons  of  Bagner,  or 
Regnior,  the  Long-necked,  count  of 
Mons  and  Valenciennes.  Adelviva  was 
left  a  young  widow.  Poppo,  like  other 
lads  of  his  rank,  went  to  the  wars  as 
soon  as  he  was  old  enough.  He  had 
not  long  been  a  soldier  when  he  joined 
some  monks  in  a  pilgrimage  to  Jeru- 
salem. After  his  return,  he  persuaded 
his  mother  to  take  the  veil.  According 
to  Menard,  she  lived  for  some  time  in  a 
nunnery  at  Verdun ;  and  afterwards  in 
a  cell  adjoining  the  monastery  of  St. 
Vitus,  in  the  same  town,  for  it  was  an 
ancient  custom,  long  continued  in  the 
Order  of  St.  Benedict,  that,  attached  to 
a  monastery  of  men,  were  a  few  cells, 
called  clusas,  or  inclusoria,  in  which  one 
or  more  nuns  might  live.  They  were 
under  the  rule  of  the  abbot,  and  none 
but  he  had  access  to  them.  Her  miracles 
began  before  she  had  retired  from  secu- 
lar life.  She  relighted  an  extinguished 
candle  by  merely  taking  it  in  her  hand 
while  she  was  at  her  prayers.  While 
she  prayed  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Cyricus, 
he  and  St.  Amandus  of  Utrecht  and 
many  other  saints  appeared  to  her. 
Poppo  became  abbot  of  Stavelo,  a 
monastery  founded  by  St.  Bemacle,  in 
the  7  th  century.  A  contemporary  Life 
of  St.  Poppo,  by  Everhelm,  abbot  of 
Haumont,  is  preserved  by  Mabillon, 
AA.SS.,O.S.B.  Mezemy,Hi8t.de France. 
Kuinart,  Acta.  Saussaye,  Mart.  Galli- 
canum,  calls  Adelviva  "Saint."  Buce- 
linns  and  Menard  say  "  Blessed." 

St.  Adeneta,  Ada  of  Le  Mans. 

St.  Adeodata,  Jnly  5.  Tamayo,, 
say  the  Bollandists,  is  a  wonderful 
digger  up  of  saints,  and  appears  to 
consider  that  St.  Gregory  the  Great  has 
canonized  every  person  whose  name  he 
mentions  in  his  writings.  Tamayo  calls- 
Adeodata  a  Benedictine  nun,  and  says 
she  was  adorned  with  supernatural  gifts, 
and  died  in  Etruria.    Boll.,  AA.SS. 

St.  Adfalduid  or  Atalduid,  Sept. 
30,  V.  Daughter  of  St.  Romaric,  Dec. 
8.     A  holy  nun  with  her  sister,  St. 


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16 


ST.  ADILIA 


Gegoberga,  under  St.  Mactaflede. 
The  Bollandists  mention  her  among  the 
preetermissi,  Sept.  30.  There  seems  to  be 
a  doubt  about  this  daughter  of  Homaric ; 
she  is  not  named  in  the  oldest  accounts 
of  his  family.  Saussaye  calls  her 
"  Blessed."    Mart.  Qallicanum. 

St.  Adilia  or  Odilia  (2),  June  30, 
Oct.  1,  V.  Abbess.  O.S.B.  7th  cen- 
tury. Daughter  of  the  count  of  Hainault. 
Sister  of  St.  Bavo.  Aunt  of  Adel- 
trude  (2).  Abbess  of  St.  Martin  du 
Mont,  a  large  Benedictine  house  at  Orp, 
in  Namur.  Her  convent  was  on  a  hill, 
and  many  pilgrims  passed  by  the  bottom 
of  it  without  coming  up.  As  hospitality 
was  part  of  the  rule  of  her  Order,  she 
built  a  church  and  hospice  for  beggars 
and  travellers  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
and  removed  her  community  thither, 
that  she  might  relieve  their  wants  and 
be  edified  by  the  conversation  of  holy 
persons  who  were  on  pilgrimage.  Migne's 
Dictionary  says,  honoured  at  Orp-le- 
Grand,  near  Judoque,  in  Brabant.  Pape- 
broch.  AA.SS.  Boll.  Bucelinus,  Men. 
Ben.  Martin,  Surius,  and  French  Mart. 
Molanus,  Indiculo.  SS.  Bclgii,  places 
Adilia  in  the  time  of  Childeric.  Chil- 
deric  II.  reigned  during  part  of  670, 
and  was  the  son  of  St.  Bathildis. 

St.  Adisela,  Nov.  18,  M.,  appears 
in  the  Labbean  Mart  Boll.,  AA.SS. 
Supplement,  iii. 

St.  Adjola  or  Ajola,  Juno  1,  abbess 
at  Bourges  in  the  7th  century.  AA.SS. 
Boll. 

St.  Adla,  Abdela. 

St.  Adnetta,  Ada  of  Le  Mans. 

St.  Adolena,  Adela  of  Pfalzel. 

St.  Adonette,  Ada  of  Le  Mans. 
Cahier,  Caracteristiques. 

St.  Adozina,  Aug.  5,  V.  O.S.B. 
loth  century.  Daughter  of  the  count 
of  Agueda,  in  Portugal  She  imitated 
the  heroic  virtues  of  her  brother,  St. 
Rozendo,  and  followed  him  to  the 
monastory  of  Cella  Nova,  in  Galicia, 
where  tbey  took  the  habit  of  the  Brothers 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  and  kept 
their  rule.  She  died  in  the  convent  of 
Oporto.    Azevedo,  Pantheon. 

St.  Adrechild,  Ada  of  Le  Mans. 

St.  Adrehild,  Ada  of  Le  Mans. 

St.  Adriana  (1),  Sept.  17,  M.  in  the 


time  of  the  Emperor  Adrian.  AA.SS. 
Appendix. 

B.  Adriana  (2),  or  Hadbiana,  Aug. 
10,  27,  July  16,  O.S.F.  f  1292.  Sister 
of  St.  Margaret  of  Cortona,  convertod 
by  the  example  of  her  penitence,  and 
like  her,  took  the  habit  of  the  Third 
Order  of  St.  Francis,  as  did  their  friend 
B.  Gilia  or  Egidia  of  Cortona,  and, 
both  became  companions  of  Margaret, 
in  her  works  meet  for  repentance,  and 
died  before  her.  All  three  are  buried 
in  the  church  of  the  Friars  Minors,  in 
Cortona  (Jacobilli,  SS.  delV  Umbria). 
S.  F.  Ordenskalendar  says  Adriana  died 
immediately  after  winning  the  indul- 
gence of  Portiuncula  at  Assisi,  and  went 
straight  into  heaven,  without  passing 
through  the  fires  of  purgatory.  A  note 
in  the  same  calendar,  Aug.  2,  the  Feast 
of  Portiuncula,  says  that  plenary  in- 
dulgence is  to  be  had  once  for  one's  self, 
and  afterwards  for  the  poor  souls  in 
purgatory,  as  often  as,  after  Absolution 
and  Holy  Communion,  one  visits  a  church 
of  the  Franciscan  brothers,  and  prays, 
"nach  der  Meinung  dcr  Jcatholischen 
Kirche." 

St.  Adumade,  Hadumada. 

St.  Adunalif,  Adelviva. 

St.  /Egina,  May  18  (Aon a,  Egena), 
M.  at  Constantinople.    AA.SS.  Boll. 

St.  iEmiliana.  There  are  two  of 
this  name  in  the  B.M.    See  Emiliana. 

St.  iErais  or  Herais,  March  4.  Put 
to  the  sword,  with  150  other  martyrs 
mentioned  in  a  MS.  Menea  at  Grotta 
Ferrata,  and  in  some  other  Greek 
calendars.    AA.SS.  « 

St.  Aesia,  June  6  (Ayesia,  Eusebia), 
M.  1st  century.  Matron.  Commemo- 
rated with  St.  Zenais,  or  Susan.  Dis- 
ciple of  St.  Pancras,  bishop  of  Tauro- 
menium  (now  Taormina),  in  Sicily. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Affidia,  or  Aufidia,  May  6,  M. 
at  Milan,  under  Maximian.  AA.SS. 

St.  Affrenia,  or  Afra,  Oct.  i),  M. 
P.B. 

St.  Affrica,  abbess  of  Kildare,  738. 
Colgan. 

St.  Afra  (1),  May  24,  M.  at  Brescia, 
c.  133.  Patron  of  Brescia.  Wife  of  the 
prefect  of  Brescia,  under  the  Emperor 
Hadrian.    This  Emperor  is  represented 


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ST.  AFRA 


17 


in  the  legend  as  a  determined  persecutor 
of  the  Christians.  When  he  visited 
Brescia,  part  of  the  entertainment  pro- 
vided for  him  was  that  two  Christian 
brothers,  SS.  Faustns  and  Jovita,  were 
placed  in  the  arena,  to  be  devoured  by 
lions  and  leopards ;  the  beasts,  however, 
lay  down  at  the  feet  of  the  saints,  and 
defended  them  from  the  bears  that 
attacked  them.  The  confessors  chal- 
lenged the  Emperor  to  order  the  lord  of 
the  town  and  his  pagan  priests  to  bring 
their  idol  Saturnus  into  the  arena,  say- 
ing that  if  he  would  deliver  them,  they 
would  worship  the  Deity.  The  idol  was 
brought ;  the  bears  instantly  broke  it  in 
pieces,  then  threw  themselves  on  the 
priests  and  the  governor,  and  tore  them 
limb  from  limb.  As  soon  as  Afra  heard 
her  husband's  fate,  she  rushed  to  tho 
amphitheatre  and  assailed  the  Emperor 
with  cries  and  reproaches.  She  said  he 
had  made  her  a  widow,  and  his  god  was 
powerless  to  help  her.  She  threw  her- 
self at  the  feet  of  tho  servants  of  Christ, 
and  begged  them  to  give  her  a  sign 
whereby  she  might  believe  in  the  one 
true  God.  The  Emperor  tried  in  vain  to 
comfort  her.  He  promised  her  a  nobler 
husband,  but  she  said,  "  I  do  not  weep 
for  my  widowhood,  but  becauso  my  hus- 
band has  lost  his  soul."  To  put  a  stop 
to  her  abuse  of  his  gods,  Hadrian  broke 
up  the  assembly.  The  two  martyrs 
commanded  the  wild  beasts  to  conduct 
Afra  safely  into  the  desert,  which  they 
did,  followed  by  the  bulls  which  had 
been  turned  into  the  arena  to  fight  with 
them.  Faustns  and  Jovita  were  led  in 
bonds  to  Milan.  There  they  were  given 
for  a  prey  to  tigers  and  bears.  These 
they  ordered  to  go  and  join  the  lions  and 
leopards  in  the  deserts,  and  guard  St 
Afra  until  they  should  be  sent  for.  The 
beasts  obeyed  them.  The  martyrs 
Faustus  and  Jovita  were  dragged  hither 
and  thither,  and  at  last  came  to  Rome, 
where  they  were  again  pitted  against 
wild  beasts  to  make  sport  for  the  people. 
The  savage  creatures  humbled  them- 
selves at  the  feet  of  the  saints.  The 
gates  flew  open,  and  the  beasts  that  had 
been  despatched  from  Brescia  and  Milan 
appeared,  bringing  Afra  with  them. 
She  lifted  up  her  voice,  and  warned  the 


peoplo  to  believe  in  tho  one  true  God 
and  to  repent  of  their  sins.  Faustus  and 
Jovita  reminded  the  Emperor  of  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  he  had  first  seen 
Afra,  and  he  said  she  must  be  a  sor- 
ceress. The  people  began  to  cry  out 
that  the  God  of  Faustus  and  Jovita  must 
be  the  true  God.  The  two  confessors 
commanded  the  beasts  which  had  brought 
Afra  to  slay  those  which  they  found  in 
the  Roman  amphitheatre.  They  did  so 
in  a  moment,  and  then  harmlessly  de- 
parted. Faustus  and  Jovita  next  led 
Afra  to  the  catacombs,  to  be  baptized 
by  the  bishop.  (The  legend  calls  him 
Linus,  but  Linus  was  not  bishop  of 
Rome  at  this  date.)  They  then  all  went 
to  Milan,  and  thence  to  Brescia,  where 
the  people  came  out  to  meet  them,  and 
brought  them  into  the  city  with  hymns 
of  joy.  They  and  many  of  their  fellow- 
Christians  were  soon  condemned  to 
death.  The  soldiers  led  them  out  on 
the  road  to  Cremona,  where  they  all 
knelt  down.  The  men  were  beheaded 
by  gladiators,  and  Afra  was  smitten  on 
the  head  by  the  guards  with  their  swords, 
and  60  completed  her  happy  martyrdom. 
B.M.  May  24.  The  Bollandists  give  her 
Acts,  which  are  manifestly  fabulous,  on 
May  23.  Her  church,  on  the  site  of  a 
temple  of  Saturn,  is  the  oldest  ecclesi- 
astical foundation  in  Brescia.  It  was 
entirely  rebuilt  in  the  17th  century,  and 
is  now,  of  course,  very  ugly.  Hare, 
Cities  of  Italy. 

St.  Afra  (2),  Aug.  10,  M.  Honoured 
with  11  men,  13  virgins,  and  seven 
soldiers.  AA.SS. 

St.  Afra  (3),  Dec.  18,  V.  M.  Mart. 
Corbejense. 

St.  Afra  (4)  of  Augsburg,  Aug.  5 
(Abba,  Apba,  etc.),  M.  307.  Patron  of 
Augsburg,  Meissen,  and  female  peni- 
tents. Represented  with  her  hands  tied 
to  a  stake  (Liber  Cronicarum)  ;  bound  to 
a  tree  in  flames  (Ikonograjphie) ;  sur- 
rounded with  flames  (Die  Attribute  der 
Heiligeri)  ;  boiled  in  a  cauldron  (Husen- 
beth,  Emblems)  ;  holding  a  log  or  faggot, 
to  denote  that  she  was  burned  alive 
(Guenebault,  Die.  Icon.). 

St.  Narcissus,  a  Spanish  Christian 
priest,  and  his  deacon,  Felix,  being 
driven  from  their  own  country  in  tho 

c 


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18 


ST.  AFRA 


persecution  under  Diocletian,  happened 
to  come  to  Augsburg,  and  asked  for 
hospitality  at  the  house  of  Afra,  not 
knowing  that  she  was  a  courtesan.  She 
and  her  three  maids  prepared  supper  for 
them,  supposing  them  to  be  the  sort  of 
guests  they  were  accustomed  to  enter- 
tain. Narcissus  said  a  prayer  and  sang 
a  psalm  before  beginning  to  eat.  Afra 
asked  what  ho  meant  by  it,  and  hearing 
that  her  visitors  were  Christians,  she 
said,  "  Tou  have  made  a  mistake  in 
coming  here,  for  we  are  sinners."  Nar- 
cissus told  her  Christ  came  to  save  sin- 
ners, and  exhorted  her  at  once  to  break 
'with  her  wicked  life,  and  repent  and 
'become  a  Christian.  The  four  women 
were  converted  by  his  persuasion,  and 
vrhen  the  persecutors  camo  to  look  for 
the  two  Christians,  she  hid  them  under 
heaps  of  flax,  first  in  her  own  and  then 
in  her  mother's  house,  until  she  could 
send  them  away  in  disguise.  Her 
mother's  name  was  Hilabia;  she  was 
already  a  Christian,  and  had  tried  in 
vain  to  convert  Afra.  Very  soon  Afra 
was  accused  of  being  a  Christian,  and  of 
having  aided  the  escape  of  persons  re- 
sisting the  laws.  She  was  brought 
before  a  judge,  who  said,  "How  is  it 
that  a  courtesan  can  be  a  Christian? 
"Where  is  the  purity  of  life  which  the 
followers  of  Christ  profess?"  She 
answered,  "  I  am  indeed  unworthy  of  the 
name  of  Christian,  but  Christ  came  to 
save  sinners.  He  will  accept  my  mar- 
tyrdom, and  wash  mo  from  my  sins." 
She  was  condemned  to  be  burned  on  an 
island  in  the  river  Lech.  Her  maids 
stood  on  the  bank  and  watched  her  mar- 
tyrdom. A  boy  went  and  told  Hilaria 
that  her  daughter  had  been  burnt  to 
death,  not  accepting  deliverance.  A  few 
days  afterwards  Hilaria  and  the  three 
maids  were  taken  and  put  to  death,  and 
are  honoured  as  saints  and  martyrs. 
Tho  names  of  the  maids  were  Diona, 
Eunomia,  and  Eutbopia.  The  skeleton 
of  Afra  is  shown  at  Augsburg,  in  the 
church  dedicated  in  her  name  and  that 
of  St.  Ulrich  ;  tho  bones  appear  through 
the  most  exquisite  lace,  and  the  skull 
and  fingers  aro  resplendent  with  jewels. 
B.M.  Baillet,  Vies.  Butler,  Lives. 
Dr.  J.  M.  Neale.   Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred 


and  Legendary  Art.  One  of  the  Saints 
Valeria  is  said  to  be  identical  with  St. 
Afra  of  Augsburg. 

St.  Afra  (5)  of  Poitiers,  Dec.  13 
(Abba,  Apia,  Apba),  V.  4th  century. 
Daughter  of  St.  Hilary,  bishop  of 
Poitiers.  He  was  of  an  illustrious  family 
in  Gaul ;  was  converted  about  350,  and 
became  bishop  about  353.  On  account 
of  his  opposition  to  Arianism,  he  was 
banished  by  the  Emperor  Constantius  to 
Phrygia,  356,  and  remained  in  exile 
three  years.  He  left  his  wife  at  Poitiers 
with  their  only  child,  a  girl  of  13 
or  thereabouts.  From  the  time  of  his 
conversion,  the  bishop  had  wished  and 
prayed  that  his  daughter  should  never 
be  a  worldly  woman,  but  live  and  die  a 
virgin  consecrated  to  Christ ;  so  when, 
during  his  banishment,  his  wife  wrote  to 
him  on  the  subject  of  a  marriage  that 
seemed  to  promise  well  for  her  happi- 
ness, he  wrote  to  Afra,  giving  her  leave 
to  docide  the  matter  for  herself.  The 
man  whom  her  mother  was  inclined  to 
accept  for  her  was  young,  beautiful,  of 
good  character,  very  rich,  and  in  every 
way  a  fit  mate  for  a  Christian  maiden  of 
good  family ;  but  Hilary  told  her  that  if 
she  would  refuse  him  she  might  have  a 
Husband  more  noble,  more  beautiful, 
more  powerful,  kinder,  richer ;  if  she 
would  renounce  all  jewels  and  gay 
clothes,  her  Bridegroom  would  give  her 
robes  of  dazzling  whiteness,  and  jewels 
of  unimaginable  splendour  ;  a  life  above 
all  petty  vexations  and  ambitions ;  trea- 
sures that  rust  and  moth  could  not  in- 
jure ;  possessions  that  death  itself  could 
not  take  away.  Afra  followed  her 
father's  advice,  and  on  his  return  he 
prayed  that  the  Lord  would  take  her  to 
Himself.  She  died  happily  about  360, 
without  pain  or  disease.  Her  mother 
then  entreated  Hilary  to  obtain  of  God 
the  same  favour  for  her.  In  the  words 
of  the  Golden  Legend,  "  He  sent  toforo 
his  wyf  and  doughter."  Hilary  died 
about  368.  His  letter  to  Afra  is  still 
extant,  and  so  is  one  of  two  hymns  which 
he  wrote  and  sent  her  at  the  same 
time.  It  begins,  "  Lucis  Largitor  splen- 
dider  Tillemont.  Butler.  AA.SS. 

St.  Agaieta  or  Gaiana,  Sept.  30.  See 
Kipsima. 


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SS.  AGAPE,  CHIONIA,  AND  IRENE 


19 


Agapa,  Agape,  Agapes,  and  Agapia 
seem  to  be  forms  of  the  same  name, 
generally  called  Agape. 

St  Agapa,  Nov.  20,  V.,  is  mentioned 
in  the  Martyrologium  Bichenoviense,  i.e. 
the  copy  of  the  Mart,  of  St.  Jerome  used 
in  the  old  German  monastery  of 
Keichenau.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Agape  (1),  Pistis,  and  Elpis, 
Sept.  17,  VV.  MM.  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity  (q.v.)  are  so  called  in  the 
Byzantine  Church.  Neale,  Holy  Eastern 
Church. 

St  Agape  (2),  Feb.  15,  V.  M.  273. 
Patron  of  Terano.  A  disciple  of  St. 
Valentine,  bishop  of  Interamna.  There 
are  several  places  called  Interamna; 
this  is  probably  Terano.  She  and  her 
companions  led  a  religious  life  there, 
and  w^ere  put  to  death  soon  after  their 
master.  The  inhabitants  hold  the 
festival  of  their  patrons,  of  whom 
Valentine  is  chief,  on  four  days,  Feb.  14, 
15,  16,  17.  B.M.  AA.SS.  Jacobilli 
says  St.  Agape's  house  was  not  at 
Terano,  but  at  a  place  called  Fra  le 
Torri,  outside  the  town  of  Terni;  that 
the  house  was  built  in  255  by  St.  Valen- 
tine ;  that  with  Agape  were  her  sister, 
St.  Thionia  or  Teonia,  and  33  nuns, 
the  chief  of  whom  were  SS.  Chionia, 
Castula,  and  Sunca.  (Santi  delV  Umbria, 
iii.  265.)  St.  Domnina  (1)  seems  to  be 
one  of  those  honoured  with  them,  but 
Jacobilli  places  her  martyrdom  three 
centuries  later,  in  the  time  of  Totila. 

SS.  Agape  (3)  and  Chionia,  April 
3,  and  Irene,  April  5.  c.  304.  Famous 
martyrs  in  the  tenth  persecution,  which 
occurred  in  the  time  of  Diocletian. 
Their  names  are  in  the  Roman  Martyro- 
logy  as  martyrs  at  Thessalonica.  The 
legend  comes  down  to  us  in  different 
forms.  I  give  one  from  the  Flos 
Sanctorum;  a  second  from  the  Acta 
Sanctorum,  where  Henschenius  derives 
it  from  an  ancient  Life  of  St.  Anastasia ; 
and  a  third  from  Baillet  (April  1),  who 
considers  their  authentic  Acta,  published 
by  Huinart,  more  reliable  than  the 
authority  followed  by  Henschenius. 

Vega,  in  the  Flos  Sanctorum,  says  that 
SS.  Agape,  Chionia,  and  Irene  or  Yrnea 
were  the  maids  of  St.  Anastasia,  and 
shared  her  imprisonment.    Instead  of 


putting  them  immediately  to  death — as 
recorded  in  the  story  of  St.  Anastasia — 
the  governor  thought  them  too  beautiful 
for  such  a  fate,  and  determined  to  save 
them  as  slaves  for  himself.  As  they 
despised  his  clemency  and  admiration, 
he  shut  them  up  in  a  kitchen.  When 
he  went  to  visit  them,  they  became 
invisible.  The  pots  and  pans  took  their 
forms,  so  that  the  three  saints  remained 
unmolested  while  the  deluded  governor 
embraced  and  kissed  the  unresisting 
kitchen  utensils  till  his  face  and  clothes 
were  black  and  dirty.  When  he  came 
out  his  servants  took  him  for  a  devil, 
struck  him  with  their  fists  and  sticks, 
and  then  ran  away  from  him.  He  went 
to  the  Emperor  to  complain  of  their 
conduct,  but  every  one  thought  he  was 
mad,  and  began  to  beat  him,  spit  at  him, 
and  throw  sticks  and  stones  at  him. 
The  devil  had  so  completely  deceived 
him  that  he  could  not  see  his  own 
disfigurement,  nor  understand  the  reason 
of  all  this  ill  treatment.  He  thought  he 
and  his  clothes  were  white  and  clean, 
and  as  everybody  told  him  the  contrary 
he  supposed  himself  bewitched  by  the 
three  girls.  He  next  ordered  their 
clothes  to  be  taken  off.  This  was  found 
impossible ;  the  more  the  servants 
pulled,  the  tighter  the  saints'  garments 
stuck  to  them.  At  last  the  governor, 
exhausted  and  puzzled,  fell  asleep,  and 
slept  so  long  and  so  soundly,  and  snored 
so  loudly  that  no  one  could  awake  him, 
and  if  the  devil  hasn't  taken  him  he  is 
snoring  there  still.  The  three  Christian 
maidens  were  put  to  death. 

The  second  version  of  the  story  is  as 
follows : — 

When  St.  Chrysogonus  was  sent  to 
Aquileia  by  Diocletian,  St.  Anastasia, 
his  disciple  and  friend,  followed  him  to 
visit  the  imprisoned  Christians  and  bury 
the  martyrs  there  as  sho  had  done  at 
Eome.  Chrysogonus  was  beheaded  at 
Aqua  Gradata  (Grao,  in  Friuli),  and  his 
body  thrown  into  the  sea.  It  was  soon 
washed  ashore  at  a  place  called  Adsaltus, 
a  small  estate  where  three  sisters, 
Christians,  named  Agape,  Chionia,  and 
Irene,  lived  with  an  aged  priest  named 
Zoilus.  They  took  up  the  body  of  the 
martyr,  and  buried  it  with  great  care 


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SS.  AGAPE,  CHIONIA,  AND  IRENE 


and  reverence  in  a  subterranean  chamber 
of  the  house.  St.  Chrysogonus  after- 
wards appeared  in  a  dream  to  Zoilus, 
and  told  him  that  Diocletian  would  order 
the  three  sisters  to  be  seized  in  nine 
days,  that  God  would  cause  them  to  be 
comforted  by  His  servant  Anastasia,  but 
that  Zoilus  himself  should  not  live  to 
see  their  imprisonment.  While  ho  was 
telling  his  dream  to  the  sisters,  Anas- 
tasia entered  the  house,  saying,  "Where 
are  my  three  sisters  whom  my  master 
Chrysogonus  recommended  to  my  care  ?  " 
They  received  her  gladly,  showed  her 
the  place  where  Chrysogonus  was  buried, 
and  begged  her  to  stay  some  time  with 
them.  She  stayed  one  night,  and  then 
returned  to  Aquileia  to  attend  to  the 
wants  of  the  Christians  who  were  in 
prison.  As  she  left  the  house  St. 
Zoilus  wont  to  the  Lord.  Diocletian 
soon  sent  for  the  threo  sisters,  and  asked 
them  who  had  taught  them  their  vain 
superstitions.  He  offered  them  husbands 
out  of  his  own  palace  as  the  reward  of 
their  renunciation  of  Christianity.  As 
they  were  steadfast  in  the  faith,  he  sont 
them  to  prison,  where  they  were  visited 
by  Anastasia.  There  was  great  poverty 
among  the  Christians  in  those  days. 
They  all  used  to  come  to  Anastasia  for 
help.  She  daily  prayed  that  she  might 
not  dio  until  she  had  expended  on  them 
the  last  farthing  of  the  sum  she  had 
obtained  by  the  sale  of  her  patrimony. 
Diocletian  took  the  Christian  prisoners 
to  Macedonia.  On  his  arrival  there  he 
ordered  Dulcicius,  the  governor,  to  try 
them  all,  and  torture  and  slay  thoso  who 
persisted  in  their  religion,  but  to  offer 
honours  and  other  rewards  to  such  as 
consented  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods.  When 
the  three  sisters  were  brought  before 
him  in  their  turn,  he  was  struck  by  their 
beauty. 

Here  follows  almost  exactly  the  kitchen 
sceno  given  in  the  Spanish  Flos 
Sanctorum,  except  that  in  this  version  of 
the  story  Dulcicius  falls  asleep  on  the 
judgment-seat,  and  awakes  when  carried 
into  his  own  house.  Sisinnus  is  then 
appointed  to  continue  the  trial.  He 
condemns  Agape  and  Chionia  to  be  burnt. 
They  die  praying  in  the  midst  of  the 
flames,  but  their  bodies  and  even  their 


clothes  are  uninjured  by  the  fire.  Irene, 
who  was  younger,  was  condemned  to  a 
more  cruel  fate.  As  she  was  being  led 
away  by  guards  to  the  place  of  her  doom, 
two  soldiers  appeared,  and  said,  "The 
governor  sends  us  after  you  to  order  you 
to  take  Irene  to  the  place  that  we  will 
show  you."  They  proceeded  to  the  top 
of  a  mountain  and  sat  down.  The  two 
soldiers  told  the  guards  to  go  and  tell 
Sisinnus  that  Irene  was  there,  according 
to  his  orders.  When  Sisinnus  saw  that 
he  was  the  subject  of  a  trick,  he  was  very 
angry,  and  rode  off  in  haste  to  the 
mountain,  where  he  saw  the  beautiful 
Irene  praying  and  singing  hymns.  He 
rode  round  and  round  from  morning  until 
evening  without  ever  being  able  to  get 
near  her.  At  last  he  was  so  enraged 
that  he  took  a  bow.  from  odo  of  hi& 
attendants  and  shot  her  with  three 
arrows.  She  died  rejoicing  that  she  was 
accounted  worthy  to  rejoin  her  sisters  60 
soon.  Her  body  was  taken  by  tho 
servants  of  St.  Anastasia  and  buried  with 
those  of  Agape  and  Chionia. 

The  third  form  of  the  legend  says 
that  SS.  Agape,  Chionia,  and  Irene  were 
martyred  at  Thessalonica,  in  Macedonia, 
with  their  companions,  Casia,  Philippa, 
and  Eutychia,  and  a  man  named  Agatho. 
The  three  sisters  lived  in  their  father's 
house  at  Thessalonica.  They  are  called 
virgins  in  some  calendars ;  but  it  is  moro 
probable,  from  their  answers  during  the 
trial,  that  they  were  all  married.  When 
Diocletian  ordered  the  destruction  of  all 
the  sacred  books  of  the  Christians,  they 
found  a  safe  hiding-place  for  their  own 
and  some  others  that  belonged  to  the 
community.  They  fled  to  a  mountain, 
where  they  remained  hidden  from  their 
persecutors  for  a  year.  When  they  were 
Drought  to  trial,  they  were  careful  not 
to  betray  those  who  had  fed  or  otherwise 
assisted  them  in  their  trouble.  They 
declared  that  their  father  did  not  know 
where  they  were  during  that  time,  and 
that  the  books  were  hidden  from  their 
most  intimate  friends ;  "  even,"  said 
Irene,  "from  our  husbands."  Agape 
and  Chionia  were  burnt  to  death.  Euty- 
chia, who  was  a  widow,  was  remanded  to 
prison  until  after  the  birth  of  her  child, 
which  was  imminent.    Dulcicius,  the 


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ST.  AGATHA 


21 


governor,  tried  to  persuade  Irene,  who 
was  much  younger  than  her  sisters,  to 
renounce  their  superstitions.  He  was 
exasperated  at  her  firmness.  Seeing  that 
she  wished  to  share  the  martyrdom  of 
her  sisters,  and  did  not  fear  the  flames, 
he  condemned  her  to  degradation,  and 
ordered  her  to  be  kept  in  a  place  where 
every  one  should  have  power  to  insult 
her.  She  was  to  be  guarded  by  one 
Zosimus,  who  was  to  bring  her  a  loaf 
from  the  governor's  palace  every  day. 
Zosimus  and  all  his  servants  were  to  be 
put  to  death  if  Irene  stirred  from  the 
place.  She  was,  however,  miraculously 
defended  from  all  harm,  and  after  a  few 
day 8  Dulcicius  had  her  burnt  in  the 
place  where  her  sisters  had  glorified 
God  in  the  same  manner  a  few  days 
before. 

The  subsequent  fate  of  their  com- 
panions is  not  told,  but  the  Church 
honours  them  among  the  martyrs. 

SS.  Agape  (4),  Domna  (l),  and 
Theophila  (2),  Dec.  28.  B.M.  See 
Domna. 

Besides  the  above,  seven  saints  of  the 
name  of  Agape  are  commemorated  as 
martyrs  in  the  early  persecutions. 

St.  Agapia,  May  31,  M.  at  Gerona, 
in  Spain.  AA.SS. 

St.  Agapia  sometimes  means  Agape. 

St.  Agatha  (1),  Feb.  5,  V.  M.  251. 
Called  in  Norway  Aagot;  in  Spain 
Aoueda  and  Gadea;  in  different  parts 
of  France,  Apt,  Aphte,  Apthe,  Chaphte, 
Chapthk,  Chatte,  Ye;  in  the  Euthe- 
nean  Calendar,  Aoata. 

She  is  one  of  the  great  patronesses  of 
the  Western  Church  ;  her  name  is  in  the 
canon  of  the  Mass.  She  is  patron  saint 
of  the  island  and  Order  of  Malta;  of 
Scala  near  Amalfi,  Gallipoli  in  Italy, 
Capua,  Messina,  Catania,  Mirandola; 
and  of  nurses.  Her  aid  is  specially  in- 
voked against  fire,  colic,  and  diseases  of 
the  breast. 

Eepresented  in  the  midst  of  flames,  or 
with  her  breasts  being  cut  off.  Husen- 
beth  says  there  is  a  picture  of  her  in  the 
Pitti  Palace  at  Florence,  by  Sebastian 
del  Piombo,  in  which  executioners  are 
cutting  off  her  breasts,  and  that  a  repre- 
sentation of  her  was  formerly  to  be  seen 
on  the  rood  screen  of  St.  John's  Church 


in  the  Maddermarket  at  Norwich,  hold- 
ing her  left  breast  in  pincers. 

Palermo  disputes  with  Catania  the 
honour  of  being  her  birthplace.  She 
was  living  at  Catania  when  Quintianus, 
governor  of  Sicily,  persecuted  the  Chris- 
tians in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Decius, 
in  the  seventh  general  persecution  of  the 
Church.  He  wished  to  take  St.  Agatha 
for  himself,  on  account  of  her  great 
beauty ;  but  being  unable  to  make  any 
impression  on  her,  he  gave  hor  in  charge 
to  Frondisia,  a  wicked  woman  with  nino 
daughters  worse  than  herself,  promising 
them  great  rewards  if  they  could  seduce 
Agatha  from  Christianity  and  virtue. 
As  they  failed  to  do  so,  she  was  brought 
before  the  governor  and  tried  as  a  Chris- 
tian. Being  asked  who  she  was,  she 
answered,  "I  am  a  Christian,  and  the 
servant  of  Jesus  Christ."  "  Abjure  thy 
Master,"  said  Quintianus,  "and  serve 
our  gods,  or  I  will  have  thee  tortured." 
She  was  then  bound  to  a  pillar,  and  her 
breast  torn  with  iron  shears ;  she  was 
rolled  on  potsherds,  and  after  various 
other  tortures,  she  was  cast  into  a  dun- 
geon. St.  Peter,  attended  by  an  angel 
carrying  a  torch,  appeared  to  her  and 
healed  her  wounds  with  ointment.  Quin- 
tianus, finding  that  she  was  healod  of 
the  wounds  inflicted  by  the  torturers, 
ordered  her  to  be  burnt  alive ;  but  no 
sooner  was  she  placed  in  the  fire  than  an 
earthquake  shook  the  city.  The  people, 
believing  it  to  be  on  account  of  the 
Christian  maiden,  insisted  on  her  imme- 
diate release  from  the  flames,  and  threat- 
ened to  burn  down  the  governor's  palace 
if  he  did  not  comply  with  their  demand. 
She  was  again  put  in  prison,  but  prayed 
that  she  might  die  at  once,  which  she 
did,  and  was  buried  by  the  Christians  in 
a  porphyry  tomb.  About  a  year  after- 
wards the  city  was  threatened  with  de- 
struction by  an  eruption  of  Mount  Etna. 
All  the  inhabitants  fled  for  refuge  to  St. 
Agatha's  tomb.  They  took  her  veil, 
which  was  kept  there,  fixed  it  on  a  lance, 
and  went  in  procession  to  meet  the 
torrent  of  lava.  The  glowing  mass  was 
coming  close  to  the  walls,  but  when  con- 
fronted with  the  sacred  relic  it  turned 
aside.  All  the  heathen  who  witnessed 
this  miraclo  were  converted  and  baptized. 


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22 


ST.  AGATHA 


Solomon's  Song  viii.  8  is  supposed  by 
some  theologians  to  foretell  the  tortures 
of  St.  Agatha. 

Her  name  is  in  the  Soman  Martyro- 
logy,  the  Canon  of  the  Mass,  the  Leg- 
gendario  deUe  Sante  Verging  and  all  the 
chief  collections  of  lives  or  legends  of 
saints.  Her  Acts  are  6aid  by  Baillet  to 
be  of  doubtful  authenticity,  especially 
those  preserved  in  the  Greek  Church. 
Her  worship  is  undoubtedly  very  old. 
It  was  universal  in  Italy  in  the  4th 
century,  and  in  Africa  in  the  5th.  Her 
commemoration  by  the  Church  has  this 
peculiarity,  which  it  shares  with  that  of 
St.  Agnes,  that  the  psalms  of  her  office 
are  taken  from  the  "  Common  of  Saints  " 
of  the  male  sex,  to  remind  the  faithful 
of  the  super-feminine  courage  of  the 
holy  maiden.  He  adds  that  the  schis- 
matic English,  though  they  have  ex- 
punged her  name  from  their  now  liturgy, 
have  retained  it  in  their  calendars,  that 
the  people  may  not  forget  the  virtues  of 
the  early  martyrs.  R.M.  Oolden 
Legend.  Villegas,  from  Bede,  Usuard, 
and  Metaphrastes.  Mrs.  Jameson,  Sawed 
and  Legendary  Art.  AA.SS.  Thiers, 
TraitS  dee  superstitions. 

In  Norway,  the  legend  is  that  she  was 
brushed  to  death,  wherefore  girls  abstain 
from  brushing  their  hair  on  her  day. 
Another  legend  in  that  country  is  that  a 
lady  named  Agathe,  or  Aagot,  had  her 
nose  and  ears  eaten  off  by  mice.  They 
only  spared  the  rest  of  her  body  on  her 
vowing  to  keep  St.  Agatha's  day  holy 
ever  after.  This  story  is  told  also  of 
St.  Gertrude  of  Nivelle.  The  day  is 
marked  on  the  clogs  (runic  calendars) 
by  a  mouse.  AagoVs  Messa  was  tho 
Norwegian  name  of  the  day.  Report 
xx.  of  the  Cambridge  Antiquarian 
Society,  "  Description  of  a  Norwegian 
Calendar  of  the  Fifteenth  Century" 

St.  Agatha  (2),  May  8.  One  of  the 
many  martyrs  at  Byzantium,  commemo- 
rated with  St.  Acacius,  a  native  of  Cap- 
padocia  and  a  Roman  centurion.  Their 
names  are  not  mentioned  in  his  Acts, 
given  by  Hen6chenius  from  a  Greek 
manuscript  at  Grotta  Ferrata,  but  the 
martyrs  commemorated  with  him  in  the 
old  martyrologies  are  supposed  to  be  his 
fellow  -  prisoners  and  converts;  about 


28  of  them  were  women.  Henschenius, 
AA.SS.,  gives  the  date  203;  but  if  St. 
Acacius  was  put  to  death,  as  his  Acts 
say,  under  Maximianus,  it  must  have 
been  a  century  later. 

St.  Agatha  (3),  April  3,  M.  in  Misia. 
Mart.  Rhinoviense. 

St.  Agatha  (4),  Dec.  12.  8th  cen- 
tury. Nun  at  Weinbrunn,  in  Germany. 
Disciple  of  St.  Lioba.  Bucelinus,  Men. 
Ben.  AA.SS.  prsetei;  June  12,  28,  Sept. 
28,  Dec.  12.  Ferrarius,  Cat.  Gen.9 
makes  her  a  nun  at  Wimborne,  which  is, 
perhaps,  a  mistake;  but  she  may  have 
gone  from  Wimborne  with  Lioba,  and 
lived  with  her  in  Germany.  Wion, 
Lignum  Vitse,  says  Wimbrun  in  Germany. 

St.  Agatha  (5)  Hildegard,  Feb. 
5.  "f  1024.  Sometimes  called  by  either 
name  alone.  Patron  of  Carinthia.  Wife 
of  Paul,  count  palatine  of  Carinthia. 
They  lived  either  at  Stein  or  at  Rech- 
berg,  a  castle  on  a  rock  rising  abruptly 
to  a  considerable  height  above  the  river 
Drave.  Paul,  having  rashly  listened  to  a 
false  accusation  against  his  wife,  rushed 
furiously  to  her  room  at  the  top  of  the 
castle,  where  she  was  saying  her  prayers 
with  Dorothy  her  maid,  and  threw  them 
both  out  of  the  window.  Instead  of 
being  killed,  they  arrived  unhurt  on  the 
opposite  si de  of  the  river,  at  the  village 
of  Mochlingen.  Paul,  struck  by  the 
miracle  and  horrified  at  his  own  violence, 
built  the  church  of  St.  Paul  of  Moch- 
lingen on  tho  spot.  As  soon  as  he  had 
heard  Mass  there,  he  set  out  on  a  seven 
years'  pilgrimage,  as  a  penance  for  his 
injustice  and  violence.  On  his  return, 
he  sat  down  to  rest  under  a  tree,  and 
there  he  heard  tho  bells  of  his  church 
ring  for  midday  prayer.  Then  he  died. 
Agatha  survived  him  for  a  few  years, 
and  made  6ome  charitable  religious  foun- 
dations. 

The  messengers  of  the  Bollandists 
heard  this  story  from  the  curates  and 
peasants  of  Carinthia,  but  never  found 
it  in  books.  Some  of  the  narrators  also 
added  that  the  woman  who  had  accused 
the  countess  was  turned  iuto  stone,  with 
the  cow  she  was  milking,  and  that  her 
stool  and  her  pail  of  milk  might  bo 
seen  there  still.  The  messengers,  how- 
ever, not  only  never  saw  the  stones 


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ST.  AGATHOCLIA 


23 


themselves,  but  never  found  any  man 
who  could  assert  that  he  had  seen  them. 
Bollandus,  AA.SS. 

St.  Agatha  (6),  grand  -  princess 
of  Eussia,  commemorated  Feb.  7,  with 
her  daughters-in-law,  SS.  Mary  and 
Christina,  massacred  with  the  other 
inhabitants  of  Vladimir  by  the  Mongol 
Tartars.  Agatha  was  the  wife  of  George 
Vsevolodovitch,  grand-prince  of  Eussia 
(1224-1238).  When  the  Tartars  were 
devastating  Russia  in  the  dreadful  winter 
of  1238,  the  grand-prince  went  to  the 
province  of  Yaroslav  to  raise  troops 
and  obtain  help  from  his  brothers  and 
nephews.  He  left  his  sons — Mstislaf 
and  Vsevolod — to  hold  the  town  of 
Vladimir.  They  had  in  their  care  their 
wives,  Mary  and  Christina,  their  mother 
the  grand-princess  Agatha,  some  chil- 
dren, and  other  members  of  the  family. 
As  the  Tartars  marched  through  the 
country  they  killed  and  destroyed,  with 
brutal  ferocity,  "  tho  burning  towns  and 
rifled  shrines  proclaimed  where  they  had 
passed."  Instead  of  living  inhabitants 
coming  and  going,  were  corpses  lying 
on  the  frozen  ground,  torn  by  wild 
beasts  and  birds  of  prey.  At  Moscow 
the  Tartars  butchered  every  man,  woman, 
and  child,  except  Vladimir,  the  second 
son  of  the  grand-prince,  and  some  young 
monks  and  nuns,  whom  they  carried  off 
with  their  army.  On  Feb.  2,  1238, 
they  arrived  before  the  town  of  Vladi- 
mir, and  asked  whether  the  grand-prince 
was  at  home.  The  Vladimirians,  for 
all  answer,  sent  a  flight  of  arrows  into 
their  camp.  The  Mongols  then  set 
Agatha's  son,  the  young  prince  Vladimir, 
in  front  of  their  line,  crying  out,  "  Do 
you  recognize  your  prince?"  Indeed, 
he  was  so  altered  by  the  grief  and  horror 
of  his  situation  and  the  ill  treat- 
ment he  had  received,  that  they  hardly 
knew  him.  After  a  few  days  of  brave 
defence,  it  became  evident  that  the  case 
was  desperate.  The  princes,  princesses, 
and  nobles  determined  not  to  fall  alivo 
into  the  hands  of  the  barbarians.  Vse- 
volod, his  wife,  and  a  number  of  the 
most  illustrious  nobles  and  citizens 
assembled  in  the  church  of  Our  Lady. 
They  begged  Metrophanes,  the  bishop, 
to  give  them  the  monastic  tonsure.  This 


solemnity  was  performed  in  profound 
silence.  They  took  leave  of  the  world 
and  of  life,  but  prayed  Heaven  to  pre- 
serve the  existence,  the  glory,  and  the 
cherished  namo  of  Eussia.  On  Feb.  7, 
the  Sunday  of  the  carnival,  after  Matins, 
the  assault  began.  The  Tartars  rushed 
into  the  new  city  by  its  four  gates. 
Mstislaf  and  Vsevolod  withdrew  with 
their  guard  into  the  old  town  called 
Petcherni,  where  they  perished  at  the 
hands  of  the  invaders.  Their  mother, 
the  grand-princess  Agatha,  with  her 
daughter,  her  brothers,  her  daughters- 
in-law,  and  her  granddaughter,  shut 
themselves  up  in  the  cathedral.  The 
Mongols  set  it  on  fire.  The  bishop  cried 
aloud,  "Lord!  stretch  out  Thine  in- 
visible arms  and  receive  Thy  servants  in 
peace."  Then  he  gave  his  blessing  to 
all  present,  devoting  them  to  death. 
Some  were  suffocated  in  the  smoke,  some 
were  burnt,  some  fell  by  the  sword  of 
the  Tartars,  who  broke  in  at  last, 
attracted  by  the  treasures  they  expected 
to  find.  The  names  of  the  three  prin- 
cesses, Agatha,  Mary,  and  Christina,  are 
given  in  the  ancient  manuscript,  Lives  of 
the  Saints,  "  Saints  of  Vladimir."  Ka- 
ramsin,  Histoire  de  Bussie,  iii.  344,  347, 
402,  etc. 

B.  Agatha  (7)  of  Gubbio,  also  called 
Aoatktta.  13th  or  14th  century.  Nun 
O.S.A.  in  the  monastery  of  Santa  Maria, 
called  Paradise.  Jacobilli,  Santi  delV 
Umbria. 

St.  Agathoclia,  Sept.  17,  M.  1st 
century.  Christian  slave  of  Nicholas 
and  Paulina,  who  were  apostates  from 
Christianity.  By  another  account  she 
was  the  slave  of  a  heathen  woman  and 
the  daughter  of  Nicholas  and  Paulina, 
who  were  Christians.  Her  mistress 
treated  her  with  great  cruelty  for  eight 
years,  and  tried  every  means  to  induce 
her  to  renounce  her  roligion ;  she  used 
to  send  her  barefooted  in  the  coldest 
weather  to  gather  wood.  When  she  was 
locked  up  without  food,  a  nightingale 
fed  her  by  bringing  her  fruit  from  the 
trees.  At  last  her  mistress  came  into 
the  prison  and  killed  her  with  a  red-hot 
iron  bar.  She  is  claimed  as  a  Spaniard 
by  Salazar,  who  says  she  suffered  at 
Andujar  in  the  year  94 ;  but  it  is  more 


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24 


ST.  AGATHONIA 


likely  that  she  lived  and  died  in  the 
East,  as  her  story  only  comes  to  us 
through  the  Greek  Church.  B.M. 
Stilting  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Agathonia  (1),  March  30,  M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Agathonia  (2),  April  13,  M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Agathonica  (1),  April  13,  M. 
251.  Sister  of  the  deacon  Papylus, 
martyred  under  Decius ;  after  many  tor- 
tures he  was  burnt  with  Carpus,  bishop 
of  Thyatira,  and  many  others.  Aga- 
thonica,  seeing  her  brother  in  the  fire, 
threw  herself  into  the  flames  and  died 
with  him.  Their  Acts  are  quoted  by 
Eusebius.  B.M.  Men.  Basil,  Oct.  13. 
Baillet.  Guenebault,  Die.  Icon,  says 
sister  of  Bishop  Agathodorus ;  M.  with 
him  and  their  servant  in  the  3rd  century. 

St.  Agathonica  (2),  Aug.  10,  M.  at 
Carthage,  with  Bassa  and  Paula.  B.M. 

St.  Agatia.  St.  Agatha  is  so  called 
in  the  Buthenian  Calendar. 

St.  Agatodia,  Sept.  17.  In  the  Bio- 
grafia  Celetiastica,  Agatodia  appears  to 
be  a  clerical  error  for  Agathoclia. 

St.  Agetrue  or  Agebtrudis,  Gkb- 
tbudb  of  Nivelle. 

St.  Agia  (1),  Sept.  1  (Aga,  Aie, 
Augia,  Austbegild).  c.  609.  Mother  of 
St.  Lupus,  bishop  of  Sens.  Wife  of 
Betto,  a  lord  of  the  court ;  and  sister  of 
two  holy  bishops,  Austrenus  of  Orleans 
and  Aunarius  of  Auxerre.  There  are 
about  10  saints  called  Lupus,  or  Leu,  or 
Loup.  This  one  was  born  at  Orleans. 
He  was  banished  from  his  see  by  king 
Clothaire,  through  the  covetousness  of 
a  minister  to  whom  he  would  not  give 
bribes,  and  of  an  abbot  who  wanted  to 
take  his  bishopric.  The  king  afterwards 
recalled  St.  Lupus,  kneeled  at  his  feet  to 
ask  his  forgiveness,  and  treated  him  with 
the  greatest  honour.  Lupus  died  at 
Sens  in  623.    AA.SS.    Baillet.  Butler. 

St.  Agia  (2),  Aya. 

St.  Aglae  (1),  May  14  or  8.  Peni- 
tent, c.  317.  A  woman  of  great  wealth, 
so  fond  of  the  luxuries  and  the  pomps 
and  vanities  of  the  world  as  to  give 
public  games  to  the  people  at  her  own 
expense.  She  lived  at  Borne  apparently 
about  the  beginning  of  the  4th  cen- 
tury, but  she  is  supposed  to  have  been  a 


foreigner.  She  led  a  sinful  life  with 
Boniface  the  manager  of  her  affairs,  a 
drunken  and  dissipated  man,  who,  though 
stained  with  many  vices,  had  three  good 
qualities — pity  for  the  unfortunate,  liber- 
ality to  the  poor,  and  hospitality  towards 
strangers.  After  many  years  it  pleased 
God  to  touch  the  heart  of  Aglae  with 
compunction,  and  she  said -to  Boniface, 
"  We  are  living  in  sinful  pleasure  with- 
out reflecting  that  we  shall  have  at  last 
to  give  an  account  to  God  of  all  that  we 
do  in  this  life ;  I  have  heard  some  of  the 
Christians  say  that  those  who  honour 
Saints  and  Martyrs  who  fight  for  Jesus 
Christ  shall  be  made  partakers  of  their 
glory  in  the  other  life.  I  hear  that  a 
great  many  Christians  are  tortured  and 
put  to  death  now  in  tho  East  for  Christ's 
sake.  Go  there,  and  bring  back  some 
relics  of  these  holy  martyrs,  that  we  may 
build  oratories  to  them  here  and  honour 
their  memory  that  so  we  may  escape  the 
punishment  of  our  vices  and  be  saved 
with  them."  This  was  probably  in  307 
or  309,  under  Galerius  Maximianus,  who 
continued,  in  the  East,  to  persecute  the 
Church  which  had  already  had  peace  in 
the  West  since  the  abdication  of  Dio- 
cletian, 305.  Boniface  obeyed  her,  and 
as  he  took  leave  of  her,  he  said  he  would' 
bring  back  the  bodies  of  some  martyrs 
if  he  could  find  any,  and  added,  "  But 
what  if  my  body  should  be  brought  back 
to  you  as  that  of  a  martyr,  would  you 
honour  it  as  6uch?"  Aglae  rebuked 
him  for  what  she  considered  an  untimely 
jest,  and  said  that  he  must  reform  his 
life,  and  consider  that  he  was  going  to 
seek  for  holy  relics.  Boniface  was  so 
impressed  by  the  earnestness  of  his 
mistress  that  he  fasted  from  wine  and 
meat  during  tho  wholo  of  his  journey, 
and  prayed  to  God  for  grace  to  repent 
and  reform.  Ho  arrived  in  duo  time  at 
Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  Leaving  his  servants 
and  horses  at  the  inn,  he  went  at  once 
to  make  inquiries  about  the  Christians, 
and  see  what  was  going  on  with  rogard 
to  them.  He  was  soon  satisfied  on  this 
point,  for  he  saw  20  of  them  under- 
going different  forms  of  torture  in  the 
Forum;  one  of  them  was  hung  up  by 
the  feet  over  a  fire.  The  spectators, 
instead  of  being  imbued  with  a  horror 


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ST.  AGNES 


25 


of  Christianity,  wore  struck  with  admi- 
ration at  the  constancy  of  the  martyrs. 
Boniface,  having  fonnd  what  he  came  to 
seek,  boldly  embraced  these  mon  con- 
demned as  malefactors  and  undergoing 
the  sentence  of  the  law,  and  openly  en- 
treated them  to  pray  for  him,  that  he 
might  havo  a  share  in  their  merits.  He 
comforted  them  by  saying  that  their 
sufferings  would  soon  be  over,  and  their 
recompense  would  be  eternal.  The 
judge,  Simplicius,  governor  of  Cilicia, 
considered  the  conduct  of  Boniface  as  an 
insult  to  himself  and  his  gods,  and  had 
him  arrested  on  the  spot.  Boniface, 
thinking  this  was  his  last  opportunity 
of  speaking,  prayed  to  Christ,  and  cried 
out  to  the  martyrs  to  pray  for  him, 
which  they  all  did  so  loudly  that  a 
tumult  arose  among  the  people,  which 
caused  the  judge  to  fear  for  his  safety ; 
he  thereforo  sent  Boniface  to  prison  till 
the  disturbance  was  over.  Next  day, 
finding  him  firm  in  his  adherence  to  the 
Christians  and  their  God,  he  condemned 
him  to  be  beheaded  at  once.  Thus  was 
Boniface  rewarded  for  his  kindness  to 
the  martyrs  by  sharing  their  sufferings 
and* triumph.  Meantime,  his  servants 
began  to  be  uneasy  at  his  continued 
absence,  and,  knowing  his  habits,  they 
sought  him  in  wine-shops  and  taverns, 
expecting  to  find  him  drunk  in  bad 
company.  It  happened  that  one  of  the 
persons  of  whom  they  inquired  was  the 
gaoler's  brother.  When  they  described 
their  master  as  a  stout,  square-built, 
fair  man,  with  curly  hair,  and  wearing  a 
scarlet  mantle,  he  told  them  that  must 
be  the  man  who  had  just  been  beheaded 
on  account  of  his  profession  of  Chris- 
tianity. He  then  took  them  to  the  place 
of  execution,  where,  much  to  their  sur- 
prise, they  recognised  the  body  of  the 
martyr.  They  ransomed  it  for  500 
golden  pence,  embalmed  it,  and  brought 
it  back  to  Rome.  Aglae  went  to  meet 
her  dead  friend  a  mile  out  of  Borne, 
on  the  Via  Latina,  where,  thanking 
God  for  His  mercy,  she  built  a  tomb 
to  his  memory,  and,  some  years  after- 
wards, a  chapel.  According  to  Hemans' 
Boman  Monuments,  the  church  was  on 
the  Aventine,  near  the  house  of  Aquila 
and  Prisciila.    The  dedication  of  St. 


Boniface  was  afterwards  changed  to  that 
of  the  young  pilgrim,  St.  Alexius.  Aglae 
renounced  the  world,  liberated  her  slaves, 
gave  her  goods  to  the  poor,  and  spent 
the  remaining  13  years  of  her  life 
in  devotion  and  penance,  accompanied 
only  by  two  or  three  women  who  had 
been  her  attendants,  and  who  remained 
with  her  after  her  conversion,  and 
adopted  her  altered  way  of  living.  She 
died  in  peace,  and  was  buried  beside 
St.  Boniface.  The  day  of  her  death  is 
supposed  to  be  May  8,  but  she  is 
generally  honoured  with  St.  Boniface  on 
the  14th.  Her  day  in  the  Greek  Church 
is  Dec.  19. 

Baillet  gives  the  story  from  the  Acts 
of  St.  Boniface,  which  he  says  are  ancient 
and  founded  on  fact,  but  not  authentic. 
Hensohenius,  in  a  note,  Feb.  25,  says  it 
is  possible  Aglae  lived  and  died,  not  at 
Borne,  but  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia. 

B.  Aglae  (2),  or  Aglaa,  Aug.  25, 
Dec.  19,  in  the  Greek  Calendar.  Nurse 
of  St.  Patricia  (4).  Nutrix,  perhaps, 
means  a  relation  or  governess  who 
brought  her  up.  (See  St.  Ammia.)  St. 
Aglay  built  a  church  and  oonvent  at  the 
tomb  of  St.  Patricia,  at  Naples;  there 
many  holy  women  took  the  veil,  and 
many  miraculous  cures  were  wrought. 
AA.SS.  in  the  Life  of  St.  Patricia. 

St.  Agliberte,  or  Ailbebt,  Aug.  11. 
Second  abbess  of  Jouarre. 

St.  Agna  (1),  May  18  (^Egina, 
Egena),  M.  at  Constantinople.  AA.SS. 

St.  Agna  (2),  July  5,  in  the  GraBCo- 
Slavonic  Calendar,  is  supposed  to  mean 
Anna  or  Agnes. 

St.  Agne,  Jan.  16.  A  mother,  and 
perhaps  a  martyr.  Her  name  is  in  a 
table  of  48  Russian  saints,  given  in 
the  introduction  to  vol.  i.  of  Bollandi 
Acta  SS.  Maii.  Her  name  is  one  of 
20,  marked  with  an  asterisk  to  denote 
that  it  is  not  known  whether  they 
were  Bussian,  or  only  adopted  into  the 
calendar  by  the  Russians.  She  may  be 
St.  Aone8,  -V.  M.,  Latin  Church,  Jan.  21, 
Greek  Church,  July  5;  or  she  may  be 
a  native  saint.  She  may  be  actually  a 
mother,  or  only  so  called,  in  accordance 
with  the  Russian  custom,  as  a  mark  of 
respect  and  affection. 

St.  Agnes  (1),  July  5,  of  Reggio,  in 


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26 


ST.  AGNES 


Calabria.  1st,  2nd,  or  3rd  century. 
Three  women,  Agnes,  Pbrpetua,  and 
Felicitas  are  commemorated  as  fellow- 
martyrs  with  the  bishops,  Stephen  and 
Suera,  who  were  put  to  death  for  their 
religion  at  Rhegium,  in  Calabria,  now 
(according  to  Graesse)  Sta.  Agata  delle 
Galline.  Janning,  the  Bollandist,  gives 
their  story,  but  does  not  seem  to  think 
it  authentic.  AA.SS. 

St.  Agnes  (2),  Jan.  21,  28,  July  5 
(Spanish,  Inez  or  Ynez  ;  in  some  Greek 
calendars,  Hagne),  V.  HI.  302,  303,  or 
304.  One  of  the  four  great  patronesses 
of  the  Western  Church.  Joint  patron 
with  the  Virgin  Mary  and  St.  Thecla, 
of  innocence  and  purity ;  special  patron 
of  meekness.  In  art,  her  attribute  is  a 
lamb,  the  emblem  of  meekness,  and 
typical  of  her  Divine  Master.  She  is 
sometimes  represented  attended  by  angels, 
who  cover  hor  with  her  own  hair ;  some- 
times standing  in  or  near  flames ;  in 
common  with  all  martyrs,  she  holds  a 
palm ;  and  often,  in  common  with  many, 
a  sword ;  sometimes  she  wears  a  crown. 

The  son  of  Sempronius,  prefect  of 
Borne,  observed  a  girl  of  12  or  13 
passing  daily  on  her  way  to  and 
from  school,  and  was  struck  with  her 
beauty  and  innocent  childlike  appear- 
ance. Having  ascertained  her  name  and 
parentage,  he  tried  to  win  her  favour  and 
that  of  her  family  by  gifts  and  other 
attentions,  all  of  which  were  declined. 
The  young  man  fell  ill,  and  in  time  con- 
fessed to  his  anxious  father  that  he  was 
dying  for  love  of  a  little  Christian  maiden 
who  would  have  nothing  to  say  to  him. 
The  prefect  did  not  doubt  that  Agnes' 
parents,  though  rich,  would  be  glad  to 
secure  for  her  so  advantageous  &  parti  as 
his  son.  Ho  endeavoured  to  arrange  the 
matter,  but  with  no  better  success.  He 
found,  moreover,  that  the  young  lady 
was  yowed,  from  childhood,  to  a  single 
life,  in  honour  and  for  love  of  her  Lord, 
Jesus  Christ,  the  God  of  the  Christians. 
He  therefore  ordered  that  she  should 
either  renounce  her  resolution  and  marry 
his  son,  or  join  the  sacred  virgins  who 
served  the  goddess  Vesta.  Agnes  replied 
that  she  would  never  serve  or  acknow- 
ledge any  god  or  goddess  but  Jesus 
Christ.  Diocletian  had  already  published 


his  famous  edict  for  the  suppression  of 
Christianity,  which  led  to  the  tenth,  the 
last  and  greatest,  general  persecution  of 
the  Church.  Sempronius  took  advantage 
of  the  law  to  gain  his  own  ends  or  satisfy 
his  vengeance.  Agnes — like  many  others 
whom  the  Church  honours  as  martyrs, 
many  more  whose  names  are  known  only 
to  God,  some  who  were  miraculously 
protected  from  insult,  and  some,  as  inno- 
cent in  heart  and  will,  whom  God  suffered 
to  pass  through  the  lowest  depths  of 
infamy — was  condemned  to  degradation. 
She  was  deprived  of  her  garments,  but 
was  clothed  with  a  miraculous  light,  so 
that  every  one  who  attempted  to  look  at 
her  was  struck  blind.  Her  hair  fell  all 
round  her  like  a  veil.  In  the  place  of 
infamy  to  which  she  was  taken  she  prayed 
for  Divine  protection,  and  was  provided 
with  a  white  robe  which  seemed  to  be 
brought  to  her  from  heaven.  Her  good- 
for-nothing  lover,  bent  on  continuing 
his  suit,  approached  her  with  words  of 
insult  and  with  wicked  intent,  but  fell 
down  dead,  and  was  only  restored  when 
the  young  martyr,  at  the  entreaty  of  his 
parents,  prayed  for  his  return  to  life. 
She  was  then  accused  of  sorcery  -and 
condemned  to  bo  burnt.  A  prayer  in 
a  service-book  of  tbe  Roman  Catholio 
Church  speaks  of  "  the  Blessed  Agnes 
standing  in  the  middle  of  the  flames 
like  a  ship  in  the  midst  of  the  sea, 
praying  and  stretching  out  her  hands 
to  God."  As  she  remained  unhurt  amid 
the  flames  till  they  went  out,  she  was 
beheaded. 

Such  is  the  legend  of  the  Western 
Church ;  that  of  the  East  says  that,  as 
by  her  instructions  she  converted  a 
great  many  wicked  women,  she  was  put 
to  torture,  and  then  condemned  to 
the  station  held  by  her  disciples  before 
their  conversion.  She  was  miraculously 
defended  from  evil,  and  finally  burnt  as 
a  sorceress. 

She  was  the  first  martyr  of  any 
celebrity  in  the  West,  as  St.  George  was 
the  first  in  the  East,  in  this  great  tenth 
persecution.  Her  name  is  in  the  Canon 
of  the  Mass.  She  ranks  next  to  the 
Virgin  Mary  among  women  honoured 
as  saints,  and  is  the  chief  of  virgin 
martyrs  in  the  Latin  Church.    She.  is 


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ST.  AGNES 


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one  of  the  few  saints  distinguished  in 
the  offices  of  the  ancient  Church  by  the 
title  "  Virgin,"  which  was  then  reserved 
almost  exclusively  for  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  though  in  later  times  it  was  be- 
stowed on  every  nun  or  young  girl  with 
any  claim  to  sanctity,  and  sometimes  even 
on  matrons  who  became  nuns  late  in  life. 

St.  Augustine  says  that  the  name 
"Agnes"  means  "chastity"  in  Greek, 
and  "  a  lamb  "  in  Latin ;  it  is  not  certain 
whether  she  bore  this  name  in  her  life, 
or  whether  it  was  given  to  her  after* 
wards.  Her  Acts  are  not  older  than  the 
7th  century;  but  she  was  honoured 
throughout  the  Christian  world  in  the 
same  century  in  which  her  martyrdom 
occurred.  She  is  mentioned  by  St. 
Jerome,  who  says  that  in  his  time  her 
praise  was  heard  in  all  languages ;  by 
St.  Augustine,  St.  Ambrose,  and  other 
writers  of  the  4tb  and  the  beginning  of 
the  5th  centuries.  Numbers  of  Christians 
used  to  resort  to  her  grave  to  pray, 
especially  on  the  anniversary  of  her 
martyrdom.  St.  Emerentiana,  who  is 
supposed  to  have  been  her  foster-sister, 
was  stoned  to  death  while  praying  at 
tho  tomb  of  Agnes,  which  was  near  the 
Via  Nomentana.  The  Christians  were 
sometimes  joined  by  heathens,  from 
motives  of  curiosity,  veneration,  or  super- 
stition ;  among  them  St.  Constantly, 
daughter  of  the  Emperor  Constantino, 
previous  to  her  conversion,  commended 
herself  to  the  mercy  of  St.  Agnes,  for 
the  cure  of  a  distressing  and  disfiguring 
disease.  As  she  immediately  recovered, 
she  became  a  Christian,  and  persuaded 
her  father  to  build  a  church  over  the 
grave  of  the  martyr.  There  sho  and 
several  other  women  devoted  themselves 
to  a  religious  life.  This  church  was  re- 
paired by  Pope  Honoriu8  in  the  7th 
century,  and  gives  title  to  a  cardinal. 
In  it  yearly,  on  her  festival,  two  lambs 
are  blessed  at  high  Mass ;  they  are  then 
taken  to  the  Pope  to  be  blessed  again, 
afterwards  they  are  consigned  to  certain 
nuns  who  make  palliums  of  their  wool ; 
these  are  blessed  by  the  Popo,  who  pre- 
sents them  to  archbishops.  Another 
large  church  was  built  by  Innocent  IX. 
on  the  site  of  her  death,  and  dedicated 
to  God  in  her  name.    Her  martyrdom 


is  commemorated  on  Jan.  21,  and  her 
appearance  in  glory  to  her  relations  and 
fellow-Christians  on  the  28th.  Inno- 
cent III.  made  St.  Agnes  the  first  patron 
of  the  new  Order  of  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity  for  the  Redemption  of  Captives. 
St.  Elisabeth  of  Schonau,  12th  century, 
known  by  her  visions  and  revelations, 
asserted  that  St.  Agnes  was  little  and 
plump,  and  had  red  cheeks  and  curly 
hair.  B.M.  tBolIandu8,-44.S&  Butler. 
Baillet.  Flos  Sanctorum.  Golden  Legend. 
Legendario  delle  Santissime  VerginL 
Menology  of  the  Emperor  Basil.  Cahier. 
Husenbeth.    Mrs.  Jameson. 

St  Agnes  (3),  Oct.  18,  V.  M.  with 
Victor  or  Victoria,  and  Bass  a,  at  Ostia 
or  Nicomedia.  Supposed  to  be  a  mistake 
for  the  great  St.  Agnes,  V.  M.  at  Borne* 
AA.SS. 

St.  Agnes  (4),  Aug.  28,  V.  M.  383. 
A  native  of  Britain,  of  royal  or  noblo 
birth.  One  of  the  companions  of  St. 
Ursula,  and  martyred  with  her  at 
Cologne.  The  French  Martyrology  says 
she  was  martyred  in  England,  whence 
her  relics  were  translated  to  Cologne. 
Both  accounts  are  probably  fabulous, 
the  story  of  St.  Ursula  being  enveloped 
in  mystery  and  improbability,  and  the 
story  of  the  11,000  martyred  virgins, 
offering  a  field  for  unlimited  specula- 
tion and  romance.  The  only  authority 
on  which  the  history  of  St.  Agnes  of 
Britain  rests  is  that  of  the  man  to  whom 
she  appeared  and  revealed  it.  Watson, 
English  Martyrology. 

St.  Agnes  (5).  There  is  a  dedica- 
tion in  Cornwall  always  written  St.  Agnes 
and  always  pronounced  St.  Anne.  Per- 
haps  to  this  saint  belongs  the  legend  in 
Dr.  Cobham  Brewer's  Reader's  Handbook. 
There  are,  in  the  rocks  on  the  coast, 
holes  communicating  with  the  sea.  A 
sort  of  ogre,  or  evil  spirit,  spoken  of  in 
that  region  as  a  "  Wrath,"  was  in  love 
with  St.  Agnes.  She  said  if  he  could 
fill  a  certain  one  of  these  holes  with  his 
blood,  she  might  regard  him  with  favour* 
He  began  at  once  to  bleed  himself,  and 
the  saint  encouraged  him  until  he  was 
dying  of  exhaustion,  and  then  pushed 
him  over  the  cliff. 

St.  Agnes  (6),  May  13.  V.  7th  cen- 
tury.   Abbess  at  Poitiers.   Patron  of 


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28 


B.  AGNES 


the  Trinitarians,  and  against  perils  at 
sea.  Brought  up  by  St.  Radegund, 
queen  of  France,  who  founded  the  abbey 
of  Ste.  Croix,  at  Poitiers,  and  gave  it 
the  rule  of  St.  Cesaria  ;  she  appointed 
Agnes  first  abbess  of  her  convent,  and 
went  with  her  to  Aries  to  be  instructed 
in  the  rule.  Radegund  died  a  nun  in 
the  same  convent  in  687,  leaving  to  it  a 
large  endowment  by  a  will,  in  which 
Agnes  is  mentioned.  The  existence  of 
these  two  saints  within  their  "  narrowing 
nunnery  walls"  was  enlivened  by  the 
friendship  and  sympathy  of  a  poet  whose 
works  have  come  down  to  us.  Yenantius 
Fortunatus,  the  last  Latin  poet  of  Gaul, 
was  for  many  years  an  inmate  of  the 
monastery  of  Ste.  Croix.  After  visiting 
the  kings  and  bishops  of  France,  he 
came  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  widowed 
queen  Radegund,  stepmother  of  the 
kings,  and  was  so  charmed  with  the 
amiable  and  intellectual  society  and 
the  superior  cultivation  of  the  sisterhood, 
that  he  stayed  there  as  chaplain  and 
almoner  till  the  death  of  St.  Radegund. 
The  queen  often  sent  him  on  important 
missions  to  various  personages,  and  thus 
the  community  were  kept  informed  and 
interested  concerning  what  was  going  on 
in  other  places.  He  managed  the  ex- 
ternal business  of  the  nuns,  and  took 
part  in  their  occupations.  They  read 
and  transcribed  books,  they  acted  plays, 
they  received  visitors,  they  had  little 
feasts  on  birthdays.  Fortunatus  made 
himself  agreeable  to  them  as  he  had 
done  to  saintly  bishops  and  half-civilized 
kings;  and  he  found  their  house  an 
oasis  of  peace  and  refinement  in  a  desert 
of  barbarism.  His  writings  describe 
the  convent  life  and  the  food,  in  which 
he  seems  to  have  been  a  connoisseur. 
He  takes  Christ  to  witness  that  his 
affection  for  Agnes  was  that  of  a  brother. 
Among  his  poems  are  two  hymns  adopted 
by  the  Church  —  Pange,  lingua  and 
Vexilla  Begis.  He  wrote  a  Life  of  St. 
Badegund,  which,  as  well  as  another  by 
one  of  her  nuns,  is  preserved  by  the 
Bollandists.  He  was  born  in  Italy 
about  530,  and  died  bishop  of  Poitiers 
early  in  the  7th  century.  SS.  Radegund 
and  Agnes  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble 
with    two    very   naughty  princesses, 


Chrodielde  and  Basine  {see  Audovera), 
who  were  placed  under  their  care,  and 
who,  after  the  doath  of  these  first  rulers 
of  Ste.  Croix,  rebelled  against  Ludovera, 
the  next  abbess,  one  of  them  demand- 
ing that  office  as  a  king's  daughter, 
though  utterly  unqualified  for  the  post. 
A  great  scandal  ensued ;  bishops  and 
kings  had  to  interfere  before  the  re- 
fractory ladies  were  removed,  to  the 
great  relief  of  Ludovera  and  the  good 
nuns.  AA.SS.  Boll.,  Aug.  13.  St.  Rade- 
gund is  in  all  the  collections,  and  St. 
Agnes  is  always  mentioned  in  her  story. 
Nouvelle  Biographie  Universelle,  "  For- 
natus."  Diet,  of  Christian  Biog.,  "  Rha- 
degundis"  and  "  Fortunatus."  Thierry, 
Becits  Merovingiens. 

B.  Agnes  (7),  Dec.  23.  Called 
Agnes  Augusta  and  Agnes  of  Aquitaine 
or  of  Poitiers,  f  1077.  O.S.B.  Daugh- 
ter of  William,  dnke  of  Aquitaine. 
Second  wife  of  Henry  III.  (the  Black), 
king  of  Germany,  Emperor.  Mother  of 
Henry  IV.  Grandmother  of  B.  Agnes, 
marchioness  of  Austria.  The  dukes  of 
Aquitaine  were  the  most  powerful  vas- 
sals of  the  crown  of  France,  and  very 
rich.  An  alliance  with  them  was  as 
advantageous  as  one  with  the  house  of 
Capet;  and  there  was  more  refinement 
and  culture  at  their  court  than  at  that 
of  the  king.  Agnes's  father  was  dis- 
tinguished among  the  princes  of  his 
time,  no  less  by  his  virtues  and  intel- 
lectual tastes  and  accomplishments,  than 
for  his  territorial  wealth  and  other  ad- 
vantages. He  had  been  dead  some  years 
when,  in  1043,  Agnes  married  Henry, 
king  of  Germany.  When  first  the  pro- 
ject of  Henry's  marriage  was  known  in 
Germany,  many  good  people  objected, 
fearing  that  a  queen  from  France,  and 
from  a  court  where  modern  fashions 
prevailed,  would  be  less  circumspect  and 
dignified  than  the  first  lady  in  Germany 
ought  to  be ;  and  would  introduce  ex- 
travagant and  unseemly  customs  and 
modes  of  dress;  but  this  fear  soon 
proved  groundless:  nothing  could  be 
more  modest,  amiable,  sincerely  con- 
scientious, and  religious,  than  the  cha- 
racter and  behaviour  of  the  young  queen. 
She  was  crowned  at  Maintz,  and  her 
first  home  in  Germany  was  Ingelheim. 


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B.  AGNES 


29 


On  Christmas  Day,  1046,  Henry  and 
Agnes  were  crowned  Emperor  and  Em- 
press, by  Clement  II.,  in  St.  Peter's 
Chnrch  at  Rome. 

Both  as  a  man  and  as  a  king  Henry 
III.  was  of  "  the  salt  of  tho  earth."  He 
ruled  with  a  strong  hand,  and  under  his 
sway  the  empire  attained  its  highest 
greatness.  In  1048,  Leo  IX.  became 
Pope,  and  in  him  Henry  found  a  hearty 
fellow- worker  in  the  field  of  reform. 
Had  Leo  and  Henry  lived  for  ever,  or 
had  they  even  reigned  30  years,  what 
might  not  such  a  Pope  and  such  an  Em- 
peror have  effected  I  They  did  accomplish 
and  roforra  a  great  deal  in  the  nearly 
five  years  of  their  contemporary  reigns. 

One  of  the  dangers  to  the  peace  of 
Europe  was  the  power  of  the  Countess 
Beatrice  of  Tuscany,  whose  second  hus- 
band, the  duke  of  Lorraine,  was  a  some- 
what troublesome  vassal  of  the  empire. 
It  was  partly  to  set  a  balance  to  the 
power  of  Beatrice,  that  Henry  sought  a 
new  alliance  with  another  powerful 
woman,  B.  Adelaide  of  Susa.    She  was 
already  connected  with  the  imperial 
house  by  her  first  marriage,  and  in  1055 
Henry  betrothed  his  son  Henry,  aged 
five,  to  Bertha,  her  daughter  by  her  third 
husband,  Odo,  margrave  of  Turin  and 
count  of  Savoy.    The  next  year,  Victor 
II.,  another  reforming  Pope,  came  to  pay 
a  visit  to  the  Emperor  at  Goslar,  and 
went  with  him  to  Bodfeld,  his  hunting- 
castle  in  the  Hartz.    There,  to  the  grief 
of  tho  world,  Henry,  not  yet  in  his  40th 
year,  left  all  his  good  deeds  and  great 
projects  unfulfilled  and  unfinished :  he 
died  Oct.  5,  105G,  and  was  buried  at 
Speier,  beside  his  father  and  mother. 
Pope  Victor  took  the  child  Henry  im- 
mediately to  Aachen  (Aix-la-Chapelle), 
and  crowned  him.    Agnes  was  regent. 
Probably  no  woman  could  have  taken 
firm  hold  of  the  reins  laid  down  by 
Henry  III.    The  widowed  empress  was 
quite  unfit  for  the  task ;  she  had  neither 
the  energy  nor  the  ability  to  rule  a  great 
empire  consisting  of  separate  states  and 
powerful  vassals,  always  rivals  to  each 
other  and  sometimes  to  the  supreme 
power.    She  had  not  the  discernment  to 
choose  her  friends  and  ministers  wisely  ; 
she  listened  now  to  one  adviser  and  now 


to  another.    She  had  no  ambition  for 
herself,  and  only  longed  to  escape  from 
the  cares  and  pomps  of  the  world  and 
retire  to  a  monastery.    She  tried  to 
bring  up  her  son  properly,  but  it  was 
the  interest  of  some  unprincipled  per- 
sons to  deprave  his  tastes  and  frustrate 
her  good  intentions  towards  him,  as  well 
as  to  stultify  her  efforts  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country.    Anno,  archbishop 
of  Cologne,  was  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful and  unscrupulous  of    the  many 
troublesome  magnates  who  strove  for 
the  chief  power  in  the  empire  ;  he  deter- 
mined to  further  his  own  importance  and 
influence  by  obtaining  the  custody  of 
the  young  king.    He  went  to  pay  his 
respects  to  the  empress  and  her  son 
at  a   place  now  called  Eaiserswerth 
on  the  Bhine,  where  they  were  staying 
with  a  small  retinue.    He  was  hospit- 
ably welcomed  and  entertained,  and 
spared  no  effort  to  make  himself  agree- 
able to  the  young  king;  he  told  him 
he  had  come  down  the  river  in  his  new 
barge,  which  was  beautifully  fitted  up 
for  a  pleasure  trip,  and  suggested  that 
Henry  should  come  and  see  it  where  it 
lay  below  the  palace.    The  boy  gladly 
went.    He  was  no  sooner  on  board  than 
the  rowers,  who  had  been  well  instructed 
in  the  plot,  struck  the  water  with  their 
oars  and  pulled  with  all  their  strength 
and  speed  up  the  stream.   Henry  was 
dismayed  and  angry.    He  threw  himself 
into  the  river,  but  one  of  the  bishop's 
men  jumped  into  the  water  and  rescued 
him  at  the  risk  of  his  own  life.  The 
people  on  shore  were  very  indignant 
at  Anno's    treachery.    The  empress 
wept  and  wrung  her  hands,  but  did  not 
know  what  to  do,  and  after  a  time  ac- 
quiesced in  the  state  of  things.  Anno 
shamefully  neglected  the  education  of 
the  boy,  furnished  him  with  frivolous 
and  debasing  amusements,  allowed  his 
abilities  to  run  to  waste,  and  suffered 
him  to  acquire  habits  of  self-indulgence, 
and  to  give  way  to  bursts  of  fury.  In 
1065,  when  Henry  was  15,  the  ceremony 
of  girding  him  with  a  sword  was  held 
at  Worms.    That  sword  he  would  have* 
used  for  the  first  time  to  kill  his  detested 
guardian,  had  not  his  mother  restrained 
him.   Some  other  incidents  of  his  life 


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B.  AGNES 


are  told  in  the  account  of  his  mother-in- 
law,  B.  Adelaide  of  Susa. 

It  was  probably  between  the  years 
1065  and  1069  that  Agnes  left  Germany; 
and  took  the  veil  without  tows  at  Fru- 
•dolle  or  Fructuaria,  a  Benedictine  mon- 
'  astery  near  Turin.  From  there  she 
went  to  Rome,  and  lived  at  the  church 
of  St.  Petronilla.  She  made  a  general 
confession  to  St.  Peter  Damiani,  and 
had  him  thenceforth  for  her  spiritual 
adviser.  She  had  a  great  regard  for 
Pope  Gregory  VII.,  an  esteem  which  he 
reciprocated,  but,  much  to  her  grief,  her 
son  was  constantly  in  opposition  to  him. 
In  1074  the  Pope  had  a  plan  to  go  in 
person  and  bring  the  Eastern  Church 
into  his  own  fold.  He  proposed  that 
the  Empress  Agnes  and  the  Countess 
Matilda  should  accompany  him,  as  pil- 
grims, on  this  pious  expedition,  saying 
he  would  gladly  lay  down  his  life  for 
Christ  with  these  holy  women  by  his 
aide,  assured  of  meeting  them  again  in 
oternal  bliss.  Agnes  made  many  at- 
tempts to  effect  a  reconciliation  between 
her  son  and  the  Pope,  but  all  her  efforts 
were  futile,  and  she  was  present  at  a 
•council  in  the  Lateran  at  Borne,  Feb. 
21,  1076,  in  which  Gregory  pronounced 
the  ban  of  the  Church  against  Henry, 
and  loosed  his  subjects  from  their  alle- 
giance to  him.  This  led  to  his  humili- 
ating expedition  to  Canossa  in  January, 
1077.  (See  Adelaide  of  Susa.)  Towards 
the  end  of  that  year  Agnes  died  at 
Borne.  An  old  Italian  sermon  says  that 
St.  Agnes  Augusta  never  visited  any 
church  except  in  a  dress  of  plain  linen 
and  common  serge.  Stephens,  Hilde- 
brand.  Giesebrecht,  DeuUchlands  Kai- 
serzeit.  Wion,  Lignum  Vitce,  who  calls 
her  "Saint."  Lechner,  Mart,  des  Ben. 
Ordens. 

B.  Agnes  (8),  Feb.  10,  V.  f  110°- 
Abbess  of  Bagnarea  (Balnei),  in  Italy. 
Of  the  order  of  Camaldoli,  a  native  of 
Sarsina,  "  the  dignity  of  whose  merits," 
Bucelinus  says,  "  is  shown  to  us  by  God 
unto  this  day,  for  on  her  festival  the 
waters  of  the  baths  emit  an  unusual 
light  and  increase  wonderfully  in  quan- 
tity." She  rests  in  the  church  at  Castri 
Pereti  Parva,  where  she  has  an  altar. 
Bucelinus.  Wion. 


B.  Agnes  (9),  Nov.  15,  Marchioness 
of  Austria.  Founder  of  Klosterneuburg. 
Daughter  of  Henry  IV.,  emperor  of  Ger- 
many. Granddaughter  of  B.  Agnes,  em-r 
press.  Sister  of  Henry  V.  Married,  first, 
Frederic,  duke  of  Swabia,  by  whom  she 
was  the  mother  of  Conrad,  emperor,  and 
of  Frederick,  father  of  Frederick  Barba- 
rossa;  secondly,  in  1106,  she  married 
Leopold  III.,  sixth  marquis  of  Austria, 
saint  and  confessor,  surnamed  the  Pious, 
who  succeeded  his  father  in  1096.  Of 
this  marriago  there  were  18  children, 
seven  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  and 
all  the  rest  were  distinguished  by  great 
deeds  and  virtuous  lives.  Leopold, 
the  second  son,  succeeded  his  father  as 
marquis  of  Austria,  and  was  duke  of 
Bavaria.  Otho,  the  fifth  son,  abbot  of 
Morimond  and  bishop  of  Frisingen, 
wrote  a  famous  chronicle  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world,  besides  other  books.  • 

Agnes  took  part  in  all  her  husband's 
good  works.  They  read  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures together,  and  used  to  rise  at 
midnight  to  perform  the  devotions  pre- 
scribed by  the  Church.  They  desired 
to  watch  continually  at  the  foot  of  the 
altar,  but  being  obliged  by  their  station 
to  attend  to  other  duties,  they  determined 
to  build  a  church  and  monastery  at 
Klosterneuburg,  a  few  miles  from  Vienna, 
where  canons  should  attend  day  and 
night  to  this  duty  in  their  stead.  While 
they  were  in  doubt  where  to  build  the 
monastery,  they  were  riding  along  on  a 
perfectly  still  day,  when  a  sudden  gust 
of  wind  flew  away  with  a  little  flame- 
coloured  veil  that  Agnes  was  wearing; 
nine  years  afterwards  Leopold  found  it 
in  perfect  preservation  on  an  elder  bush. 
They  took  this  as  an  indication  of  the 
spot  on  which  their  monastery  should 
be  built.  (Perz.,  1.  616.)  They  also 
founded  the  Cistercian  monastery  of  the 
Holy  Cross  near  Kalnperg,  where  they 
lived,  12  miles  from  Vienna. 

After  a  glorious  and  happy  reign  of 
40  years,  Leopold  died  Nov.  15,  1136, 
and  was  buried  in  his  monastery  of 
Klosterneuburg.  This  is  the  oldest 
and  richest  chapter  (Chorherrenstift)  in 
Austria;  it  owns  a  great  part  of  the 
country  around  Vienna.  Gyneceeum. 
Butler,  Life  of  St.  Leopold. 


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ST.  AGNES 


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B.  Agnes  (10),  March  31,  of  Braine, 
•f  1145  or  1149.  Wife  of  Andrew, 
count  of  Baudemonfc,  lord  of  Braine,  and 
seneschal  of  Champagne.  They  were  so 
pious  and  charitable  that  their  house 
was  like  a  hospice.  Agnes  employed 
her  servants  to  serve  the  poor,  and,  when 
they  required  rest,  performed  the  work 
herself.  With  the  consent  of  her  husband 
and  children,  she  gave  estates  and  ronts 
to  certain  churches  and  monasteries  of 
the  Premonstratensians.  She  took  the 
veil  in  that  order  in  1133.  Count 
Andrew  became  a  monk  of  the  Order  of 
Clairvaux,  and  is  mentioned  in  a  letter 
of  St  Bernard  (No.  226)  to  King  Louis 
VII.  of  France. 

It  is  a  disputed  point  whether  the 
monastery  of  St.  Evode  (Euodius),  at 
Braine,  was  founded  by  B.  Agnes  or 
by  her  granddaughter  Agnes,  who  was 
married  to  Robert,  count  of  Dreux, 
brother  of  Louis  VII.  Guy,  son  of  the. 
elder  and  father  of  the  younger  Agnes, 
became  a  lay-brother  there,  and  is 
counted  among  the  Beati  of  the  Pro- 
monstratensian  Order.  Le  Paige,  Bibl. 
Prma.  Ord.,  lib.  i.  340,  and  lib.  ii.  480. 
Boll.,  AA.  SS.  She  is  called  "  Saint  " 
by  some  writers,  "  Blessed  "  by  others ; 
but  by  Saussaye,  Mart.  Gall.,  and 
Gelenius,  only  "Venerable"  and 
"  Pious." 

B.  Agnes  (11),  March  28.  Middle  of 
12th  century.  OfChatillon.  Called  by 
Bucelinus  Agnes  de  Satillon,  and  by 
Guerin  Agnes  du  Catillon.  Cistercian 
nun  at  Beau  Pre,  near  Tournay  in  Bel- 
gium, where  she  was  sub-prioress,  and 
afterwards  mistress  of  the  novices.  Boll., 
AA.SS.  Henriquez,  Lilia  Cutercii. 
Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 

St.  Agnes  (12),  Sept.  1.  Middle  of 
12th  century.  Of  Venosa,  or  Venusia. 
Abbess.  Penitent. 

St.  William  of  Monte  Vergine  was  a 
monk  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  and 
founder  of  tho  Hermits  of  Monte  Ver- 
gine, and  of  several  houses  of  that  order. 
When  Boger,  the  young  Norman  king 
of  Sicily,  came  into  Apulia,  which  was 
part  of  his  dominions,  William  preached 
before  him  and  his  courtiers ;  the  king 
listened  attentively,  but  entertained  some 
doubts  of  the  sincerity  of  the  man  who 


set  up  a  higher  standard  of  virtue  than 
others ;  but  Count  George,  tho  king's 
admiral,  was  enchanted  with  William, 
and  regarded  him  as  a  holy  prophet. 
When  the  proachor  had  taken  leave  of 
the  king  and  his  friends,  and  returned 
to  his  lodging,  a  wicked  woman  named 
Agnes  came  to  them,  and  said  she  would 
show  them  what  a  hypocrite  William 
was.  George  was  vexed,  but  the  king 
laughed,  and  promised  her  an  immense 
reward  if  she  could  6educe  William. 
She  wont  to  the  inn  where  he  was  stay- 
ing, and  talked  to  him,  and  then  came 
and  told  the  king  she  had  not  had  any 
difficulty  in  persuading  him  to  make  an 
assignation  for  the  same  night,  and  that 
he  had  even  made  her  promise  to  sleep 
in  the  very  bed  that  he  would,  in  the 
mean  time,  prepare  for  himsolf.  George 
boldly  said  he  believed  the  woman  was 
telling  a  lie.  She  laughed  and  said  he 
should  soon  see  that  it  was  true.  Wagers 
were  made  on  both  sides,  and  it  ' was 
arranged  that  some  of  the  courtiers 
should  be  concealed  in  the  room  and 
should  hear  all  that  happened.  William 
got  his  companions  to  collect  quantities 
of  wood  and  make  a  huge  fire.  At  the 
appointed  hour  Agnes  arrived,  beauti- 
fully dressed  and  perfumed ;  he  met  her 
at  the  door,  and  she  said, "  Where  is  your 
room,  that  I  may  be  alono  with  you  ?  " 
He  answered,  44  In  the  name  of  God,  I 
will  show  you  my  room  and  my  bed." 
Soon  the  woman,  fearing  she  was  making 
no  impression  upon  him,  and  knowing 
that  her  reward  depended  on  her  com- 
plete success,  said,  44 1  think  you  forget 
what  I  have  come  here  for."  It  was  a 
cold  night,  and  there  was  a  large  fire 
on  the  hearth.  William  raked  all  the 
burning  wood  out  of  the  fire-place  into 
the  middle  of  the  floor,  and  carefully 
arranged  it  so  as  to  form  a  broad  layer 
of  fire.  On  this  he  lay  down,  and 
beckoning  to  his  temptress,  he  said, 
44  Come,  here  is  your  place,  you  engaged 
to  lie  down  beside  me;  there  is  room 
for  you :  here  is  your  place."  She  was 
frightened,  so  he  went  on  to  say,  44  You 
cannot  be  afraid  of  a  little  fire !  This 
fire  will  soon  be  burnt  out,  but  you  are 
going  straight  to  where  the  fire  is  never 
quenched.    Perhaps  you  want  to  know 


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B.  AGNES 


•what  burning  feels  like  :  come  here  and 
try  a  little  of  it"  While  his  burning 
clothes  and  flesh  proved  his  sincerity, 
he  went  on  talking  so  earnestly  and  so 
persuasively,  that  Agnes  was  first  ter- 
rified at  tho  judgments  in  store  for  her ; 
then,  horrified  at  her  evil  life,  she 
resolved  to  forsake  it.  She  went  and 
told  the  king  what  had  happened,  and 
that  she  wished  now  to  be  converted. 
Next  morning  the  repentant  courtiers 
confessed  to  him  that  they  had  been 
jealous  of  William's  influenco,  and  had 
set  this  snare  for  him.  Soon  afterwards, 
when  William  camo  again  to  preach  to 
the  court,  Eoger  and  George  ran  to 
meet  him,  and  knelt  at  his  feet  William 
taught  Agnes  to  pray  for  true  penitence, 
and  when,  some  years  later  (1123),  he 
founded  his  great  double  monastery  at 
Guleto  (afterwards  called  St.  William's), 
near  Nuscum,  in  Apulia,  she  became  a 
nun  in  it.  She  sold  all  that  she  had,  and 
with  the  proceeds  he  built  a  nunnery  at 
Yenosa,  and  here  Agnes  seems  to  have 
eventually  become  abbess.  When  Wil- 
liam felt  the  approach  of  death  he  gave 
his  parting  advice  and  blessing  to  the 
monks  of  Monte  Vergine,  and  then  to 
the  nuns,  and  died  in  the  house  of  the 
latter,  in  1142.  St.  Agnes  erected  a 
marble  tomb  over  him  in  her  church. 
The  story  is  told  by  Pinius  the  Bollan- 
dist,  in  the  Life  of  St.  William,  pp.  113, 
128, 131,  June  25.  AA.SS.  She  is  not 
there  called  a  saint,  but  is  so  called  in 
the  Analecta  Juris  Pontificih  vol.  iii. 
p.  523.  Her  name  is  also  in  Ferrarius' 
Calendar,  Sept.  1. 

It  has  been  conjectured  that  she  is 
the  same  as  the  Benedictine  abbess  who 
died  at  Borne,  but  the  date  of  the  latter 
is  considerably  later. 

B.  Agnes  (13),  Feb.  21,  V.  f  1186- 
Cistercian  nun  at  Nuitz  (Nonessium), 
in  Germany.  Her  soul  was  seen  by  her 
twin  sister,  St.  Hildegund,  carried  to 
heaven  by  angels  with  celestial  music. 
Henriquez,  LUia  Cist  Monstier,  Gyne- 
cseum.  Boll.,  AA.SS,  says  she  is  not 
worshipped. 

B.  Agnes  (14),  June  14  or  15,  V. 
Early  in  13th  century.  Cistercian  nun  at 
Barney,  in  Brabant.  B.  Ida  op  Nivelle 
saw  a  place  prepared  in  heaven  for 


Agnes  long  before  her  death.  Buce- 
linus.    Henriquez.  Monstier. 

B.  Agnes  (15),  Jan.  21,  April  5. 
13th  century.  Of  Liege.  O.S.B.  Nun 
of  the  Cistercian  convent  of  Mont  Cor- 
nillon,  near  Liege,  under  her  younger 
sister,  B.  Juliana.  Boll.,  AA.SS.  Hen- 
riquez. Bucelinus. 

B.  Agnes  (16),  Sept.  1.  J  1241. 
O.S.B.  Abbess.  Illustrious  for  miracles. 
Died  at  Borne,  and  was  buried  in  the 
church  of  St.  Agnes  (2)  there.  This* 
is  perhaps  the  same  as  St.  Agnes  (12), 
abbess  of  Venosa ;  if  so,  there  is  a  mis- 
take of  a  century  in  the  date.  Pinius, 
the  Bollandist,  thinks  they  aro  not  tho 
same,  but  throws  no  light  on  this  one. 
AA.SS.    Wion,  Lignum  Vitse. 

St.  Agnes  (17)  of  Assisi,  Nov.  16. 
■f  1253.  When  her  sister,  St.  Clara,  had 
been  placed,  by  St.  Francis,  in  the  Bene- 
dictine convent  of  St.  Angelo  de  Panso, 
near  Aesisi,  Agnes,  then  about  14,  who 
was  the  object  of  her  strongest  human 
affection,  and  whose  company  in  her 
retreat  she  asked  of  God,  went  to  her 
and  said  she  would  stay  with  her,  and 
follow  her  example  and  advice.  Their 
relatives  were  very  angry,  and  twelve  of 
them  came  to  take  Agnes  away  by  force. 
She  appealed  to  her  sister  not  to  allow 
her  to  be  carried  off.  Clara  prayed  that 
this  violence  might  be  prevented,  and 
when  they  had  gone  a  little  way  down  the 
hill  on  which  the  convent  stood,  the  little 
Agnes  became  so  heavy  that  the  twelve 
persons  who  were  conducting  her  were 
unable  to  lift  her  across  a  narrow  brook, 
although  they  called  some  labourers  to 
their  assistance.  Her  nncle  Monaldi, 
who  was  of  the  party,  was  so  enraged 
that  he  drew  his  sword,  and  would  have 
stabbed  her,  but  his  hand  became  power- 
less, and  he  could  neither  strike  with 
the  weapon  nor  put  it  back  into  the 
scabbard.  Clara  now  appeared  amongst 
them,  and  was  allowed  to  take  her  sister 
back  to  the  convent:  this  was  in  1212. 
Very  soon  afterwards  they  both  removed 
thence  to  the  church  of  St.  Damian,  the 
third  of  those  repaired  by,  St.  Francis. 
It  became  the  first  great  convent  of 
Franciscan  or  Clarissan  nuns.  The  fol- 
lowing year  they  had  several  disciples, 
of  whom  the  first  were  BB.  Pacifica, 


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ST.  AGNES 


33 


Amata,  niece  of  Clara,  Chbistina  (10), 
Frances  (3),  Benvenuta,  and  Agnes 
Bernabdi.  In  1221  St.  Francis  appointed 
Agnes  superior  of  the  new  community 
of  Monticelli,  at  Florence.  She  returned 
to  Assisi,  was  present  at  the  death  of 
St.  Clara  in  1253,  and  died  the  same 
year  at  the  age  of  55.  Mrs.  Oliphant, 
Francis  of  Assisi  Helyot,  Ordres  Mon- 
astiques,  vii.   25.     Cron.   Serafica,  ii. 

A.  R.M.  Mart.  Seraph.  Ord.  and  Ord. 
Capuccinorum.    Her  life  will  be  given 
by  the  Bollandists  when  their  calendar 
•comes  down  to  Nov.  10. 

B.  Agnes  (is)  Peranda,  Sept.  17, 
Feb.  28.  fl281.  Abbess  of  Barce- 
lona. O.S.F.  Niece  of  St.  Clara,  sent 
by  her  to  establish  a  Franciscan  convent 
at  Barcelona.  Agnes  was  accompanied 
by  her  niece,  B.  Clara,  who  is  com- 
memorated with  her.  Tho  convent  was 
first  inhabited  about  1233;  aud  Agnes 
presided  over  it  for  48  years.  Clara  did 
not  long  survive  her,  and  their  bodies 
were  solemnly  translated  by  the  bishop 
and  six  Benedictine  abbots,  Feb.  28. 
Monstier,  Gynecseum,  does  not  say  how 
long  after  their  deaths  this  ceremony 
took  place,  but  mentions  that  Alfonso 
Colona  was  the  name  of  the  bishop.  Her 
life  is  in  the  Cronica  Seraphica,  vol.  ii. 
Boll.,  AA.SS.  Prseter.,  Sept.  17,  Feb.  28. 

B.  Agnes  (19)  Bernardi,  March  3. 
Daughter  of  Opportulus  Bernardi.  A 
nun  who  spent  her  life  in  the  convent 
at  Assisi,  being  placed  there  in  her 
childhood,  under  St.  Clara  (2).  Ctyne- 
cwum. 

B.  Agnes  (20)  of  Bohemia,  June  7. 
Aunt  of  the  more  famous  sainted  prin- 
cess of  the  same  name.  Daughter  of  Wen- 
zel  or  Wladislaus  II.,  duke  of  Bohemia. 
Sister  of  Premysl  Ottokar  I.,  first  king 
of  Bohemia  (1198-1230).  Sister  of  St. 
Angela.  Abbess  of  St.  George's  at 
Prague,  which  she  restored.  Procured 
from  the  king,  her  brother,  some  privi- 
leges for  her  monastery.    Buried  near 

B.  Mlada,  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Anna,  in 
the  monastery  of  St  George.  She  was 
a  professed  sister  of  the  Premonstra- 
tensian  Order,  and  is  worshipped  as  a 
saint  at  Prague,  but  not  throughout  the 
Church.  Bucelinus,  Epitome  rerum  Bo- 
hemicarum.     Chanowski,  Bohemia  pia. 


Palacky,  Geschicht  von  Bbhmen.  AA.SS. 
Boll.  Preeter.,  June  7.  Wadding,  in  his 
Annates. 

There  seems  to  be  an  Agues  in  every 
generation  of  the  royal  and  ducal  house 
of  Bohemia.  Many  of  them  were  holy 
nuns,  and  some  are  occasionally  con- 
founded with  the  two  above  named,  to 
the  multiplication  of  saints  and  of 
miracles. 

St.  Agnes  (21)  of  Bohemia,  March  6. 
1205-1282.  Patron  of  Bohomia.  Prin- 
cess. Franciscan  nun.  Sometimes  re- 
presented with  a  basket  of  bread  beside 
her ;  sometimes  with  the  Saviour  taking 
a  crown  from  her  head  and  replacing  it 
with  a  better  one.  Daughter  of  Premysl 
Ottokar  I.,  first  king  of  Bohemia  (1198- 
1230),  by  his  second  wife  Constance, 
sister  of  King  Andrew  of  Hungary. 
Agnes  was  sister  of  B.  Anna,  duchess  of 
Breslau  and  half-sister  of  St.  Abdela. 
First  cousin  of  St.  Elizabeth  op  Hun- 
gary. Niece  of  the  other  holy  Princess 
Agnes  of  Bohemia.  She  was  born  Jan. 
20,  1205,  in  the  Bysehrad  or  Wishegrad, 
at  Prague  Before  her  birth  her  mother 
saw  in  a  dream  a  coarse,  ragged,  grey 
gown  under  her  gold-embroidered  robes 
of  state,  and  thought  her  dream  meant 
that  her  child  should  one  day  wear  such 
a  garment.  At  three  years  old  Agnes 
was  betrothed  to  Henry  Boleslaus,  eldest 
son  of  the  Duke  of  Silesia  and  the  holy 
duchess  St.  Hedwig;  she  was  sent  to 
his  country  to  be  brought  up  in  its 
language  and  manners.  At  the  death 
of  her  fiance",  when  she  was  only  six,  she 
was  taken  back  to  her  parents,  who 
entrusted  her  education  to  the  nuns  of 
the  Premonstratensian  cloister  of  Dozan. 
After  the  lapse  of  a  few  years  she  was 
betrothed  to  Henry,  son  of  the  Emperor 
Frederick  II. ;  but,  by  some  strange 
fatality,  tho  name  of  the  bride  was 
omitted  from  the  contract  of  betrothal, 
which  seemed  to  some  persons  unlucky, 
to  others  a  sign  that  a  still  higher 
alliance  was  the  destiny  of  the  young 
princess.  She  was  now  sent  to  Vienna 
to  learn  German  and  finish  her  educa- 
tion at  the  court  of  her  future  husband. 
Here  she  spent  moro  time  in  works  of, 
piety  and  charity  than  in  the  pomps  and 
gaieties  of  the  court,  fasting  strictly  on 

D 


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ST.  AGNES 


broad  and  wine  during  the  whole  of 
Advent,  though  her  companions  took 
eggs  and  milk,  which  were  allowed  by 
the  clergy.  She  visited  and  relieved 
the  poor,  but  escaped  all  praise  of  men 
by  keeping  these  charitable  expeditions 
secret,  except  from  her  governess  and  a 
few  confidential  friends  and  companions. 
Meantime  her  marriage  was  put  off  again 
and  again,  on  ono  ground  or  another,  and 
finally  broken  off  for  political  reasons, 
so  she  returned  to  Bohemia,  and  Henry 
married  the  Austrian  duchess  Margaret. 

After  this  Agnes  was  sought  in  mar- 
riage by  two  great  kings:  one  was 
Frederick  II.,  the  widowed  father  of  her 
former  fiancd;  the  other  was  Henry  III. 
of  England.  The  Emperor's  ambassador 
dreamt  that  he  saw  Agnes  standing  on 
clouds;  that  she  had  on  a  small,  dim 
-crown;  and  that  this  was  taken  from 
her  head,  and  replaced  by  a  larger  and 
more  brilliant  one.  This  he  interpreted 
to  his  own  advantage,  supposing  that  his 
sovereign  would  be  preferred  to  the  king 
of  England. 

Premysl  Ottokar  died  1230,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son,  Agnes's  brother, 
Wenzel  III.  From  this  time  Agnes 
made  it  her  custom  to  go  out  every 
morning  before  daybreak,  disguised,  and 
accompanied  by  a  few  of  her  most  in- 
timate companions,  to  visit  several 
churches  and  honour  holy  relics,  though 
her  feet  were  bleeding  from  the  excessive 
cold.  After  this  she  used  to  come  home 
and  warm  herself,  and  attend  Mass  in 
the  nearest  church  in  her  robes  of  state, 
And  accompanied  by  her  court  ladies. 
Her  bed  was  covered  with  splendid  quilts, 
and  furnished  with  soft  pillows ;  but  it 
was  all  for  show, — she  slept  on  a  hard 
little  pallet. 

King  Wenzel  favoured  the  suit  of  the 
Emperor.  Agues,  seeing  that  she  would 
have  to  be  his  wife  if  she  did  not  make 
an  effort  for  her  liberty,  addressed  her- 
self to  Pope  Gregory  IX.,  praying  him 
to  save  her  from  the  yoke  of  marriage, 
as  she  had  betrothed  herself  to  Christ 
the  Lord.  The  holy  Father  took  the 
pious  princess  under  his  protection,  and 
wrote  to  the  king  of  Bohemia  on  the 
subject.  Wenzel  loved  his  sister  Agnes 
better  than  any  other  person  or  thing 


on  earth,  and  admired  and  trusted  her 
absolutely.  When  he  received  the  Pope's 
letter  sanctioning  Agnes's  vocation,  he 
was  vexed  that  she  had  written  without 
consulting  him,  and  had  asked  for  pro- 
tection from  any  one  else.  The  Emperor 
was  angry  at  first;  afterwards  he  said 
that  if  he  had  seen  an  earthly  king 
preferred  before  him,  he  would  have 
taken  stern  vengeance;  but  as  Agnes 
had  chosen  the  Lord  Christ  instead  of 
him,  he  would  resign  his  claim. 

It  was  about  1233,  when  she  was 
28,  that  all  projects  of  marriage  were- 
finally  given  tfp,  and  she  saw  herself 
free  to  follow  her  vocation.  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi  had  been  dead  about  seven 
years,  and  some  members  of  the  order 
had  already  come  to  Prague.  St.  Clara, 
the  first  and  greatest  of  Franciscan  nuns, 
the  personal  friend  of  St.  Francis,  was 
still  living,  and  was  not  many  years 
older  than  Agnes.  Agnes  took  Clara  for 
her  pattern.  The  two  saintly  ladies 
exchanged  several  letters,  some  of  which 
are  preserved;  and  in  1234,  with  the 
approval  of  the  Pope,  St.  Clara  sent  five 
nuns  of  her  order  from  Italy  to  Prague, 
and  Agnes  joined  that  order,  with  seven 
youn£  Bohemian  ladies  of  the  highest 
nobility. 

In  presence  of  Wenzel  III.,  the  queen, 
seven  bishops,  and  an  immense  number 
of  persons  of  every  rank  and  station,  her 
hair  was  cut  off,  and  she  exchanged  her 
jewelled  robes  for  the  rough  grey  habit 
of  the  poor  Clares.  After  her  example, 
numbers  of  women  of  the  most  ancient 
and  honourable  families  in  Bohemia, 
Moravia,  and  Silesia  began  to  leave  the 
world  and  build  cloisters,  in  which  to 
serve  God  and  take  care  of  their  souls. 
Before  her  profession,  the  Pope's  legate 
advised  her  to  keep  some  part  of  her 
own  property  for  any  emergency  that 
might  arise;  but  she  decided  to  give 
one-third  to  the  Church,  one-third  to 
the  nuns,  and  one-third  to  the  poor. 

The  Pope  commanded  that  Agnes 
should  be  abbess  of  her  new  convent; 
but  she  had  so  small  an  opinion  of  her- 
self, that  she  placed  every  nun  above 
her,  felt  herself  unworthy  to  rule,  and 
performed  the  most  menial  offices  of  the 
house.  When  she  worked  in  the  kitchen, 


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ST.  AGNES 


35 


she  made  little  delicacies,  and  sent  them 
to  the  sick  in  other  convents ;  she  cleaned 
and  mended  the  clothes  of  the  lepers. 
Having  no  endowment,  and  living  on 
alms,  the  community  once  ran  short  of 
food,  and  were  threatened  with  starva- 
tion; bnt  a  basket  of  bread  and  fish 
suddenly  appeared  by  Agnes's  side,  and 
was  supposed  to  have  been  brought  by 
angels. 

St.  Clara  heard  with  great  joy  of 
Agnes's  progress  in  holiness,  and  wrote 
to  encourage  her.  She  sent  her  the 
Franciscan  rule,  drawn  up  by  Innocent 
IV.  (1243-1254),  and  some  little  pre- 
sents, such  as  her  own  drinking-cup, 
plate,  veil,  and  girdle,  which,  with  some 
of  her  letters,  are  still  shown  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Damian  at  Prague. 

In  1235  Pope  Gregory  IX.,  writing 
to  Beatrice,  queen  of  Castile,  exhorts  her 
to  walk  in  the  footsteps  of  the  blessed 
Elizabeth  of  Hungary,  and  holds  up  for 
her  admiration  Agnes,  sister  of  the  king 
of  Bohemia.  Two  years  afterwards 
Gregory  ordered  that,  on  account  of  the 
rigorous  climate  of  Bohemia,  the  nuns 
should  not  be  subjected  to  the  extreme 
privations  practised  by  their  sisters  in 
Italy.  For  instance,  on  Sundays  and 
Thursdays  they  were  to  have  two  abun- 
dant meals,  of  which  eggs  and  milk  were 
to  form  part ;  on  the  great  festivals,  i.e. 
Christmas.  Easter,  the  feasts  of  the 
Blessed  Vibgik  Mary  and  the  Apostles, 
they  were  not  to  fast  at  all.  They  were 
to  wear  two  garments  and  to  use  fur 
mantles,  to  wear  shoes,  and  to  fill  their 
pillows  and  bed-sacks  with  hay  and 
straw.  In  1243  Agnes  procured  further 
mitigations  of  the  asceticism  of  the  rule, 
on  account  of  its  unsuitability  to  the 
severe  climate  of  her  country.  She  did 
not  spare  herself,  but  she  saw  that  it 
was  impossible  the  rule  should  continue 
to  exist  in  Bohemia  without  some  modi- 
fication. 

Wenzel  wrote  and  thanked  the  Pope 
for  his  kindness  to  his  sister.  This 
letter  was  read  at  the  General  Council 
of  Lyons,  1245,  and  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
Begesta  Bohemiee  et  Moravise,  pars  i.  Op. 
Carol  Erben.,  1855.  Wenzel  had  the 
greatest  veneration  for  his  sister,  and  he 
and  all  Bohemia  thanked  her  when  she 


effected  a  reconciliation  between  him 
and  his  son,  Premysl  Ottokar  II.,  who 
had  rebelled  against  him.  Wenzel  died 
in  1253,'and  was  buried  in  the  church  of 
his  sister's  convent.  Agnes  lived  nearly 
thirty  years  longer:  she  died  in  1282, 
having  been  a  nun  for  forty-seven  years. 
Just  before  her  death,  when  she  had 
received  the  last  sacraments,  Katherine, 
one  of  her  nuns,  who  had  a  weakness 
in  her  feet,  and  had  not  been  able  to 
stand  for  ten  years,  entreated  her  com- 
panions to  bring  her  into  the  presence 
of  the  dying  abbess,  which  they  did, 
although  Katherine  was  suffering  great 
pain.  She  then  besought  Agnes  to  cure 
her  infirmity.  Agnes,  in  her  humility, 
did  not  believe  that  she  had  the  grace  of 
miracles ;  but  Katherine  took  her  hand, 
and  with  it  made  the  sign  of  the  cross 
over  her  feet,  and  therewith  was  sud- 
denly healed.  Her  body  retained  the 
flexibility,  and  her  face  the  colour,  of 
life ;  and  many  miracles  were  wrought, 
one  in  favour  of  her  sister-in-law,  Queen 
Judith,  so  that  many  sick  persons  com- 
mended themselves  to  the  prayers  of  the 
departed  saint,  and  wore  her  relics. 
Though  never  canonized,  she  has  always 
been  regarded  in  her  own  country  as  a 
saint,  and  as  one  of  the  patrons  of 
Bohemia.  She  is  considered  the  founder 
of  the  Franciscans  in  Bohemia,  as  well 
as  of  the  Clarissans.  She  founded, 
with  her  brother  the  king,  the  monastery 
and  hospital  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  near  the 
bridge  at  Prague,  and  gave  it  to  the 
Crucifers  of  the  Bed  Star,  to  be  the 
residence  of  the  master  of  the  order  in 
that  province.  She  also  built  the  con- 
vents of  Tissnowa  and  Woslowana,  in 
Moravia,  and  that  of  St.  Francis  at 
Prague.  She  saw  people's  thoughts,  and 
knew  events  which  were  happening  at 
a  distance.  When  her  nephew,  Premysl 
Ottokar  II.,  was  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Laa,  Aug.  26, 1278,  at  the  moment  when 
he  fell  dead,  she  had  a  mental  picturo  of 
the  occurrence,  and  besought  her  6ister 
nuns  to  pray  with  her  for  his  soul. 
AA.8S.  Boll.,  March  6.  Chanowski, 
Bohemia  pia.  Wadding.  Palacky,  (?e- 
schicht  von  Bohmen.  Johann  Nep. 
Jentsch,  Die  Selige  Agnes  von  Bohmen. 
Mineus,  Be  Bebus  Bohemicis.  Cahier. 


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B.  AGNES 


Jentsch  gives  a  German  translation  of 
fonr  letters  from  St.  Clara  to  Agnes  of 
Bohemia.    The  first  runs  thus — 

"  Clara,  the  unworthy  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  sisters  of  the  convent  of 
St.  Damian,  send  their  holy  greeting  to 
the  high-horn  and  honoured  Agnes, 
daughter  of  the  mighty  and  invincible 
king  of  Bohemia,  and  wish  her,  with 
all  respect  and  ardour,  the  glory  of 
eternal  blessedness. 

"The  knowledge  of  your  virtues 
which  has  spread  over  most  of  the  earth 
has  come  also  to  our  ears  in  Italy,  O 
noble  princess,  and  we  rejoico  over  it 
much  in  the  Lord,  I  and  all  those  who 
do  the  will  of  God  and  try  to  serve  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  faithfully.  It  is, 
then,  true  that  you  have  trodden  under 
foot  the  most  envied  magnificence  of  the 
world,  the  greatest  honours,  and  the 
throne  of  the  most  noble  Emperor  whom 
you  might  have  married  as  befitted  your 
royal  station  and  his ;  that  you  have 
embraced  holy  poverty  with  your  whole 
soul,  and  desire  the  mortification  of  the 
flesh,  and  the  humble  position  of  our 
Saviour,  whom  you  have  chosen  for  ever 
for  your  inheritance.  Trust !  He  with 
His  grace  will  always  preserve  the  costly 
treasure  of  your  purity.  His  power  ex- 
ceeds all  other  power.  He  is  more  lov- 
able than  aught  else.  His  beauty  puts 
all  else  that  is  beautiful  in  the  shade. 
His  love  satisfies  all  desires  and  counter- 
balances all  burdens."    And  so  on. 

Saint  Clara,  in  a  second  letter  to  Agnes, 
says  among  other  things — 

"Thanks,  thanks  eternally  to  the 
Author  of  all  good,  the  Spring  of  all 
perfection  and  of  all  heavenly  gifts,  for 
the  many  virtues  with  which  He  has 
adorned  your  soul.  It  is  He  who 
sanctifies  you,  and  who  has  raised  you 
to  that  state  of  perfection  that  His  eyes 
can  see  in  you  nothing  that  can  give 
Him  pain.  Happy  are  you,  for  this 
holiness  will  cause  Him  to  bid  you  share 
with  Him  the  eternal  joy  in  Paradise 
where  He  sits  upon  His  star-built  throne. 
What  you  now  have,  keep  ;  what  you  do, 
continue  doing ;  and  never  rest  in  the 
spiritual  race  which  you  have  under- 
taken. Try  without  ceasing  to  attain 
that  perfectness  to  which  the  Spirit  of 


God  has  called  you,  so  that  you  may 
always  fulfil  your  vows  to  the  Almighty, 
and  that  you  may  obey  more  faithfully 
the  commands  of  the  Lord." 

St.  Agnes  (22)  Blanbakin  or 
Blannbekin.  "f  1315.  A  Beguine  in 
Austria,  who  had  extraordinary  revela- 
tions or  delusions,  not  fit  for  publication. 
Potthast  says  her  Life  is  a  very  rare  book, 
becauso  her  visions  were  not  considered 
edifying,  and  it  was  forbidden  to  be  read 
or  sold.    Mas  Latrie,  Tresor. 

St.  Agnes  (23)  of  Montepulciano, 
April  28,  V.  Abbess.  O.S.F.,  O.SAM 
O.S.D.  1268-1317.  Eepresented  (1) 
holding  the  Infant  Christ  in  her  arms,  in 
remembrance  of  a  legend  that  He  gave 
her  a  little  cross  from  His  neck ;  (2) 
lifting  up  her  foot  after  death  for  Sr. 
Catherine  op  Siena  to  kiss ;  (3)  in  an 
open  tomb,  with  sick  persons  praying 
around.  Daughter  of  Lorenzo  de  SegnL 
Born  at  the  village  of  Graciano  Vecchio, 
near  the  town  of  Montepulciano,  in 
Tuscany.  Lorenzo  and  his  wife  would 
have  preferred  to  remain  in  their  village, 
had  it  not  been  for  Agnes's  great  wish  to 
join  a  society  of  religious  women,  and 
attend  the  services  of  the  Church.  At 
the  age  of  nine  it  seemed  to  her  a  sin 
to  put  off  following  her  vocation,  as  she 
believed  God  had  decreed  that  as  the 
one  path  by  which  she  might  be  saved. 
Her  parents  were  willing  to  let  her 
become  a  nun,  but  wished  to  defer  her 
separation  from  them.  They  were,  how- 
ever much  impressed  by  an  accident 
which  befell  her,  and  yielded  to  her  wish 
to  retire  at  once  from  the  world.  The 
first  nuns  she  joined  followed  the  rule 
of  St.  Francis,  and  were  called  "  Sisters 
of  the  Sack,"  in  derisive  allusion  to  their 
coarse  clothing.  In  this  nunnery  Agnes- 
had  raptures  and  ecstasies  in  which 
Christ,  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  angels 
appeared  to  her.  It  was  even  said  that, 
to  satisfy  her  longing  to  visit  the  Holy 
Land,  an  angel  brought  her  a  clod  of 
earth  from  the  foot  of  the  cross  of  Christ, 
marked  with  drops  of  blood ;  and  that 
showers  of  manna  fell  upon  her  while 
she  prayed. 

The  inhabitants  of  Proceno,  near 
Orvieto,  hearing  of  the  sanctity  of  the 
sisters  of  Montepulciano,  begged  that 


4 


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B.  AGNES 


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some  of  them  might  bo  sent  to  dwell  in 
their  midst.  Agnes  was  one  of  the 
number,  and  was  soon  made  superior  of 
a  new  monastery  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Augustine,  which  the  Proceuese  built 
when  the  number  of  their  nuns  had  con- 
siderably increased.  After  some  years 
she  returned  to  Montepulciano,  and  built 
a  new  church  and  monastery,  in  which  she 
established  the  rule  of  St.  Dominic.  She 
made  a  pilgrimage  to  Eome,  where 
she  obtained  relics  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul. 
She  died  at  Montepulciano,  in  her 
49  th  year.  The  family  to  which  she 
belonged  afterwards  became  one  of  the 
most  considerable  in  Montepulciano,  but 
is  now  extinct.  From  the  day  of  her 
death,  in  1317,  the  people  styled  her 
*'  Saint."  Her  worship  was  encouraged 
by  several  Popes,  and  her  name  inserted 
in  the  Roman  Martyrology  with  the  title 
of  "Saint,"  but  she  was  not  formally 
canonized  until  the  time  of  Benedict 
XIII.,  1726.  Thuribius,  archbishop  of 
Siona,  and  James  de  la  Marche  were 
canonized  at  the  same  time,  and  are 
sometimes  represented  with  her  on  that 
account.  It  is  said  that  her  body  was 
embalmed  by  supernatural  means,  imme- 
diately after  her  death,  and  that  when  she 
had  been  dead  fifty  years,  she  opened 
her  eyes  and  smiled  on  the  Emperor 
Charles  IV.,  who  ever  afterwards  had  a 
special  devotion  to  this  saint. 

Of  all  the  Saints  Agnes,  here  or  else- 
where enumerated,  this  and  the  great 
St.  Agnes  (2)  are  the  only  two  in  the 
Roman  Martyrology,  besides  St.  Agnes 
of  Assi8i,  who  is  mentioned  in  the 
Franciscan  part  of  the  Appendix  to  the 
R.M.  Modern  Saints,  sanctioned  by  the 
Fathers  of  the  Oratory,  from  an  Italian 
Biography,  published  at  Siena,  1779. 
Cahier.  Butler.  Baillet. 

B.  Agnes  (24)  of  Bavaria,  Nov.  11. 
■f  1352.  Daughter  of  Louis,  duke  of 
Bavaria,  afterwards  emperor  of  Germany. 
Agnes  was  brought  up  in  a  Clarissan 
monastery  at  Munich.  When  her  parents 
thought  her  old  enough  to  appear  at 
court,  they  sent  for  her ;  but  so  great 
was  her  fear  of  the  snares  of  the  world 
that  she  threw  herself  down  before  the 
tabernacle,  and  firmly  embraced  the 
pedestal  of  it,  crying  out,  "  Divine  Jesus, 


let  me  never  be  separated  from  Thee." 
Her  prayer  was  heard ;  she  suddenly 
fell  ill  and  died.  Commemorated  by  the 
Franciscan  nuns  of  Munich.  Guerin, 
Petite  Bollandistes. 

B.  Agnes  (25)  of  Siena,  V.  O.S.D. 
Supposed  to  have  died  about  1390.  Nun 
in  the  convent  of  Monteregio  at  Siena. 
Miracles  are  attributed  to  her.  Pio, 
Uomini  e  donne. 

B.  Agnes  (26)  Benincasa,  3rd 
O.S.D.  14th  century.  Sister  of  James 
Benincasa,  who  was  father  of  St. 
Catherine  (3)  of  Siena.  Agnes  married 
Chele  di  Duccio.  After  his  death 
she  joined  the  Sisters  of  Penance, 
then  called  Mantellate.  Her  portrait  is 
painted  in  the  dormitory  of  the  convent 
of  St.  Dominic  at  Siena,  inscribed  with 
the  words,  "  Beata  Agnese  Benincasa." 
Mrs.  Drane,  Life  of  St.  Catherine  of 
Siena,  1880. 

St.  Agnes  (27)  of  Moncada,  Jan.  21, 
V.  14th  century.  Inspired  with  a  love 
of  celibacy  and  seclusion  by  the  preach- 
ing of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer,  at  Valencia. 
Her  parents  insisted  on  her  marrying; 
so,  disguised  as  a  man,  she  fled  and 
concealed  herself,  for  twenty  years,  in  a 
cave  near  the  Carthusian  convent  called 
Porta-coeli,  the  place  of  her  retreat  being 
known  only  to  the  dwellers  in  heaven. 
After  her  death  her  sanctity  was  attested 
by  miracles.  Bollandus  did  not  know 
of  any  authority  for  her  worship.  Jan. 
21  was  assigned  to  her  as  the  day  of  her 
great  patroness,  St.  Agnes  (2).  St. 
Vincent  Ferrer  died  in  1419  ;  he  was  a 
Dominican  monk  at  Valencia ;  a  preacher 
famous  all  over  Europe ;  and  was  sent 
for  to  England  by  Henry  IV. 

B.  Agnes  (28)  of  Ferro  or  Terro, 
June  13  or  15.  15th  century.  Widow. 
Third  O.S.F.  Belonged  both  by  birth 
and  marriage  to  very  illustrious  families 
of  Aragon.  She  was  an  attendant  on  the 
queen  of  Aragon,  mother  of  Ferdinand 
the  Catholic.  Weary  of  court  life,  she 
retired  from  the  world,  gave  her  money 
to  the  poor,  took  the  name  of  Mary  of 
Jesus,  and  became  a  nun  of  the  Third 
Order  of  St.  Francis,  at  Ulmet,  in  the 
diocese  of  Avila.  She  is  mentioned  in 
the  Ordenskalender,  in  Burns'  Calendar 
of  the  Franciscan  Order,  and  in  Monstier's 


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88 


B.  AGNES 


Gyneceeum ;  but  there  is  no  office  in 
her  honour,  nor  does  her  name  appear 
in  the  martyrologies  of  the  great 
authorities, 

B.  Agnes  (29)  or  Inez  de  Senna, 
Nov.  8.  f-1498.  O.S.D.  Nun.  A  pattern 
of  goodness,  and  graced  with  miraculous 
powers.  Manoel  de  Lima,  Agiologio 
Dominico,  iv.  339,  on  the  authority  of 
Bzovius. 

B.  Agnes  (30)  of  the  Pescara,  Nov. 
12.  "f  1588.  One  of  the  Margaritole,  i.e. 
nuns  of  the  convent  of  St.  Agnes,  at 
Foligno,  popularly  called  the  Margari- 
tura,  from  its  superior,  B.  Margaret  of 
Foligno.  La  Pescara  was  a  villa  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Foligno.  Agnes  was 
an  example  of  every  virtue.  The  nuns 
and  other  persons  who  were  present  at 
her  burial  saw  a  great  company  of  pil- 
grims come  to  venorate  her,  singing  with 
angelic  voices.  The  service  ended,  they 
disappeared.  The  Bollandists  promise 
her  story  on  her  day.  Jacobiili,  Santi 
da  Foligno. 

B.  Agnes  (31)  of  Japan,  Sept.  10. 
fl622.  Wife  of  B.  Cosmo  Taquea, 
or  Takeya;  he  was  a  Corean,  brought, 
at  the  age  of  11,  prisoner  to  Japan, 
where  he  served  a  great  man  for  a  long 
time,  and  had  a  house  and  a  piece  of 
ground  given  him.  He  used  all  his 
property  to  help*  the  missionaries,  es- 
pecially the  Fathers  Angelo  Orsucci  and 
John  of  St.  Dominic,  whom  he  enter- 
tained on  their  arrival  from  Manilla, 
and  to  whom  he  taught  the  language 
and  letters  of  the  Japanese.  He  was 
burnt  for  the  faith,  Nov.  18,  1619,  at 
Nagasaki.  Agnes  survived  him  three 
years,  and  was  martyred  at  the  age  of 
42,  on  the  same  day  as  Lucy  Freitas 
(q.t>.).  Cosmo  and  Agnes  are  among  the 
205  martyrs  beatified  with  Lucy.  Their 
son,  Francis,  aged  12,  was  put  to  death 
the  next  day. 

St.  or  Ven.  Agnes  (32)  of  Langeac, 
Oct.  19.  Called  Agnes  op  Jesus.  1602- 
1634.  O.S.D.  Twice  superior  of  her 
convent  at  Langeac,  in  France.  Among 
other  miraculous  events  recorded,  it  is 
said  that  she  died  and  came  to  life  again 
several  times.  The  process  of  her 
canonization  was  begun  in  1698,  and 
Louis  XIV.  himself  wrote  to  Clement 


XI.  on  the  subject.  The  process  was 
frequently  interrupted  and  resumed, 
until  1808,  when  Pius  VII.  declared  her 
heroic  virtue  proven.  AA.SS.  Boll. 
Preeter.  Les  Mystiques.  She  is  called 
in  GuSrin's  Catalogue,  Saint  Agnes  of 
Jesus.  Her  Life  was  written  by  De 
Lantages,  who  tells  that  she  consecrated 
herself  as  a  servant  to  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin Mart,  and  wore  an  iron  chain  in 
token  of  servitude. 

Ven.  Agnes  (33),  Tsau  Kong,  Feb. 
28,  c.  1860.    First  woman  M.  in  China. 

St.  Agrata,  or  Grata.  One  of  the 
martyrs  of  Lyons,  beheaded,  being  a 
Roman  citizen,  instead  of  being  killed 
by  the  beasts  of  the  amphitheatre.  Tille- 
mont.    See  Blandina. 

St.  Agrifa,  or  Agrippa,  May  13,  M. 
at  Alexandria.    Boll.,  AA.SS. 

St.  Agrippina  (1),  Jnne  23,  V.  M.  at 
Rome,  under  Valerian  (253-260).  Called 
Agraphkna  in  the  Russian  calendar. 
Represented  bound  to  the  equuleus  and 
scourged.  Immediately  after  her  martyr- 
dom her  body  was  taken  secretly  by  SS. 
Bas8a,  Paula  (3),  and  Agathonica,  who 
went  carefully  from  place  to  place  until 
at  last  they  got  to  Sicily,  and  there  they 
buried  her.  Every  one  who  treated  her 
church  or  relics  with  disrespect  was 
struck  with  disease  or  death,  and  every 
one  who  applies  to  her  to  be  cleansed  of 
leprosy  obtains  his  prayer  to  this  day. 
B.M.  Boll.,  AA.SS.,  from  a  Greek 
Menea. 

St.  Agrippina  (2),  M.  with  Lauri- 
ana. 

Ahemeri.  The  Ahemeri  are  those 
saints  that  have  no  particular  day :  such 
are  Crescentia,  Fabiola,  Radiana. 
Baillet. 

St.  Aiala,  May  8  (Sctala,  Stiala). 
303.  One  of  many  martyrs  com- 
memorated with,  and  supposed  to  have 
been  converted  by  the  example  and 
teaching  of,  St.  Acacias  or  Agathius. 
See  Agatha  (2). 

St.  Ailbert,  Aug.  10,  11,  12  (Agil- 
berta,  Aguilbert).  c.  680.  Of  the 
royal  blood  of  France.  Daughter  of 
Abobinus  and  Pientia,  and  sister  of  St. 
Ebresilius,  or  Ebregesilus,  bishop  of 
Meaux.  Succeeded  her  cousin  Theode- 
child  as  second  abbess  of  Jouarre,  in 


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ST.  ALCIDIA 


30 


the  diocese  of  Meaux,  and  was  succeeded 
by  her  aunt,  St.  Balda.  The  fame  of 
Ailbert's  holiness  was  such  that  many 
princesses  of  England  and  France  be- 
came nuns  under  her  rule,  among  them 
two  queens.  Boll.,  AA.SS.  Bucelinus. 
Menard. 

St.  Ainbeithen,  Jan.  2,  V.  O'Han- 
lon,  Irish  Saints. 

St  Aitche,  Jan.  15,  V.  Patron  of 
Cill-Aitche,  in  the  diocese  and  county  of 
Limerick,  and  in  the  barony  of  Kenry. 
She  is  in  the  Mart,  of  Donegal.  O'Han- 
lon,  Irish  Saints,  i.  222. 

St.  Akassana,  Jan.  30.  AA.SS. 

St  Akonas,  or  Ancona,  V.  in  Cyprus. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Alba,  Jan.  17,  M.  in  Africa.  Boll., 
AA.SS. 

B.  Alberada  or  Alberabdis,  April 
5.  1140.  Lay-sister  of  the  convent  of 
Zwifalt.  Daughter  of  Egino,  count  of 
Vrach,  and  Cunegund,  countess  of  Zoller. 
Sister  of  Gebhard,  bishop  of  Argentina 
(Strasburg).  She  was  abbess  of  Lin- 
dovia,  but,  out  of  intense  humility,  be- 
came a  lay-sister  at  Zwifalt.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Alberta,  March  11,  V.  Pro- 
bably the  same  as  Alverta,  sister  of  St. 
Faith. 

SS.  Albina  (1)  and  Paxentius  or 
Panmus,  Sept.  23,  MM.  2nd  century. 
A  young  and  beautiful  brother  and  sis- 
ter, put  to  death  for  the  faith  of  Christ, 
in  the  reign  of  Antoninus  (138-161). 
Paxentius  was  killed  first  Albina,  in- 
stead of  being  discouraged,  was  impatient 
to  follow  his  example  and  share  his 
fate  ;  after  many  tortures,  she  was  killed 
by  having  a  nail  driven  into  her  head. 
Their  relics  wore  sent  from  Borne  to 
Paris  by  Pope  Gregory  VII.,  and  placed 
in  the  church  of  St.  Martin  des  Champs, 
which  belonged  to  the  Order  of  Cluny. 
Their  absurd  fabulous  Acts,  found  in 
the  monastery,  were  judged  by  Perier, 
the  Bollandist,  unworthy  of  a  place  in 
tho  Acta  Sanctorum.  The  names  of 
these  martyrs  are  not  in  the  old  calen- 
dars, but  a  lesson  in  the  Paris  Breviary 
records  their  fate. 

St*  Albina  ( 2),  one  of  tho  martyrs  of 
Lyons,  beheaded,  being  a  Koman  citizen. 
See  Blandina. 

St  Albina  (3),  Dec.  16,  V.  M.  under 


Decius,  in  the  3rd  century,  at  Formii,  in 
Campania,  now  Mola  di  Gaeta.  B.M. 

St  Albina  (4),  Feb.  17.  M.  at 
Bome,  with  many  others.  Henschenius, 
AA.SS. 

St.  Albina  (5),  March  4.  387.  Mother 
of  St.  Marcella  (7).  Henchenius  and 
Papebroch  do  not  consider  that  she  has 
been  placed  among  the  saints  by  com- 
petent authority.  Lagrange,  Vie  de  Ste. 
Paule,  says  that  Athanasius  lived  at  the 
house  of  St.  Albina  when  he  was  in 
Borne. 

St  Albina  (0),  Dec.  31.  5th  cen- 
tury. A  Koman  lady.  Wife  of  Pub- 
licola,  son  of  Melania  the  elder.  Al- 
bina is  commonly  called  "  Saint,"  but 
not  worshipped  by  authority.  She  ac- 
companied her  daughter,  Sr.  Melania 
the  younger,  to  Africa;  visited  St. 
Augustine  at  Hippo,  and  was  there  when 
the  people  seized  Pinianus,  husband  of 
Melania,  and  demanded  his  ordination. 
After  seven  years  in  Africa,  they  went 
to  Jerusalem,  where  it  is  probable  Al- 
bina died.  Baillet,  Vies.  Smith  and 
Wace,  Diet,  of  Christian  Biography. 

St  Alboflede  (1),  sister  of  Clovis 
I.,  king  of  the  Franks;  and  baptized 
with  him.  Lacroix,  Vie  Militaire.  See 
Clotilda. 

St  Alboflede  (2),  daughter  of 
Clovis  I.  Foundress  of  the  monastery 
of  St.  Pierre  le  Vif.  Lives  of  the  two 
SS.  Alboflede  are  said  by  Lelong,  in  his 
Diet,  de  VHistoire  de  France,  to  be  in  the 
GenSalogie  de  la  premiere  race. 

St.  Alburgha,  Dec.  25.  Founder 
of  the  monastery  of  Wilton.  Sister  of 
Egbert,  king  of  England.  Widow  of 
Wroxstan,  or  Wulstan, 44  the  famous  earl 
or  duke  of  Wiltshire,"  who  repaired  an 
old  church  at  Wilton,  and  placed  secular 
priests  there.  On  his  death  in  800  his 
widow  obtained  leave,  from  her  brother 
the  king,  to  make  it  a  nunnery  for  twelve 
virgins  and  a  prioress.  Alburgha  is 
therefore  considered  the  founder.  Memo- 
rial of  British  Piety.  Tanner,  Notitia 
Monastica,  p.  592. 

St.  Alchimia,  sister  of  St.  Placi- 

DINA. 

St  Alcidia  or  Accidia,  May  29, 

M.  in  Africa,  with  155  others.  Boll., 
AA.SS. 


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40 


ST.  ALDA 


St.  Alda  (1),  Nov.  18.  8th  century. 
Sister  of  St.  Tudgui,  confessor  at  St. 
Pol  do  Leon,  in  Brittany.  The  village 
of  "  Ste.  Aude,  in  Seine-et-Marne,"  Alda 
Sancta,  or  Adellee  Villa,  is  called  after 
her.  Her  relics  are  in  a  silver  shrino 
at  the  altar  of  St.  Clotilda,  in  the  church 
of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  built  by  Clovis 
and  Clotilda,  in  Paris,  and  afterwards 
called  the  church  of  Ste.  Genevieve. 
St.  Alda  has  been  called  a  companion  of 
St.  Genevieve,  from  their  relics  being 
together;  but  it  is  more  probable  that 
Alda  lived  in  tho  8th  century.  Chaste- 
lain,  Vocab.  Hag.  Migne,  Diet,  des 
Legended  du  Moyen  Age.  Molanus  has 
St.  Tudgui,  Nov.  18.  Butler,  Life  of 
St.  Genevieve. 

B.  Alda  (2),  April  1 G  (  Aldobrandesca, 
Blanca,  Bruna).  1245-1309  or  1310. 
One  of  the  patron  saints  of  Siena. 
Bepresented  holding  a  large  nail ;  or  at 
the  feet  of  the  Saviour,  who  runs  a  nail 
into  her  hand.  Daughter  of  Pier  Fran- 
cesco de  Ponzii,  an  honest  merchant  of 
noble  birth  in  Siena,  and  Agnes  de 
Bolgherini,  his  wife.  Her  birth  was 
marked  by  special  signs  of  the  favour  of 
God.  At  1 8  she  married  Bindo  Bellanti, 
whose  piety,  as  well  as  his  worldly 
station,  was  equal  to  her  own.  They 
spent  the  first  eight  days  of  their  married 
life  in  mortification  and  devotion,  and 
during  the  rest  of  Bellanti's  life  strove 
to  live  like  the  angels  of  God.  Soon 
after  his  death,  Alda  joined  the  Third 
Order  of  the  Humiliati,  a  branch  of  the 
Benedictines,  which  flourished  in  the 
duchy  of  Milan.  Bucelinns  calls  Alda 
a  nun ;  but  she  appears  to  have  belonged, 
at  all  events  for  a  time,  to  the  number 
of  the  Humiliati  remaining  in  the  world. 
She  lived  at  a  little  couutry  place  of  her 
own,  was  there  favoured  with  visions, 
and  wrought  many  miracles.  Latterly 
she  lived  in  the  hospital  of  St.  Andrew, 
afterwards  called  of  St  Onofrio;  she 
attended  to  the  sick  poor,  and  converted 
sinful  women,  to  the  great  edification  of 
the  nuns.  A  girl  named  Jacomina,  in 
the  hospital,  saw  two  great  whito  candles 
before  Alda,  wherever  she  turned  or 
moved ;  they  were  carried  without  human 
hands.  Jacomina  exclaimed,  and  called 
the  attention  of  everybody  to  this  prodigy. 


Alda,  who  hated  human  praise,  shut 
herself  up  in  her  room,  beat  herself  very 
severely,  remained  in  seclusion  some 
days,  and  then  returned  to  her  duties. 
Once  she  turned  water  into  wine.  One 
morning  she  did  not  come  to  her  place 
in  the  church  at  the  usual  hour;  the 
nuns  ran  to  her  cell,  and  found  her 
standing  with  her  head  raised  and  her 
mouth  open,  as  if  speaking  to  tho  crucifix. 
They  thought  she  was  in  one  of  those 
ecstasies  with  which  they  knew  the  Lord 
favoured  her,  and  did  not  suspect  her  to 
be  dead  until  a  Dominican  monk,  B. 
Baptist  Tolomei,  arrived  and  said  that 
he  had  seen  her  soul,  in  the  form  of  a 
dove,  conducted  to  heaven  by  angels. 
Alda  was  buried  in  the  Basilica  of  St. 
Thomas  of  the  Humiliati,  where  she 
wrought  many  miracles.  Her  body  was 
solemnly  taken  up  from  the  gravo  in 
1489.  Papebrocb,  in  AA.SS.,  from  her 
life  by  Lombardelli. 

St.  Aldegundis  (l),  or  Aldeoonde, 
June  20,  V.  7th  century.  Patron  of 
Dronghen,  near  Ghent,  and  against  sore 
eyes.  Daughter  of  St.  Basin,  or  Babin, 
a  "regulus,"  or  chief,  related  to  the 
kings  of  France.  St.  Basin  went  out 
hunting  with  several  friends,  and  followed 
a  stag  for  three  days.  They  were  ex- 
tremely tired  on  the  third  night,  and 
slept  soundly  in  the  forest,  at  a  place  on 
the  river  Lisa.  Basin  had  a  dream,  in 
which  he  was  directed  to  found  a  church 
in  honour  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary, 
on  that  spot.  Aldegundis  was  blind,  and 
used  to  sit  lonely  and  sad  at  home. 
When  her  father,  with  a  great  company 
of  persons,  was  setting  off  to  go  and 
found  the  church,  on  the  feast  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  she  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  go  with  him.  He  did  not 
want  to  be  troubled  with  the  care  of  the 
blind  girl,  so  he  said  there  was  no  way 
of  getting  her  to  the  place  except  by 
her  riding  on  an  unbroken  and  vicious 
horse,  which  was  then  running  with  the 
mares  in  the  field.  Nothing  daunted, 
Aldegundis  called  the  shepherd,  and  told 
him  to  catch  the  horso.  He  said  it 
would  bite  every  one  who  attempted  to 
touch  it.  She  cried  out,  with  tears,  "  I 
wish  it  would  bite  me,  for  I  am  so  weary. 
I  am  good  for  nothing,  because  I  am 


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ST.  ALDEGUNDIS 


41 


blind,  and  sit  alone  in  darkness  all  day." 
The  shepherd  was  so  sorry  for  her,  that, 
notwithstanding  his  fear  of  the  horse,  he 
went  and  called  it,  and  it  came  as  meekly 
as  the  best-trained  and  gentlest  horse 
that  ever  lived;  it  allowed  the  blind 
girl  to  mount,  and  she  followed  her 
father  to  the  church  of  St.  John.  On 
reaching  the  gate,  while  praying,  with 
her  hands  and  face  raised  to  heaven,  oil 
dropped  from  on  high  into  her  eyes,  and 
she  was  cured  of  her  blindness.  When 
Basin  came  and  found  that  his  daughter 
could  see,  he  took  her  to  the  gate  of  the 
church  of  St.  Peter.  There  she  again 
became  blind;  but  her  father  led  her 
into  the  church,  prayed  for  her,  and 
vowed  to  St  Peter  all  his  worldly  posses- 
sions. Her  sight  was  immediately  re- 
stored. Then  all  the  people  shouted 
and  praised  God  for  this  miracle,  and 
Aldegundis  offered  herself  at  the  altar. 
The  church  that  Basin  built  was  at 
Dronghen,  on  the  Lisa,  a  mile  from 
Ghent ;  he  and  his  daughter  Aldegundis 
are  buried  there.  Henschenius,  in 
AA.SS. ;  Cuper,  in  the  same  collection, 
July  14.  Wion,  Lignum  Viise.  Baillet, 
Vies. 

St  Aldegundis  (2),  Jan.  30,  May  11, 
Oct.  18,  Nov.  13,  June  0,  May  26  (Alde- 
goxde,  Obgonne).  c.  630-G80.  Born  at 
Courtsore,  Coursolre,  or  Consobre. 
Patron  of  Maubeuge  and  Emmerich ;  and 
against  cancer  and  pains  in  the  chest,  or 
breast.  Founder  and  abbess  of  Mau- 
beuge. Eepresented  (1)  walking  on 
water,  led  by  an  angel ;  (2)  crossing  the 
river  Sambre  dry-shod  ;  (3)  with  St.  Hum- 
bert of  Maroilles  bringing  a  fountain  of 
water  out  of  the  earth  for  her,  and  a 
dove  holding  a  veil  over  her ;  in  Callot's 
Images,  she  appears  flying  from  her 
father's  house.  According  to  Guette, 
there  is  an  ancient  picture  of  her,  wear- 
ing the  veil  of  a  virgin,  a  violet  cloak 
embroidered  with  flowers,  and  a  red 
gown  with  a  white  tunic.  This  is  the 
dress,  not  of  a  nun,  but  of  a  canoness ; 
she  was  not,  however,  a  canoness, 
although  her  monastery  was,  in  later 
times,  made  over  to  canonesses,  and  the 
picture  was  probably  painted  after  that 

Daughter  of  SS.  Waibert  and  Bbrtilia. 
Younger  sister  of  St.  Waltbude.  Her 


father  was  a  near  relation  of  King  Clo- 
thaire  II.  While  very  young,  Alde- 
gundis resolved  on  a  religious  life,  and 
when  her  parents  talked  to  her  of 
marriage,  she  said,  "  Find  me  a  husband 
whose  estates  are  heaven  and  earth  and 
the  sea;  whose  riches  are  for  ever  in- 
creasing, never  diminishing ;  only  such 
a  one  will  I  marry."  Soon  after  this 
she  went  to  Haumont,  and  there  received 
the  religious  veil  from  St.  Amandus, 
bishop  of  Maestricht,  and  St.  Aubert, 
bishop  of  Cambrai.  She  walked  dry- 
shod  over  the  Sambre,  and  built  on  its 
banks  a  small  nunnery,  at  a  desert  place 
called  Malbode.  The  town  of  Mauberge 
grew  up  round  her  nunnery,  which,  in 
courso  of  time,  developed  into  the  great 
and  famous  Benedictine  monastery  of 
Maubeuge;  centuries  afterwards  it  be- 
came a  house  of  regular  canonesses. 
Aldegundis  presided  there,  with  great 
wisdom  and  sanctity,  for  many  years; 
and  eventually  she  died  of  cancer  in  the 
breast,  about  680,  and  was  succeeded  by 
her  niece,  St.  Adeltbude  (1).  Alde- 
gundis is  commemorated  with  a  double 
office.  The  following  story  is  told  of 
her  in  the  Golden  Legend : — 

Before  she  had  taken  the  veil,  while 
on  a  visit  to  her  elder  sister,  St.  Wal- 
tbude,  abbess  of  Mons,  St.  Bebtilia 
came  to  see  her  daughters,  and  brought 
Aldegundis  a  piece  of  linen,  which  she 
told  her  to  make  into  shirts,  sheets,  and 
kerchiefs  for  her  future  husband.  Alde- 
gundis, thinking  that  would  be  Christ, 
made  the  linen  into  chrisms,  which  were 
caps  of  a  particular  sort,  worn  by  chil- 
dren when  they  were  christened.  She 
used  her  utmost  skill  in  adorning  them 
with  the  finest  needlework,  and  brought 
them  to  her  mother,  who,  seeing  her 
linen  put  to  a  use  which  she  never  in- 
tended, was  very  angry,  and  took  a  stick 
to  beat  her  daughter.  Aldegundis  fled, 
and  hid  herself  in  the  forest  of  Mau- 
beuge. The  nobleman  to  whom  her 
parents  intended  to  marry  her  sought 
her  diligently  in  the  forest,  but  could  not 
find  her.  She  remained  there  until  after 
the  death  of  her  mother,  when  she  took 
the  veil,  and  built  the  convent  of  Mau- 
beuge. Several  miracles  are  recorded 
of  her :  one  was  that  while  she  and  her 


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42 


ST.  ALENA 


sister  were  talking  about  their  Divine 
Master,  the  candle  went  out.  Aide- 
gundis  picked  it  up,  and  it  lighted  itself 
again  as  she  took  it  in  her  hand. 

Her  festival,  Jan.  30,  is  very  ancient, 
being  mentioned  in  calendars  of  the 
time  of  Louis  lo  Debonnaire.  The  other 
days  on  which  her  name  occurs  in 
calendars  are  probably  the  days  of  trans- 
lations of  her  relics,  or  of  the  dedications 
of  churches  or  chapels  in  her  name. 

Her  Life  was  written  by  a  contempo- 
rary, but  the  original  is  lost.  The 
oldest  extant  is  preserved  in  the  AA.SS., 
written  by  monks,  who  founded  their 
stories  on  the  original  Life,  and  added  to 
it  from  local  traditions,  etc.  Baillet,  Vies. 
Butler,  Lives.  Nouoelle  Biog.  generate, 
edited  by  Hoefer.  Paris,  1855.  Cahier. 
Husenbeth,  Emblems.  Die  Attribute. 
Oolden  Legend.  Guette,  Hist,  de  VEglise 
de  France. 

St.  Alena,  or  Halena,  June  17,  V. 
M.  c.  640.  Patron  of  Foret,  or  Vorst, 
near  Brussels;  and  against  diseases  of 
the  eye.  Eepresented  with  only  one 
arm,  and  with  a  crown  on  her  head,  or 
beside  her.  Daughter  of  a  heathen 
prince,  or  king,  whose  name  was  Levold. 
Her  mother's  name  was  Hildegard.  Le- 
vold persecuted  the  Christians;  but 
they  were  secured  from  his  attacks  by 
dense  forests  and  by  inundations.  One 
day  the  king,  while  hunting  in  the  forest, 
met  a  Christian.  Surprised  to  find  him 
in  that  lonely  place,  he  asked  whether 
he  were  one  of  his  subjects,  or  who  was 
his  master.  The  man  answered,  "I  am 
one  of  the  servants  of  Christ.  If  you 
wish  to  learn  our  laws  and  customs,  and 
to  know  who  our  Master  is,  stay  with 
me  this  night.  To-morrow  you  shall 
see  us  offer  our  sacrifice  to  God  our 
Father,  and  then  you  will  know  the 
difference  between  truth  and  falsehood." 
The  king  consented.  The  Christian 
received  him  very  hospitably,  and  treated 
him  with  all  the  honour  due  to  his  rank. 
Next  morning  he  was  present  at  the 
celebration  of  Mass ;  but  his  hard  heart 
preferred  his  own  foolish  heathen  re- 
ligion. When  he  returned  home,  he 
told  his  wife  and  daughter  what  he  had 
heard,  at  the  same  time  blaspheming 
and  ridiculing  the  Christian  religion* 


Alena,  however,  was  inspired  by  God 
with  so  great  a  wish  to  see  the  Christian 
service,  that,  notwithstanding  her  natural 
timidity,  braving  the  wild  beasts  and 
other  dangers  of  the  forest,  she  went  by 
night  to  their  place  of  meeting.  One 
night,  on  her  way  to  the  chapel,  she  was 
taken  by  a  watchman,  but  begged  and 
bribed  him  to  let  her  pass  and  to  keep 
her  secret.  He  acceded  to  her  wish  for 
the  time ;  but,  seeing  that  she  went  out 
every  night,  he  at  last  told  her  father. 
The  king  told  him  to  follow  her  closely, 
and  see  where  she  went.  The  watch- 
man reported  that  he  had  followed  her 
to  the  river;  but  as  she  crossed  over 
miraculously,  without  bridge  or  boat,  he 
could  follow  no  further.  The  king  said 
it  must  be  by  means  of  the  magic  arts  of 
the  Christians,  and  he  stationed  soma 
soldiers  on  the  bank  of  the  river  to  bring 
her  to  him  alive,  that  he  might  take 
vengeance  on  her  for  going  over  to  the 
new  superstition.  The  soldiers  arrested 
her,  and  as  she  resisted,  they  pulled  her 
violently  by  the  arm,  and  dragged  it  off. 
She  then  fell  down  dead.  The  angel 
of  God  took  her  arm,  and  put  it  on  the 
altar  of  the  chapel  where  she  used  to 
pray  so  dovoutly.  The  priest,  finding  a 
bleeding  arm  there,  said,  "  Perhaps  this- 
is  the  arm  of  the  virgin  Alena,  who  has 
been  devoured  by  some  evil  beast."  He 
then  went  to  seek  her,  found  her  body, 
and  buried  it  in  the  chapel,  which  was 
afterwards  enlarged,  and  called  by  her 
name.  It  soon  began  to  be  reported 
that  miraculous  cures  were  performed 
at  her  tomb.  Omund,  a  prince  of  the 
neighbourhood,  who  was  blind,  came  to 
Levold,  and  said,  "  I  hear  all  kinds  of 
infirmities  are  cured  at  your  daughter's 
grave ;  therefore  take  me  to  it,  that  I  may 
recover  my  sight."  Levold,  who  had 
until  then  considered  the  miracles  of 
his  daughter  a  mere  idle  report,  accom- 
panied him  to  Alena's  tomb,  whore  his 
sight  was  restored.  Both  were  con- 
verted, as  also  was  Queen  Hildegard. 
Levold  publicly  confessed  that  he  was 
the  murderer,  did  penance  at  the  grave, 
and  was  baptized  by  the  name  of  Harold. 
He  and  his  queen,  after  many  good 
works,  died  piously,  and  were  buried  in 
the  church  they  had  built  in  honour  of 


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B.  ALEXANDRINA  DI  LETTO 


43 


St.  Ambrose.  Several  miracles  are  re- 
corded of  St  Alena  during  her  lifetime. 
Once,  when  she  went  as  usual  to  the 
forest  chapel  by  night,  she  found  the 
door  shut,  and  sat  down  on  the  ground. 
The  priest's  servant  happened  to  come 
past,  and  thought  her  a  ghost,  not  sup- 
posing any  woman  could  bo  there  at 
that  time  of  night.  She  told  him  not  to 
be  afraid,  as  she  was  only  waiting  for 
the  morning  prayers.  "You  need  not 
wait,"  said  he,  "for  the  priest  is  very 
ill,  and  cannot  come  into  the  chapel." 
"  Go,"  said  the  holy  maiden,  "  tell  your 
master  to  arise  and  go  into  the  chapel 
and  say  the  office ;  for  God,  who  has  led 
me  hither,  is  able  to  cure  him."  The 
servant  returned  to  his  master  and  gave 
Alena's  message,  and  the  priest  rose  up, 
restored  to  health,  and  chanted  Matins 
as  usual.  Alena  planted  her  staff  in  the 
ground  and  left  it  there  while  she  went 
to  prayers.  When  she  came  out  of 
church,  she  found  that  it  was  growing, 
and  had  brought  forth  leaves.  It  grew 
there  for  many  years,  and  the  nuts  it 
bore  used  to  be  made  into  rosaries  in 
the  17th  century ;  which  proves  the  truth 
of  the  whole  story.    Boll.,  AA.SS. 

St  Alexandra  (l),  April  21,  M. 
302.  Empress.  Wife  of  Diocletian. 
Converted  by  seeing  the  tortures  and 
bravery  and  the  miracles  of  St.  George. 
Condemned  to  be  beheaded  with  him  ; 
but  died  in  prison  on  hearing  her  sen- 
tence. Menology  of  Basil,  April  21. 
Boll.,  AA.SS.,  April  20.  This  story  is 
not  confirmed  by  secular  history.  This 
is  the  same  saint  who  is  called  in  Roman 
tradition  Serena. 

St.  Alexandra  (2),  M.  with  St. 
Thecusa. 

St.  Alexandra  (3),  March  20,  M, 
Early  in  4th  century.  When  the  Chris- 
tians were  persecuted  at  Amisus,  in 
Paphlagonia,  in  the  reign  of  Maximian, 
Alexandra  and  six  other  holy  women — 
Claudia,  Euphrasia,  Juliana,  Matrona 
or  Patrona,  Euphemia,  and  Theodosia 
(7) — boldly  declared  their  allegiance  to 
the  proscribed  religion,  and  reproached 
the  governor  as  cruel,  unjust,  and  the 
enemy  of  the  Truth.  They  were  stripped, 
beaten  with  iron  rods,  their  breasts 
out  off,  and  they  were  then  hung  up  by 


the  feet  over  a  slow  fire  until  they  died. 
Their  martyrdom  was  followed  by  that 
of  Derphuta  and  her  sister.  Several  of 
the  names  of  these  seven  women  are  the 
same  as  those  of  seven  women  martyred 
at  Ancyra.  See  Thecusa.  R.M.  Boll., 
AA.SS.    Biog.  Ecclesiastica. 

St.  Alexandra  (4),  V.  4th  century, 
A  young  woman  of  great  beauty,  who 
determined  to  lead  a  celibate  ascetic  life. 
Finding  that  she  was  much  loved  by  a 
young  man,  she  was  afraid  she  was 
causing  him  to  sin,  so  sho  shut  herself 
up  in  a  tomb,  and  there  she  spent  all 
her  time  in  prayer  and  meditation,  ex- 
cepting only  one  hour  a  day,  which  she 
devoted  to  spinning.  St.  Melania  (1) 
visited  Alexandra,  but  could  not  see  her 
face;  she  stood  near  the  orifice  that 
served  as  a  window  to  her  cell,  and 
had  an  edifying  conversation  with  her. 
After  twelve  years'  residence  in  this 
living  grave,  Alexandra  was  one  morning 
found  dead  by  the  woman  who  used  to 
bring  her  the  necessaries  of  life.  Sylva 
anachoretica  ex  Palladia  Lausiaca. 

St.  Alexandria,  or  Alexander,  Feb. 
28,  M.  Mentioned  in  a  long  list  of 
martyrs  who  suffered  for  the  Christian 
faith  at  Alexandria,  and  who  are  com-* 
memorated  in  the  old  martyrologies. 
Henschenius,  in  AA.SS. 

B.  Alexandrina  di  Letto,  April 
3  (Alessandra,  Ales8Andrina).  1385- 
1458.  O.S.F.  One  of  a  family  of  saints. 
Daughter  of  Nicola  Baynaldo  di  Letto, 
a  nobleman  of  Sulmona;  he  was  royal 
vicar  in  Borne  in  1317,  for  Eobert,  king 
of  Naples,  and  lord  of  the  towns  of 
Letto  and  Torre,  in  the  Abruzzi.  So 
says  Jacobilli,  but  a  comparison  of  his 
dates  makes  it  seem  more  likely  that 
this  Nicola  was  her  grandfather.  Alex- 
andrina was  born  at  Sulmona.  At  the 
age  of  15  she  took  the  veil  there,  in 
the  Franciscan  monastery  of  St.  Clara, 
where  she  lived  twenty-three  years.  Her 
cousin,  B.  Margaret,  who  attained  to 
great  sanctity,  followed  her  example, 
and  became  a  nun  in  the  same  house. 
They  had  two  other  cousins,  Clara  and 
Lisa,  and  an  aunt  Gemma,  who  was  the 
mother  of  Clara.  These  three  were 
nuns  in  another  monastery  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Augustine,  in  Sulmona.  Discords 


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44 


ALGASACH 


arose  in  Sulmona,  which  led  to  the  ban- 
ishment of  these  five  nuns  and  of  the 
brother  of  one  of  them.  They  fled  to 
Aquila,  and  remained  there  two  years, 
praying  assiduously  to  be  guided  where 
they  should  serve  God.  At  last  an 
angel  revealed  to  Alexandrina  that  they 
were  to  go  to  Foligno,  and  there  build 
a  monastery  which  should  be  a  temple 
of  God  until  the  end  of  the  world. 
They  obeyed  the  angel,  and,  arriving  at 
Foligno  on  July  19,  1425,  presented 
themselves  to  Monsignor  Giacomo  Elmi, 
the  bishop,  and  to  Corrado  Trinci,  lord 
of  Foligno,  and  declared  their  intention. 
In  three  days  these  potentates  gave  them 
a  site,  and  there  they  built  a  church  and 
convent,  which  they  dedicated  to  God 
in  the  name  of  St.  Lucy,  V.  M.  The 
five  nuns  made  public  profession  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Clara,  and,  like  the  fathers 
of  the  desert,  lived  devoutly  without  any 
ruler  but  the  bishop.  In  1439  Pope 
Martin  V.  placed  them  under  the  care 
of  the  fathers  of  the  convent  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew of  Foligno,  of  that  branch  of 
the  Franciscans  surnamed  the  Zocco- 
lanti.  The  nuns  soon  became  so  re- 
nowned for  holiness  that  many  virgins 
of  noble  families  came  to  join  them, 
from  all  the  towns  and  places  round, 
and  many  miracles  were  wrought  through 
their  prayers.  This  was  the  first  mon- 
astery to  adopt  the  reform  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Clara,  and  all  the  others  through- 
out Italy  imitated  it.  Alexandrina  was 
unanimously  elected  first  abbess,  and  on 
two  subsequent  occasions  was  re-elected. 
Her  confessor  ordered  her  to  write  a 
book  describing  the  foundation  of  the 
monastery,  and  the  lives  of  many  perfect 
nuns  who  flourished  there  in  her  time. 
For  the  sake  of  obedience  she  acceded 
to  his  wish,  although  at  the  time  laden 
with  years  and  broken  down  by  penances 
and  fatigues.  She  died  April  3,  1458, 
at  the  age  of  73.  The  most  notable 
miracle  recorded  in  her  life  is  that  the 
sisters  having  dug  a  well,  were  much 
distressed  to  see  no  sign  of  water. 
Alexandrina  prayed  with  tears  and  faith, 
and  lo,  the  well  was  suddenly  full  of 
water  to  the  very  brim.  They  touched 
the  water  with  their  hands,  and  gave 
thanks,    But  it  was  not  customary  to 


have  the  water  of  a  well  quite  on  a  level 
with  the  ground,  so  Alexandrina  blessed 
the  water,  and  commanded  it  to  sink  to 
a  convenient  level.  This  it  instantly 
did,  and  ever  after  supplied  the  com- 
munity with  abundance  of  good  water. 
Jacobilli,  Saints  of  the  Family  of  Lelto  ; 
Saints  of  Umbria ;  Saints  of  Foligno ; 
and  Bibliotheca  Umbrise. 

Algasach  means  Desiderosa,  and 
was  a  surname  of  one  of  the  SS.  Lassara, 
March  29.    Gth  century. 

St.  Alfreda,  Aug.  2  (Alfrida,  Ethel- 
dritha).  834.  Daughter  of  Offa,  king 
of  the  Mercians,  one  of  the  most  powerful 
of  the  Saxon  kings,  and  conqueror  of 
several  of  his  contemporaries ;  he  held 
his  court  at  Sutton  Wallis,  in  Hereford- 
shire. His  wife  was  Quendreda.  In 
793  Alfreda  was  betrothed  to  Ethelbert, 
or  Egelbrit,  king  of  the  East  Angles. 
Quendroda  had  him  murdered  in  the 
interest  of  her  brother  Egfrid,  who  was 
innocent  of  any  participation  in  the 
crime.  The  murdered  Ethelbert  was 
buried  secretly  at  Marden.  A  pillar  of 
light  appeared  at  night  over  the  spot, 
and  revealed  the  grave.  His  body  was 
translated  into  the  church  at  Hereford. 
Tortured  by  remorse,  the  queen  had  fits 
of  fury  and  terror.  She  died  miserably 
threo  months  after  her  crime.  Alfreda 
fled  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Guthlac,  at 
Croyland,  and  became  a  recluse  there, 
being  built  up  in  a  cell  in  the  south  part 
of  the  church  opposite  the  high  altar ; 
she  lived  there  for  forty  years,  and  died 
about  834.  Britannia  Sancta,  from  Cap- 
grave  and  Harpsfeld.  Butler,  Lives. 
Bosch,  in  AA.SS.  Boll.  Mabillon, 
AA.SS.,  O.S.B.  Sa>c.  iv.  i.  565.  New- 
man, Calendar  of  English  Saints,  in 
Apologia.  William  of  Malmesbury,  Be- 
gum Angl.  i.  4.  Wion,  Lignum  Vitse, 
p.  523. 

Ven.  Alfrida,  Dec.  8  and  first  Sunday 
in  July.  M.  c.  819.  The  servants  of 
God,  Alfrida,  Sabina,  and  Edith,  VV. 
MM.,  daughters  of  Kenulf,  king  of 
Mercia,  like  many  English  ladies  of 
their  time,  set  off  to  make  the  pilgrimage 
to  Rome.  Crossing  the  sea,  they  landed 
at  Mardick ;  thence  they  went  to  Cassel, 
where  they  were  entertained  for  some 
days  in  a  monastery.  Scarcely  had  they 


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VEX.  OR  B.  ALIX  LE  CLERC 


45 


started  to  pursue  their  journey,  than 
they  were  killed  in  a  forest  by  assassins, 
sent  after  them  by  the  great  lords  in 
England,  to  whom  they  had  been  pro- 
mised, and  whom  they  had  thrown  over. 
When  the  bodies  were  found,  an  old 
blind  gentleman  put  his  hand  into  the 
blood  of  these  martyrs,  and,  next  time 
he  happened  to  rub  his  eyes  with  it,  he 
immediately  recovered  his  sight.  As  a 
thank-offering  to  God,  he  had  them 
honourably  buried,  and  built  a  chapel 
over  them,  widely  celebrated  to  this  day 
for  the  cures  and  other  answers  to 
prayer  obtained  through  the  intercession 
of  the  three  virgins.  Pilgrims  flocked 
thither  from  all  parts  of  Flanders,  and 
in  time  the  village  of  Caestre  grew  up 
around  the  famous  Chapelle  des  Trots 
Vierges.  P.B.,  quoting  the  Abbe  Des- 
tombes,  Saintcs  des  dioceses  de  Cambrai 
et  $  Arras. 

St  Algiva,  June  30  (^Eloisa, 
Elgin).  Probably  the  same  as  Elgiva, 
Oct.  19. 

St.  Alice  Rich,  Aug.  24.  c.  1270. 
Prioress  of  Catesby.  Sister  of  St.  Ed- 
mund,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  of 
B.  Margaret  Rich.  They  were  the 
children  of  Reynold  and  Matilda  or 
Mabel  Rich,  tradespeople  at  Abingdon, 
in  Berkshire,  where  the  locality  of  their 
abode  is  still  called  St.  Edmund's  Lane. 
Mabilia  practised  the  austerities  of  a 
nun,  while  living  in  the  world  and 
educating  her  children  piously.  When 
Reynold,  having  settled  his  affairs,  com- 
mitted his  children  to  the  care  of  Mabilia 
and  became  a  monk  at  Evesham  or 
Ensham,  he  found  the  life  of  the  cloister 
easy  compared  with  that  of  his  home. 
Mabilia,  who  always  wore  a  hair  shirt, 
and  always  grudged  food  or  comfort  to 
herself  or  any  one  else,  was  glad  when 
her  husband's  departure  left  her  free  to 
increase  her  own  and  her  children's 
austerities.  After  Edmund  had  been  at 
school  at  Oxford  for  some  time,  during 
which  he  married  himself  to  the  Virgin 
Mary,  she  sent  him  and  his  brother  to 
Paris  to  finish  their  education.  To 
teach  them  humility,  she  made  them 
beg  their  way  thither  like  the  poorest 
students,  although  she  could  have  paid 
their  expenses.    She  gave  them  a  hair 


shirt  at  parting,  and  whenever  she  sent 
them  clothes  or  other  necessaries,  she 
always  accompanied  the  gift  with  that 
of  some  new  instrument  of  penance. 
Falling  ill  and  not  expecting  to  recover, 
she  sent  for  St.  Edmund,  and  commended 
his  brother  and  sisters  to  his  care.  Both 
of  the  latter  wished  to  become  nuns,  so 
Mabilia  left  money  sufficient  to  purchase 
entrance  into  a  respectable,  if  not  aris- 
tocratic, monastery.  Many  parents  at 
that  time  paid  large  sums  to  secure  to 
their  daughters  a  place  amongst  asso- 
ciates of  their  own  class,  and  a  certain 
degree  of  comfort  Edmund,  however, 
regarded  this  purchase  system  as  simo- 
niacal,  and  looked  about  for,  a  nunnery 
where  holiness  was  carried  to  the  greatest 
attainable  perfection,  and  where  the 
piety  of  the  young  women  would  be  of 
more  account  than  their  small  dowry. 
After  long  search  and  waiting,  he  placed 
his  sisters  in  the  poor  Benedictine  house 
of  Catesby,  between  Banbury  and  Daven- 
try,  and  not  far  from  Eydon,  in  North- 
amptonshire. The  prioress  had  heard 
of  the  sanctity  of  Mabilia  and  the 
scruples  of  Edmund,  and  gladly  wel- 
comed Alice  and  Margaret  as  daughters- 
of  her  house.  Here  they  both  attained 
a  great  degree  of  holiness,  and  were 
successively  prioresses. 

St  Edmund  was  appointed  45th  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  by  Gregory  IX. 
He  afterwards  became  a  Cistercian  monk 
at  Pontigny,  in  Champagne.  He  died 
at  Soissy,  1242,  and  was  canonized  by 
Innocent  IV.  four  years  later.  Alice* 
died  about  1270,  and  miracles  were 
wrought  at  her  tomb. 

Matt.  Paris,  Hist.  Major,  ad  Ann.  1257. 
Ferrarius,  Novo  Cat.  Hook,  Archbishops 
of  Canterbury.  The  Bollandists,  AA.SS.r 
Aug.  24,  place  her  name  among  the 
Prsetermissi,  saying  that  her  worship  is 
not  generally  authorized,  although 
Wilson  calls  her  "Saint"  in  both  his. 
editions  of  the  English  Martyrology. 

St.  Alikia.  Apphia,  wife  of  Phile- 
mon, is  so  called  in  the  Coptic  calendar. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Alimena,  Aug.  22,  V.  Guerin. 

Ven.  or  B.  Alix  le  Clerc,  Jan.  9. 
First  regular  canoness  of  the  Congrega- 
tion of  our  Lady,  or  Ladies  of  the 


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46 


B.  ALIZ  LA  BOURGOTTE 


Congregation  of  Mary.  Commonly  called 
founder  of  that  order,  although  it  was 
actually  instituted  by  Fourier,  a  Jesuit 
father.  Born  of  a  noble  family  at 
Bemiremont,  in  Lorraine,  in  1576;  died 
Jan.  9,  1622.  In  her  youth  she  was 
fond  of  dancing  and  of  worldly  amuse- 
ments. Boing  at  a  country  place  called 
Hymont,  near  Mataincourt,  on  three 
successive  Sundays,  while  she  was 
attending  Mass,  her  thoughts  were  dis- 
tracted by  the  sound  of  a  drum.  The 
third  time,  giving  her  whole  attention 
to  the  sound,  she  was  absorbed  in  a  vision, 
and  saw  the  devil  beating  the  drum,  and 
followed  by  a  numbor  of  gay  young 
people.  She  forthwith  resolved  not  to 
t)e  one  of  them,  adopted  the  white  veil 
of  the  peasant  girls  of  the  place,  and 
took  a  vow  of  celibacy,  which  greatly 
alarmed  her  parents,  and  scandalized 
the  inhabitants  of  Mataincourt,  where 
piety  was  not  in  fashion.  She  placed 
herself  under  the  direction  of  Father 
Fourier,  curate  of  Mataincourt,  and 
afterwards  became  superior  of  a  house 
of  canonesses  under  his  direction. 
While  building  the  first  monastery  at 
Nancy,  in  1615,  Alix  went  to  Paris,  to  the 
Ursulines  of  the  Faubourg  S.  Jacques, 
to  learn  their  method  of  combining  their 
cloture  with  the  instruction  of  little  day 
scholars.  She  worked  as  a  novice  there 
for  two  months.  The  regulations  of  the 
new  order  were  finished  some  years 
later.  Meantime  the  nuns  had  several 
houses  before  they  obtained  permission 
to  make  them  into  monasteries.  At 
length,  all  difficulties  being  overcome, 
and  their  novitiate  finished,  Alix  and 
her  companions  took  the  solemn  monastic 
vows  in  1618 ;  after  which  she  redoubled 
her  austerities,  and  thereby  shortened 
her  life.  She  was  honoured  as  a  saint 
immediately  after  her  death,  and  many 
persons  invoked  her  intercession  with 
success.  Helyot,  Hist,  des  Ordres  Mo- 
nastiques,  ii.  chap.  64. 

B.  Aliz  la  Bourgotte,  June  29 
(Aletha,  Alexia,  Aleza,  Alix,  Aloysia). 
1466.  O.S.A.  In  the  hospital  of  St. 
Catherine  at  Paris,  in  1328,  there  were 
brothers  and  sisters  hospitallers  who 
served  the  poor;  their  duties  wero  to 
receive  for  three  days  any  poor  women 


or  girls  who  came  to  Paris,  and  to  bury 
prisoners  who  died  in  the  Chastelet  or 
Fort  l'^vesque,  and  persons  found 
assassinated  in  the  streets  or  drowned 
in  the  river.  They  had  the  right  to 
bury,  in  the  cemetery  of  the  Holy  * 
Innocents,  the  poor  who  died  in  their 
house.  In  course  of  time,  only  sisters 
remained  in  tho  hospital,  and  in  1558, 
as  there  were  no  brothers,  a  secular 
priest,  appointed  by  the  archbishop  of 
Paris,  was  tho  superior  of  the  sisters. 
In  this  hospital,  early  in  the  15  th 
century,  a  holy  maid,  Sister  Alix,  or 
Aliz  la  Bourgotte,  lived  for  some  years 
in  the  service  of  the  poor.  By-and-by, 
desiring  to  lead  a  more  retired  life  and 
have  no  intercourse  with  her  fellow- 
creatures,  she  was  shut  up  in  a  room 
at  the  top  of  the  house  to  try  isolation 
for  a  year ;  after  which  she  went  to  the 
cemetery  of  the  Holy  Innocents,  and  was 
walled  up  in  a  cell  adjoining  the  church ; 
she  had  a  window,  through  which  she 
could  hear  Mass  and  services.  Here  sho 
lived  for  forty-six  years,  with  so  much 
holiness  that  at  her  death,  in  1466,  Louis 
XI.  raised  a  bronze  tomb  to  her  memory, 
with  a  rhymed  epitaph,  in  which  she 
was  called  "Soeur  Aliz  la  Bourgotte.1 1 
Helyot,  Ordres  Monasiiques,  ii.  294,  says 
she  was  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augustine. 
The  Ordenskalendar  of  the  Franciscans 
claims  her  as  a  member  of  their  third 
order,  and  calls  her  Aloysia  Burgotta. 
She  is  called,  in  the  appendix  to  Saussaye, 
Mart.  GaUicanwn,  B.  Aletha,  recluse  at 
Paris.  The  Bollandists  say  that  although 
she  is  claimed  by  both  these  orders,  she 
has  no  worship  and  no  proper  day. 

St.  Alkalda,  March  28,  Oct.  27 
(  Alkeld,  Alkilda),  a  Saxon  virgin,  mar- 
tyred by  Danes.  Bepresented  in  a 
window  of  the  old  church  of  Middleham, 
in  Yorkshire,  being  strangled  by  two 
women.  So  little  is  known  of  her,  that 
some  archaeologists  suppose  there  was  no 
saint  of  this  name,  which  means  a  foun- 
tain. St.  Alkeld's  Well  is  still  believed 
to  have  healing  virtues.  Her  church,  at 
Giggleswick,  in  Yorkshire,  was  founded 
in  the  12th  century.  Parker,  Calendar. 
Arnold  Forster,  Dedications. 

St.  Alia,  or  Abba,  May  7,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 


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St.  Alias,  or  Halas.  See  Anna  (7) 
the  Goth. 

St.  Alma,  probably  the  B.  V.Mary, 
Alma  Mater. 

St.  Almerida,  May  23,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Almheda,  Aug.  1  (Almedra, 
Almedis,  Aled,  Elined,  possibly  Ele- 
vetta,  Ellyn,  Elywa,  Ellyw).  Second 
half  of  the  5th  century.  Aunt  or  sister 
of  St.  Keyne.  Daughter  of  Bragan  or 
Brychan,  who  is  also  called  Fugatius, 
and  in  Brittany  Fagan  and  Frachan,  a 
British  prince  who  gave  his  name  to  the 
province  of  Brecknock;  a  holy  man,  happy 
in  a  numerous  pious  family.  Tradition 
says  he  had  three  wives,  twenty-four  sons, 
and  twenty-five  or  twenty- six  daughters. 
He  brought  them  all  up  with  a  view  to 
their  spreading  the  Christian  religion 
among  the  Cymri.  Some  of  them  were 
saints,  and  churches  have  been  dedicated 
in  their  names.  Many  of  these  so- called 
sons  and  daughters  wero,  in  all  pro- 
bability, grandchildren.  Rice  Rees  gives 
a  complete  list  of  them.  All  appear  to 
be  reputed  saints;  but  with  some  this 
is  not  certain.    Of  the  daughters — 

Mechell,  the  eldest,  married  Gyyr. 

Gwrgon,  married  Cadrod  Calchfynydd, 
o30. 

Eleri,  married  Ceredig  ab  Cunedda, 
and  was  paternal  grandmother  of  St. 
David. 

Nefydd,  wife  of  St.  Tudwal  Befr. 
She  founded  Llannifydd,  in  Denbigh- 
shire, and  had  two  sons,  SS.  Cynin  and 
Ifor.  She  is  sometimes  confounded  with 
her  nephew  of  the  same  name,  and  is 
perhaps  the  same  as  Golenddydd,  who 
was  a  saint,  and  is  enumerated  as  another 
sister. 

St.  Rhiengar,  or  Cyngar,  of  Llech-in- 
Maelienydd,  in  Radnorshire,  mother  of 
Synidr. 

St.  Golenddydd,  a  saint,  perhaps  the 
same  as  Nefydd. 

St.  Gwenddydd,  or  Gwawrddydd,  a 
saint  at  Tywyn,  in  Merionethshire, 
mother  of  Cyngen,  who  married  one  of 
the  granddaughters  of  Brychan. 

St.  Tydie,  a  saint. 

St.  Elined,  the  Almedha  of  Giraldus 
Cambrensis. 

Ceindrych,  or  Ceindrego,  perhaps  the 


same  as  Eerdech  of  Llandegwyn,  in 
Merionethshire. 

St.  Cenedlon,  a  saint  on  the  mountain 
of  Cymorth,  probably  near  Newcastle,  in 
Emlyn. 

St.  Cymorth,  a  saint  at  Emlyn,  a  dis- 
trict on  the  confines  of  Caermarthen  and 
Pembroke.  Cymorth,  or  Corth,  was  the 
wife  of  Brynach  Wyddel,  an  Irishman, 
and  had  a  son,  Gerwyn,  and  three 
daughters,  Mwynen,  Gwennan,  and 
Gwenlliw. 

St.  Clydai,  sister  of  Cymorth  and 
Conedlon,  a  saint. 

St.  Tydful  (sometimes  confounded 
with  Tanglwst),  martyred  by  a  party 
of  Saxons  and  Picts  at  a  place  called 
Merthyr  Tydfyl,  with  her  father,  Bry- 
chan, and  one  of  her  brothers.  The  son 
of  that  brother  raised  the  people,  and 
put  the  enemy  to  flight.  Her  day  is 
Aug.  21. 

St.  Enfail,  perhaps  lived  at  Merthyr, 
near  Carmarthen. 

Haw ystl,  lived  at  Caer  Hawystl,  whioh 
is  supposed  to  bo  Awst,  in  Gloucester- 
shire. 

St.  Tybie,  murdered  by  pagans,  at 
Llandybie,  in  Carmarthenshire,  Jan.  30. 

Keneython  and  Keurbreit  are  added 
by  another  authority. 

A  church  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  near 
the  castle  of  Aberhodni,  is  called  after 
St.  Almheda,  who,  rejecting  the  alliance 
of  an  earthly  prince,  espoused  herself  to 
the  Eternal  King,  and  finished  her  course 
by  a  triumphant  martyrdom.  Rice  Rees 
says  her  name  is  Elined,  and  that 
Giraldus  says  she  was  martyred  on  a 
hill  called  Penginger,  near  Brecknock. 
Britannia  Sancta,  from  Giraldus  Cam- 
brensis.   Stanton,  En.  Mart. 

St.  Alodia,  M.  with  Nunilo  (q.v.). 

Aloysia  (1),  Louisa. 

B.  Aloysia  (2),  Aliz  la  Bourgotte. 

St.  Aloysia  (3),  Sept.  12,  one  of 
205  MM.  in  Japan.  17th  century. 
Bomano  Seraphic  Mart.  A.E.M.  Per- 
haps same  as  Louisa  (4). 

B.  Alpais  (1),  Sep.  17.  8th  century. 
Penitent.  Built  a  monastery  at  Orp. 
Commemorated  by  Rayssium,  in  his 
Additions  to  the  Saints  of  Belgium.  She 
is  probably  the  mistress  of  Pepin,  mayor 
of  the  palace,  under  Theodoric.  Pepin 


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48 


ST.  AMA 


put  away  his  wife,  St.  Pleotrudb,  mother 
of  his  sons  Grimoald  and  Drogo,  and 
took,  in  her  stead,  Alpais,  a  beautiful 
girl,  sister  of  a  Frankish  nobleman 
named  Dodo.  St.  Lambert  remonstrated. 
At  first  Pepin  bore  it  meekly,  and  in- 
tended to  recall  his  wife,  but  at  the 
sight  of  Alpais  he  fell  again.  Then 
Lambert  advised  him  to  undertake  a 
pilgrimage  to  Home.  Alpais  complained 
to  her  brother  that  Lambert  dared  to 
call  her  bad  names,  and  to  say  that  her 
marriage  was  null.  He  knew  tho  people 
would  revolt  if  Lambert  suffered  any 
violence,  so  he  tried  to  persuado  him  to 
approve  the  marriage.  Lambert  refused 
to  give  Alpais  the  sacrament.  She 
stirred  up  her  brother  and  several  friends. 
They  attacked  him  in  the  night  and 
murdered  him,  with  his  two  nephews 
and  some  attendants,  in  the  church  of 
SS.  Cosmo  and  Damian,  near  Liege,  in 
the  reign  of  Childebert,  son  of  Theo- 
doric,  about  705.  Boll.,  AA.SS.  Prseter., 
quoting  Eayssium's  Additamenta.  Biog. 
Liigeoiee. 

St  Alpais  (2),  Nov.  3  (Alpaydk, 

ELPIDE,  AUPAIKS,  AUPAISE,  AUPA8IE),  V., 

living  in  1180.  The  Martyrology  of 
Salisbury,  Nov.  3,  says,  "The  feest  of 
saynt  Alpayde,  a  virgyn  of  poore  byrth, 
and  a  keper  of  beestes  in  ye  felde,  yet 
obtayned  she  of  our  lorde  ye  clere 
understandynge  of  holy  scripture  and 
the  spirite  of  couseyle,  wt  meruaylous 
prudence  ;  yet  was  she  euer  seke  in  body 
and  neuer  hole,  and  lyued  many  yeres 
wtout  ony  fode  but  onely  the  sacrament 
of  Chrystes  body,  and  many  tymes  was 
she  rapte  in  to  heuen,  hell,  and  purgatory 
as  by  syght  in  her  soule  and  under- 
standynge of  the  joye  and  payne ;  she 
had  also  ye  spiryte  of  prophecy,  and  was 
of  many  miracles." 

Mezeray  tells  the  same  story  in  his 
History  of  France,  in  describing  the  reign 
of  Philip  Augustus.  He  also  says  she 
lived  at  Cudot,  in  the  diocese  of  Sens, 
and  that,  in  his  time,  her  tomb  was  still 
to  be  seen  in  the  parish  church,  sur- 
mounted by  her  effigy  in  stone,  crowned 
with  flowers,  and  the  people  of  the 
country  affirmed  that  God  sanctioned, 
by  numerous  miracles,  the  devotion  paid 
to  this  saint. 


Ferrarius  says  that  she  died  at  Ton- 
nere,  Nov.  2.  C.V.H.  in  Boll.,  AA.SS., 
Nov.  3.  Mas  Latrie,  Trefeor,  says  she 
died  1211,  and  that  a  contemporary  MS. 
Life  of  her  exists  at  Paris,  in  the 
Bibliotheque  de  F^cole  des  Chartres. 
1881.  253. 

St.  Alpina,  June  22,  M.  Mart,  of 
Beichenau.    AA.SS.,  Prefationes,  in. 

St.  Alruna,  June  19.  Middle  or 
end  of  11th  century.  Widow  and  nan, 
O.S.B.  Born  Countess  Chambensiun. 
Married  Macolinus.  She  was  a  mother 
and  protectress  of  the  poor,  and  of  con- 
vents, and  was  assisted  in  her  good 
works  by  her  servants  William  and 
Matilda.  She  hung  her  clothes  on  a 
sunbeam.  She  multiplied  the  bread  for 
her  poor  guests.  After  she  had  had 
children  enough,  Macelinus  set  her  free 
to  devote  herself  to  religion.  Bucelinus, 
Men.  Ben. 

St.  Alumna,  or  Domna,  one  of  the 
martyrs  of  Lyons,  who  died  in  prison. 
See  Blandina. 

St.  Alvenera,  Aug.  25  (Alvera, 
Alvebena  ;  perhaps  Amvert a  and  Alvira 
are  the  same).  Supposed  to  have  been 
a  virgin  martyr  late  in  the  3rd  century. 
Her  skull  is  preserved  at  Limeil,  a  little 
town  situated  where  the  Vezere  runs 
into  the  Dordogne,  in  the  diocese  of 
Tarbes.  She  is  mentioned  in  an  ancient 
martyrology,  in  an  old  Benedictine 
monastery  at  Tarbes,  in  the  Pyrenees. 
AA.SS.  Boll.  Appendix. 

St.  Alverta,  V.  at  Agen.  Sister  of 
St.  Faith.  Perhaps  same  as  Alvenera,. 
whose  skull  is  preserved,  with  great 
veneration,  at  Limeil. 

St.  Alvira,  March  6,  V.  Probably 
the  same  as  Elvira,  or  as  Alvenera. 

Alwerda,  May  22,  V.  t1017>  at 
Magdeburg.  Lived  in  great  sanctity 
and  had  celestial  visions  at  the  time  of 
her  death.  Ditmar,  Chronicle,  book  7. 
AA.SS.  Prseter.,  May  22,  Feb.  7. 

Alwreda,  May  23.  Sister  of  Irm- 
card.  Led  a  holy  life  at  Magdeburg. 
Praised  by  Dithmar  and  Laherius.  Pro- 
bably same  as  Alwerda  ;  both  mentioned 
among  the  Praeternmi,  in  AA.SS.,  Feb. 
7,  May  22  and  23. 

St.  Ama  (1),  March  28  (Anca,  Anta, 
Anias),  M.  at  Borne.  AA.SS. 


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B.  AMATA 


40 


St  Ama  (2),  June  6,  V.  M.  in  Persia. 
P.B. 

St  Ama  (3),  Talida. 

St.  Ama  (4),  Sept.  24  (Amata,  Ame, 
Amee,  Emma,  Imma,  Ymma).  Gth  century. 
Honoured  at  Joinville.  Eldest  of  seven 
sisters.  (See  Hoylda.)  The  name  Imma, 
or  Ame,  is  common  in  Champagne,  and 
St.  Ama  is  the  patron  of  those  so  named. 
Baillet,  Vies.    Perier.  AA.SS. 

St  Amabilia  (1),  July  11,  V.  Her 
bones  and  picture  were  preserved  in 
tho  convent  of  St.  Amand,  at  Ronen. 
Supposed  to  be  daughter  of  a  king  of 
England.    AA.SS.  Appendix. 

B.  Amabilia  (2),  abbess.  12th 
century.  One  of  the  native  patron 
saints  of  Bohemia,  and  patron  especially 
of  the  family  of  Swihowski  or  Schu- 
rhowski.  Daughter  of  Wladislaus  I., 
duke  of  Bohemia.  Sister  of  Wladislaus 
II.,  a  religious  man  and  happy  in 
having  pious  children ;  he  built  the 
noble  monastery  of  Srapow  on  Mount 
Zion.  He  went  to  Jerusalem  in  the 
crusade  with  tho  Emperor  Conrad  III., 
in  1147.  Later,  when  he  had  dono  good 
service  to  the  Emperor  in  his  wars 
against  the  Milanese,  in  Italy,  Conrad 
gave  him,  for  his  ensign,  a  white  lion 
with  two  tails.  Amabilia  had  another 
brother,  Theobald,  and  a  sister,  B. 
Elizabeth,  prioress  of  Duxovia.  Ama- 
bilia stayed  with  Theobald  and  lived  on 
his  estate.  At  Clatow,  which  seems  to 
have  been  his  property,  she  built  a 
monastery,  dedicated  in  the  name  of  St. 
Lawrence,  for  Benedictine  nuns,  and  was 
their  first  abbess.  She  wrought  miracles 
during  her  life,  and  is  buried  in  her  own 
monastery,  which,  however,  was  after- 
wards given  to  Dominican  monks.  The 
family  of  Swihowski,  or  Schurhowski, 
trace  their  descent  to  Theobald,  and 
worship  Amabilia  with  particular  de- 
votion as  their  patron  saint.  Chanowski, 
Vestigia  Bohemise  Pise.  Palacky,  Ge- 
scJtichte  von  Bohmen. 

St.  Amabilis,  July  20,  M.  in  Africa. 
AAJSS. 

B.  Amadea,  March  G,  Oct.  28  (Ama- 
deum,  Amedea).  O.S.B.  12th  century. 
Called  the  "  Blessed  Nun  of  Savoy."  At 
the  time  that  St.  Amadeus  was  bishop  of 
Lausanne,  his  sister  was  a  Benedictine 


nun  in  Savoy.  He  wrote  eight  homilies 
for  her,  which,  according  to  Burgener, 
were  so  highly  esteemed  as  to  rank 
among  tho  writings  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church.  Amadeus  and  Amadea  were 
the  children  of  Amadeus,  count  of  Haute- 
rive,  and  Petronilla  his  wife,  daughter 
of  Guido  VII.,  de  Chuignos,  duke  of 
Vienne,  in  Dauphiny.  Amadea  was 
already  a  nun  when  her  mother  died  in 
1119.  Her  father  and  a  little  brother 
went  into  the  Cistercian  monastery  of 
Bonnoveaux.  Instigated  by  the  Virgin 
Mary,  Amadea  begged  her  brother,  the 
bishop,  to  give  her  the  homilies  he  had 
written.  He  agreed,  on  condition  that  she 
should  give  him  something.  According 
to  Bucelinus,  the  B.  V.  Mary  provided 
her  with  a  woollen  chyrotheca,  or,  as 
Burgener  relates,  a  linen  cover.  It  is 
impossible  for  us  to  ascertain  of  what 
material  this  articlo  was  made;  for, 
although  it  was  preserved  for  four 
centuries  in  the  treasury  of  the  cathedral 
of  Savoy,  it  was  lost  or  destroyed  when 
that  church  was  plundered  in  1536. 
Burgener,  Helvetia  Sancta.  Bucelinus, 
Men.  Ben.,  who  quotes  a  Life  of  St. 
Amadeus  by  Richard  Gibbon. 

St.  Amalberga  (l),  Amelberga. 

St.  Amalberga  (2),  widow.  Abbess 
of  tho  convent  of  Lobbe,  in  1408.  In  a 
collection  of  Images  des  saints,  repre- 
sented holding  her  pastoral  staff  and  a 
knife.  Erroneously  confounded  with 
tho  St.  Amelberga  who  lived  in  the  8th 
century.    Guenebault,  Diet.  Icon. 

St.  Amaranta,  or  Amarantus,  Oct. 
28,  M.  at  Carthage.  Early  in  the  4th 
century.  AA.SS. 

St.  Amarma,  July  8,  wife  of  a  king 
of  the  Goths.  M.  with  St.  Celian  the 
Scot,  and  his  brothers,  SS.  Aedh  and 
Tadg.  They  wero  killed  by  the  governor 
of  the  royal  house,  in  the  hippodrome  of 
the  king's  palace.  This  was  not  later 
than  the  end  of  the  9th  century,  the 
latest  entry  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallagh 
being,  according  to  Colgan,  HDD.  Kelly, 
Mart  of  Tallagh. 

St.  Amata  (1),  Talida. 

B.  Amata  (2),  or  Aimee,  June  10. 
1236.  O.S.D.  In  1217,  when  St,  Dominic 
was  preaching  to  the  nuns  of  San  Sisto, 
at  Rome,  the  first  convent  of  his  order, 

E 


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50 


B.  AMATA  MARTINI 


some  secular  women  were  present,  and 
among  them,  one  possessed  by  devils. 
The  devil  within  her  cried  ont  during  tho 
sermon  and  reviled  St.  Dominic  for  taking 
away  his  prey,  saying,  "  These  nuns  were 
mine,  and  you  have  taken  them  away 
from  me ;  you  have  cast  me  out  of  four 
persons,  but  out  of  this  one  I  will  not 
go."  The  audience,  scandalized,  desired 
the  young  woman  to  be  silent,  but  in 
vain.  St.  Dominic  twice  forbade  the 
devil  to  speak.  But  he  answered, "  There 
are  seven  of  us,  and  we  will  not  be 
quiet."  They  described  the  way  in 
which  each  of  them  had  entered  into 
their  victim,  and  talked  confusedly,  like 
seven  persons  speaking  at  once.  Then 
the  saintly  preacher  raised  his  hand, 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  com- 
manded the  devils  to  depart  out  of  the 
unhappy  woman,  and  torment  her  no 
longer.  They  obeyed.  She  cast  coals 
and  blood  from  her  mouth,  and  was 
vexed  no  more.  Very  soon  after  this 
she  became  a  Dominican  nun  at  San 
Sisto,  taking  the  veil  from  the  hands  of 
the  preacher  who  had  saved  her.  He 
gave  her  the  name  of  Amata,  and  had  a 
special  affection  for  her  as  long  as  he 
lived.  She  accompanied  B.  Cecilia  (11) 
to  the  new  convent  of  St.  Agnes,  at 
Bologna,  and  led  a  very  holy  life.  She 
was  buried  there  with  BB.  Cecilia  and 
Diana.  Pio,  Uomini  e  donne  Ulustri  per 
Santita. 

B.  Amata  (3)  Martini,  Feb.  20. 
13th  century.  Niece  of  St.  Claba  of 
Assisi.  Daughter  of  Don  Martini  de 
Corano.  Her  parents  intendod  her  to 
be  married.  She  was  pleased  with  dress 
and  worldly  vanity.  St.  Clara  grieved 
for  the  peril  in  which  she  saw  her,  and 
prayed  that  she  might  strive  to  please 
God  rather  than  men.  Her  prayer  was 
heard ;  Amata  was  soon  inspired  with  a 
disgust  for  the  world  and  desire  for  a 
religious  life.  She  was  afflicted  with 
dropsy  and  a  very  bad  cough  for  a  year. 
St.  Clara  cured  her  by  laying  hands  on 
her  and  making  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
Amata  attended  her  aunt  during  her 
dying  illness,  and  at  the  last  saw  Christ 
standing  beside  her  patient.  Amata 
was  remarkable  for  her  virtue  and 
sanctity  after  the  death  of  Clara.  Buried 


with  her  sister  St.  Balbina.  AA.SS.  in 
Benedicta,  March  16,  quoting  Wadding. 

B.  Ambrosia,  one  of  the  nine  sisters 
of  St.  Bainfrede. 

St.  Amelberga  (l),  June  10,  July  io 
(Amalberga,  Amelia).  7th,  8th,  or  \)th 
century.  Patron  of  women  called  Amale, 
Amalia,  or  Amel ;  also  of  Maubeuge  and 
Binche.  There  is  groat  obscurity  con- 
cerning her  day,  date,  and  history.  She 
is  worshipped  on  the  samo  day  as  another 
saint  of  the  name ;  both  contemporaries 
of  one  or  other  of  the  Pepins,  mayors  of 
the  palace.  She  is  said  to  have  been  a 
niece  of  Pepin  and  wife  of  Witger,  count 
of  Lorraine,  who  was  perhaps  her  second 
husband.  Her  daughters  were  St.  Eey- 
neld,  St.  Ermelind,  and  Amelburga, 
who  died  young,  and  perhaps  SS. 
Pharaild  and  Gudula.  Amelberga  is 
said,  but  not  without  contradiction,  to 
have  been  the  mother  of  St.  Gengulf  or 
Jingo,  M.,  and  St.  Emibert,  bishop  of 
Cambrai  or  Arras.  She  became  a  nun, 
and  Witger  a  monk.  Her  body  was 
translated  from  Binche,  in  Hainault,  to 
Lobbes,  where  she  is  worshipped.  Bal- 
deric,  Ohronique  d' Arras  et  de  Cartibrau 
Le  Glay,  chap.  xvi.  p.  60.  Surius. 
Martin.    Boll,  AA.SS. 

St.  Amelberga  (2),  or  Amelia,  July 
10,  Dec.  12,  V.  c.  772.  Patron  of  Ghent. 
A  little  print  of  her,  given  by  Pinius  in 
his  Commentary  on  her  history  in  tho 
AA.SS.,  represents  her  standing  on  the 
shoulders  of  a  king,  who  lies  flat  on 
the  ground,  wearing  his  crown  and  hold- 
ing his  sceptre.  At  each  side  of  her 
lies  a  huge  fish;  in  the  background, 
at  one  side,  is  a  draw-well,  at  the 
other,  a  flock  of  geese.  She  wears  a 
nun's  dress,  holds  a  palm  and  an  open 
book,  and  has  a  glory  round  her  head. 
She  is  sometimes  represented  standing 
on  a  large  fish,  holding  an  abbess's 
pastoral  staff  and  a  book ;  sometimes  she 
holds  a  sieve.  She  is  invoked  in  cases 
of  fever,  bruises,  pains  in  the  arms  and 
shoulders,  and  a  disease  of  the  intestines 
called  in  Flanders,  "  dcr  langen  ebeV 
The  estate  of  Temsche  on  the  Escaut 
belonged  to  her.  Charles  Martel  wanted 
to  marry  her,  or,  according  to  another 
account,  it  was  his  son  Pepin  who  wanted 
to  make  her  his  daughter-in-law  by 


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51 


marrying  her  to  Charlemagne.  At  first 
Charles  carried  on  the  negotiation  by 
messengers,  but,  as  she  always  refused, 
he  went  to  her  house  to  try  to  persuade 
her.  She  fled  from  him  and  took  refuge 
in  a  chapel ;  the  king,  or  rather  mayor 
of  the  palace,  got  angry,  tried  to  drag  her 
away  by  the  hand,  and  unintentionally 
broko  her  arm.  After  this,  by  the  advice 
of  St.  Willibrord,  she  went  to  Bilsen,  or 
Belise,  and  took  up  her  abode  with 
St.  Landrada,  who  was  abbess  there. 
While  her  marriage  was  still  under  dis- 
cussion, Charlemagne  paid  his  court  to 
the  Abbess  Landrada  for  her  sake,  by  pre- 
senting her  with  a  bear  which  he  killed 
in  the  forest  while  hunting  near  the 
convent.  Amelberga  became  a  nun  under 
Landrada,  and  seems  to  have  succeeded 
her  as  abbess,  or  else  to  have  governed 
a  community  of  nuns  on  her  own  lands, 
as  she  is  represented  with  a  pastoral 
staff.  One  day  she  wanted  to  cross  the 
Escaut,  but  found  no  boat.  An  immense 
sturgeon  offered  to  take  her  across  on 
his  back,  and  landed  her  safely  on  the 
other  side,  in  memory  of  which  the 
fishermen  of  the  place  yearly  offer  a 
sturgeon  at  the  chapel  of  St.  Amelberga 
on  her  day,  July  10.  It  is  even  said 
that  no  sturgeon  is  ever  seen  in  those 
waters  except  on  that  day,  when  one 
always  presents  itself.  She  died  in  a 
good  old  age  at  Bilsen,  and  was  taken  to 
Temsche  to  be  buried.  A  number  of 
sturgeons  escorted  the  boat  up  the  river. 
Twice  in  her  life  she  fed  the  people 
during  famine  on  the  flesh  of  large  fish 
which  appeared  opportunely  in  the  river. 

The  sieve  that  she  holds  in  her  hand 
is  perhaps  a  pun  on  the  name  of  her 
estate,  and  denotes  that  she  was  the  pos- 
sessor of  the  lands  of  Temsche,  in  French 
Tamise  (/ami*,  a  sieve).  But  a  legend  has 
been  found  to  account  for  it  otherwise. 

The  people  of  Temsche  complained  to 
her  that  they  had  only  one  well,  and  that 
was  in  a  field,  the  owner  of  which  gave 
them  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  She  went 
to  the  well  with  a  sievo,  which  she  filled 
with  water  and  carried  to  another  field, 
where  she  set  it  down.  Thenceforth 
there  was  an  abundant  supply  of  water 
in  that  place,  but  the  old  well  dried  up. 
A  little  chapel  stands  near  her  well,  and 


pilgrims  resort*  to  both  for  miraculous 
cures.  Long  after  her  death,  a  woman 
of  wicked  life  prayed  for  conversion  at  the 
sacred.well.  She  became  unable  to  leave 
the  spot,  retaining  all  her  faculties  while 
she  kept  within  a  certain  short  distance 
of  St.  Amelberga's  Well,  but  becoming 
paralyzed  directly  she  attempted  to  pass 
that  boundary.  As  to  the  geese  in  the 
pictures,  the  same  story  is  told  of  her  as 
of  St.  Wereburg.  All  the  saints  re- 
presented with  geese  have  their  feasts  in 
winter.  A  goose  is  the  Scandinavian 
sign  for  snow.  The  reason  geese  are 
given  to  St.  Amelberga  is  that  she  is 
confounded  with  another  saint  of  the 
same  namo,  whose  fete  is  Dec.  12.  Amel- 
berga (2)  was  translated  to  St.  Peter's, 
in  Mont  Blandin,  near  Ghent,  in  870,  in 
the  reign  of  Baldwin  of  the  Iron  Arm, 
first  count  of  Flanders.  B.M.  Pinius,, 
inBo)L9AA.8S.  Peter  Natalis.  Cahier. 
Baldwin  of  Ninove  tells  of  Charlemagne's 
love  for  her,  and  places  her  death  in 
795  ;  but  calls  her  niece  of  SS.  Gertrude 
and  Begga,  who  lived  a  century  earlier. 
Ghron.  Beiges,  ii.  659. 

St.  Amelberga  (3),  Dec.  12,  is  per- 
haps the  daughter  of  Amelberga  (1),  and 
perhaps  also  the  lady  who  ought  to 
carry  the  goose.    See  Amelberga  (2). 

St.  Amelia  (l),  May  31,  M.  at. 
Gerunda,  now  Gerona,  in  Spain. 

St.  Amelia  (2),  June  2,  M.  at 
Lyons,  not  with  Blandina.  AA.SS. 

B.  Ameltrude  (1),  or  Amaltrude, 
Nov.  13,  18.  Mentioned  in  the  history 
of  S.  Maxellenda,  a  martyr  of  chastity. 
When  Maxellenda  was  murdered,  her 
parents,  with  great  lamentation  and 
much  ceremony,  prooeeded  to  bury  her 
in  the  church  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  at. 
Pomeriolas,  near  Cambrai.  After  three 
years,  a  religious  widow,  named  Amel- 
trude, who  had  built  that  church  and 
spent  her  time  in  prayer  there,  heard  a 
voice  in  the  night,  commanding  her  to 
go  to  Vindician,  bishop  of  Cambrai,  and 
urge  him  to  take  up  the  body  of  Maxel- 
lenda and  translate  it  to  the  scene  of  her 
martyrdom,  which  was  done.  Surius. 
Qynecaeum. 

St.  Ameltrude  (2),  Aug.  30  (Amal- 
trude, Emendrenilla,  Gertrude),  V. 
7th  or  8th  century.  The  Normans,  under 


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52 


B.  AMICIA 


Rollo,  c.  876,  took  her  body  from  Eng- 
land to  Jumieges,  in  Normandy,  and 
placed  it  on  the  altar  of  the  monastery 
of  St.  Peter  there.  It  is  supposed  that, 
finding  the  body  of  the  saint  splendidly 
dressed  and  adorned  with  gold  and  silver 
ornaments,  they  carried  it  off,  in  hope  of 
receiving  a  large  sum  as  ransom  ;  but, 
disappointed  in  this  expectation,  they 
left  it  at  Jumieges,  where  it  was  reve- 
rently preserved  by  the  monks.  A 
chapel  was  called  by  her  name,  and  a 
village  near  long  afterwards  bore  the 
name  of  S.  Emendrenille.  Morosini, 
Eccles.  Diet.  AA.SS. 

B.  Amicia,  Feb.  23  (Amica,  Amicitia, 
and  perhaps  Anna).  O.S.D.  13th  cen- 
tury. Founder  of  Montargis.  Daughter 
of  Simon  IV.  de  Montfort,  earl  of  Leices- 
ter ("f  1218)  ;  her  mother  was  Alice  de 
Montmoronci.  Amicia  was  sister  of  the 
great  Earl  Simon,  called  the  father  of 
the  English  Parliament  She  married 
Gaucher  de  Joygni,  seigneur  of  Chateau- 
Renard.  This  heroic  matron,  says  Ma- 
noel  de  Lima,  used  all  her  influence  to 
make  her  only  son  take  the  habit  of  St. 
Dominic ;  asking  this  of  God  with  great 
fervour,  she  obtained  it  in  the  hour  of 
that  son's  death.  Being  rid  of  her  hus- 
band and  children,  she  built  a  Dominican 
monastery  at  Montargis,  and  there  took 
the  veil,  and  led  such  a  life  as  to  be 
called  by  all  writers,  "  Blessed."  Lima 
calls  her  Anna,  and  places  her  death  in 
1220  ;  Guenebault,  Diet.  lean.,  says 
1230;  and  Pio  says  about  1235,  which 
seems  more  likely.  Lima,  Agiologio 
Domenico.  Pio,  Donne  Blustre  per  Santita. 
Prothero,  Life  of  Simon  de  Montfort. 
L'Art  d#  verifier  les  Dates,  ii.  482. 

St  Amida,  or  Animida,  July  2,  M. 
at  Eome  or  in  Mesopotamia.  Soller,  in 
AA.SS. 

St.  Amie,  Aug.  9,  M.  in  the  East. 
Guerin. 

St.  Amigradina,  July  2,  M.  at 
Rome  or  in  Mesopotamia.  Soller,  in 
AA.SS. 

St.  Amma,  (1)  Isidora,  (2)  Piamun, 
(3)  Talida. 

St.  Ammia  (1)  (Amnea,  Elpe,  Hel- 
pis),  one  of  those  among  the  martyrs  of 
Lyons  who,  being  Roman  citizens,  were 
beheaded  instead  of  being  killed,  like 


their  companions,  by  the  beasts  of  the 
circus.    See  Blandina.  AA.SS. 

St.  Ammia  (2),  Aug.  31.  3rd  cen- 
tury. Foster-mother  of  St.  Mamas  the 
martyr,  who  was  born  in  prison.  His 
parents,  SS.  Theodotus  and  Rufina,  died 
there  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  he  was 
taken  by  a  certain  Christian  woman  of 
senatorial  rank,  and  brought  up  kindly. 
R.M.  Men.  of  Basil,  in  Ughelli,  Italia 
Sacraf  x. 

SS.  Ammonaria  (1  and  2),  Dec.  12, 
MM.  250.  Ammonaria  (1),  V.,  was 
beheaded  at  Alexandria,  in  the  reign  of 
Decius.  At  the  beginning  of  the  trial, 
she  declared  she  would  not  utter  a  word, 
and  kept  her  resolution,  in  spite  of  long 
and  terrible  tortures.  Her  judge,  not 
liking  to  be  outdone  in  determination  by 
women,  had  her  companions  beheaded 
without  torture ;  they  were  SS.  Mercuria, 
Dionysia,  and  Ammonaria  (2).  R.M. 
J.  M.  Neale,  Holy  Eastern  Church.  But- 
ler, from  Eusebius. 

St.  Ammonatha,  Dec.  12.  Baring 
Gould  says  she  is  mentioned  in  some 
Greek  calendars,  with  St.  Antha,  on 
this  day.  Perhaps  the  same  as  Ammo- 
naria. 

St.  Ammonia,  Feb.  19.  M.with  St. 
Cointa  and  10  others,  at  Apollonia,  in 
Macedonia,  under  the  Emperor  Decius. 
Forrarius,  Topography. 

St.  Am  pull,  or  Ampoule,  is  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  if  it  were  the  name  of  a 
woman,  but  this  is  not  the  case.  It  was 
the  sacred  phial  used  for  the  anointing 
of  Clovis,  at  his  baptism,  at  Eheims,  in 
496.  The  legend  is  that  the  crowd  in 
the  church  was  so  great  that  the  clerk 
could  not  get  through  it  to  bring  the 
chrism  (anointing  oil)  to  St.  Bemi 
(Bemigius)  the  bishop,  as  he  stood  at 
the  font  with  his  converts.  The  bishop 
prayed  that  the  holy  ceremony  might 
not  be  delayed,  and  lo!  a  white  doye 
appeared,  bringing  a  small  phial  of  oil, 
with  which  the  king  was  anointed. 
The  same  phial  has  been  used  at  the 
coronation  of  every  king  of  France  down 
to  that  of  Charles  X.  in  1825.  It  is 
about  the  size  of  a  walnut ;  it  has  never 
been  replenished,  yet  it  never  suffers 
any  diminution  of  oil.  Collin  de  Plancy, 
L4gendes  de  VHistoire  de  France. 


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ST.  AN  ASTASIA 


53 


St  Ana,  V.  Honoured  in  Ireland, 
Jan.  18,  with  St.  Scoth  (2). 

St.  Anarguris,  July  1.  Patron,  in 
some  parts  of  Greece,  of  flocks  and  herds. 
In  the  isle  of  Scio,  the  peasants  take 
a  sick  ox  to  the  church  of  St.  Anarguris, 
and  pray  for  its  recovery,  vowing  that,  if 
it  is  cured,  they  will  present  it  to  the 
saint  when  superannuated.  On  July  1 
numbers  of  old  oxen  are  brought  there 
and  killed  on  the  threshold,  and  the 
flesh  is  given  to  the  poor.  Macmillaris 
Magazine,  March,  1885, u  Old  Mythology 
in  New  Apparel,"  by  J.  Theodore  Bent. 

SS.  Anastasia  (l)  and  Basilissa, 
April  1 5.  60.  Roman  matrons  of  high 
rank  and  great  wealth.  Disciples  of  the 
Apostles.  They  were  detected  collecting 
and  burying  the  relics  of  the  Christians, 
and  beheaded,  after  having  their  foet  cut 
off,  and  tongues  torn  out.  B.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Anastasia  (2),  Dec.  25,  Oct.  26 
and  28,  V.  M.  at  Rome,  in  the  time  of 
Valerian  (253-260).  Called  "  the  Elder," 
because  she  lived  a  generation  earlier 
than  the  great  martyr  Anastasia.  She 
is  honoured  on  the  same  day  as  Ana- 
stasia (5),  and  also  on  Oct.  26  and  28. 
She  is  in  the  B.M.  Oct.  28.  In  the 
Menclogy  of  Basil,  Oct.  12,  she  was  a 
nun  under  St.  Sophia,  from  the  age 
of  20.  She  was  accused  to  Probus,  an 
officer  under  Diocletian,  of  worshipping 
neither  the  gods  nor  the  Emperor.  He 
sent  soldiers,  who  broke  into  St.  Sophia's 
house  (called  monasterium,  but  there 
were,  at  that  time,  no  monasteries  in  the 
modern  sense  of  the  word),  and  took 
Anastasia  to  their  master.  Sophia  ex- 
horted her  to  endure  all  things  bravely 
for  the  love  of  Christ.  Probus  advised 
her  to  renounce  her  religion.  She  had 
her  breasts  cut  off,  her  tongue  cut  out, 
her  teeth  drawn,  and  her  nails  torn  off. 
She  asked  for  water,  and  one  Cyrillus, 
who  was  standing  by,  gave  it  her,  and 
obtained  as  his  reward  the  martyr's 
crown.  Anastasia  was  beheaded,  and 
left  on  the  ground  to  be  eaten  by  beasts 
and  birds  of  prey.  Sophia,  who  hod 
prayed  earnestly  that  her  young  disciple 
might  not  yield  to  the  assaults  of  the 
enemy,  came  to  take  her  body,  and  give 
thanks  that  she  was  now  safe  with  Christ. 
Being  a  feeble  old  woman  unable  to  walk 


without  a  stick,  much  less  carry  the 
mutilated  body  of  Anastasia,  she  was 
assisted  by  two  angels.  B.M. 

St  Anastasia  (3),  Jan.  5,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Anastasia  (4),  July  29,  M. 
AA.SS 

St.  Anastasia  (5),  Dec.  25,  V.  M. 
304.   Patron  of  Zara ;  of  Santa  Severina, 
in  Calabria ;  and  of  weavers.    Called  in 
the  Greek  Church,  "  The  great  martyr 
Anastasia,  the  dissolver  of  charms ; " 
called  in  the  Grseco-Slav.  Martyrology, 
given  in  the  AA.SS.,  vol.  3,  "  Dissolver 
of  chains  and  parmacolytria."    Ono  of 
the  great  patrons  of  the  Western  Church. 
Her  name  is  in  the  canon  of  the  Mass. 
It  is  also  in  the  Sacramentary  of  St. 
Gregory,  and  other  ancient  catalogues  of 
martyrs.    A  very  old  church  in  Eome  is 
dedicated  in  her  name.    In  the  Acts  of 
St.  Chrysogonus.  which,  however,  are  not 
of  undisputed  authenticity,  it  is  said 
that  he  was  her  spiritual  director ;  that 
she  visited  him  in  prison ;  and  that  she 
was  tortured  and  burned  alive,  by  order 
of  the  prefect  of  Illyricum,  in  304.  Her 
body  was  removed  to  Rome,  and  buried 
in  the  church  which  bears  her  name; 
but  afterwards  translated  to  Constanti- 
nople.   The  Popes  anciently  said  their 
second  Mass  ,on  Christmas  night  in  the 
church  of  St.  Anastasia,  whence  a  com- 
memoration is  made  of  her  in  the  second 
Moss.   The  story  of  her  persecution  and 
martyrdom  is  given,  with  variations,  by 
Vega  and  Villegos,  quoting  Ado  of 
Treves,  Bede,  and  other  ancient  hagio- 
graphers.    According  to  these  legends, 
she  was  the  daughter  of  Protasius,  or 
Pretazato,  a  heathen  Roman  nobleman, 
and  Fausta,  or  Flavia,  who  was  secretly 
a  Christian.    Anastasia  was  brought  up 
iu  the  faith  of  her  mother,  with  the 
assistance  of  St.  Chrysogonus,  a  venerable 
priest  of  the  Christians,  whom  both 
mother  and  daughter  visited  and  assisted 
when  he  was  obliged  to  conceal  himself 
from  the  persecutions  of  the  heathen. 
Fausta  being  dead,  and  Chrysogonus  in 
prison,  Protasius  married  St  Anastasia, 
against  her  will,  to  Publius,  a  heathen. 
He  was  so  angry  at  her  unconcealed  dis- 
like to  the  marriage,  and  at  the  report 
that  she  belonged  to  the  despised  and 


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54 


ST.  ANASTASIA 


suspected  sect  of  Christians,  and  nsed  to 
go  secretly,  with  her  maid,  disguised  in 
men's  clothes,  to  visit  the  prisoners  of 
her  religion,  that  he  at  once  imprisoned 
her,  intending  to  starve  her  to  death,  and 
take  possession  of  her  property.  During 
her  imprisonment,  she  was  comforted  by 
letters  from  St.  Chrysogonus,  who  en- 
couraged her  to  suffer  all  things  rather 
than  renounce  her  religion.     At  her 
husband's  death  she  was  brought  out  of 
prison  with  her  three  maids,  who  had 
shared  her  captivity,  and  who  were 
immediately  put  to  death.    The  judge 
who  condemned  them  was  found  dead  in 
his  bed  next  morning.    His  successor, 
trying  to  persuade  An  astasia  to  abjure 
her  religion,  was  struck  blind,  and,  calling 
on  his  gods  for  help,  was  answered  by  the 
devil,  "  Because  you  have  insulted  the 
spouse  of  Christ,  you  shall  be  tormented 
by  us  in  hell."    He  died  the  same  day. 
Another  judge,  knowing  that  she  had 
great  possessions,  said,  "Give  me  all 
your  riches,  then  you  will  be  a  true 
Christian ;  I  will  let  you  go  and  worship 
whom  you  please,  and  your  poverty  will 
please  your  God."    Anastasia  replied, 
"  My  Master  would  have  me  sell  what  I 
have,  and  give  to  the  poor ;  but  you  are 
not  poor,  and  would  spend  all  in  sinful 
luxury."    He  condemned  Jier  to  die  of 
hunger.    She  was  fed  by  angels,  or  by 
the  spirit  of  her  friend  St.  Theodora,  or 
Thkodote,  who  had  formerly  helped  her, 
but  who  had  before  this  time  suffered 
martyrdom.    Anastasia  was  next  put  in 
a  boat,  with  a  number  of  other  Christians, 
and  set  adrift  on  the  sea ;  they  were  safely 
cast  ashore  on  the  island  of  Palm  aria, 
where  other  Christians  already  lived. 
The  whole  community  were  edified  by 
the  conversation  of  St.  Anastasia,  who 
was  soon  remarked  by  the  authorities 
as  an  irrepressible  Christian,  and  con- 
demned to  be  roasted  alive.   She  said 
she  did  not  fear  pain,  because  she  had 
Christ  in  her  heart;  so  the  governor 
ordered  her  heart  to  be  brought  to  him 
after  her  death ;  and  he  found  the  name 
of  Jesus  written  on  it.    270  companions 
of  her  martyrdom   in  Palmaria  are 
honoured  with  her.     Other  accounts 
place  the  scene  of  her  martyrdom  in 
Borne,  and  say  she  was  buried  by  her 


friend  Apollonia  in  her  garden  under 
the  Palatine  hill.  Others  say  Apollonia 
buried  her  in  Dalmatia,  whence  she  was 
translated  to  different  places.  A  laugh- 
able story  is  told  of  her  three  maids. 
Agape,  Chionia,  and  Irene.  MM. 
Qolden  Legend.  Villegas.  Vega.  Butler. 
Baillet.  Greek  and  Russian  calendars, 
Dec.  22.    Mrs.  Jameson. 

St.  Anastasia  (6)  of  Olivet,  June  2, 
5th  or  early  6  th  century.  Called  "  Saint " 
by  Philip  of  the  Visitation,  in  his  History 
of  the  Carmelites.  Sho  is  mentioned  as 
leading  a  holy,  ascetic  life  on  the  Mount 
of  Olives  in  the  time  of  the  famous  abbot, 
St  Sabas,  who  died  at  a  great  age  in  532. 
AAJ3S.  Prseter. 

St.  Anastasia  (7)  Patricia,  March 
10.    5(57.    A  beautiful  patrician  matron 
of  Constantinople,  named  Anastasia,  in- 
voluntarily became  the  object  of  the 
admiration  of  the  Emperor  Justinian, 
and  the  jealousy  of  his  wife  Theodora. 
Anastasia  fled  to  Alexandria,  and  built  a 
convent  five  miles  off,  in  a  little  town 
called  Quinto.    This  convent  stood  for 
many  years  after  her  death,  and  was 
called  from  her  the  convent  of  Patricia. 
A  few  years  after  her  flight,  Theodora 
died;  and  Anastasia,  hearing  that  Jus- 
tinian was  searching  for  her,  left  her 
retreat  by  night,  and  went  for  protection 
to  the  abbot  Daniel,  who  presided  over 
a  laura  in  the  desert  of  Sceta.    She  told 
him  her  story.    He  put  her  in  a  cave 
some  distance  from  his  dwelling,  for- 
bidding her  ever  to  leave  it,  or  any  one 
else  to  enter  the  place  of  her  retreat,  and 
called  her  Anastasius  the  eunuch.  He 
showed  the  place  to  one  of  his  monks ; 
told  him  to  take  a  vessel  of  water  there 
once  every  seven  days,  and  put  it  down 
in  front  of  the  cell ;  then,  having  listened 
to  one  prayer  of  the  recluse,  he  was  to 
come  away.   In  this  manner  Anastasia 
lived  for  20  years,  without  departing 
from  the  rule  given  her  by  Daniel. 
Feeling  herself  near  death,  she  wrote  on 
a  shell  a  request  to  the  abbot  to  come 
and  bury  her.    She  then  hung  the  shell 
outside  her  cell.    Daniel,  warned  in  a 
dream,  told  the  monk  to  go  to  the  cell 
of  the  eunuch  Anastasius,  where  he 
would  find  a  shell,  with  writing  on  it, 
hanging  outside  the  door.   He  did  so, 


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ST.  ANEGLIA 


55 


and  brought  it  with  all  speed.  They 
went  to  her,  and  found  her  in  a  fever. 
The  abbot  kneeled  down  beside  her. 
She  sat  up  in  her  lair,  kissed  the  old 
man's  head,  and  entreated  him  to  bury 
her  in  the  clothes  she  wore,  and  not  to 
reveal  her  story  or  her  sex  to  any  one ; 
then  she  begged  his  prayers  and  blessing, 
and  gave  him  hers.  When  he  had  signed 
her  with  the  cross,  her  face  beamed  with 
celestial  light,  and  illumined  the  cavern 
as  if  many  lamps  had  been  there.  Then 
she  died,  and  the  two  monks  buried  her. 
As  they  were  returning  home,  the  younger 
monk  said,  "  Father,  do  you  know  that 
that  man  was  a  woman  ?  "  The  abbot 
said,  "I  know  it,  my  son."  Then  he 
told  him  her  story,  and  the  reason  of  her 
concealment.  AA.SS.,  from  the  great 
Meneas  of  the  Greek  Church. 

St  Anastasia  (8),  Sept.  9,  Dec.  8, 
Dec.  9,  V.  8th  century.  Third  or  fifth 
abbess  of  Horres,  near  Treves.  Buce- 
linus,  Men.  Ben.  Ferrarius,  Marlyrology. 
Usuard  and  Molanus,  in  their  Calendars. 

B.  Anastasia  (9),  Dec.  24,  V* 
Cistercian  nun  at  Barney,  in  Brabant, 
appeared,  after  her  death,  to  her  friend 
B.  Ida  of  Nivolle,  dressed  in  splendid 
purple  robes,  adorned  with  jewels,  sur- 
rounded with  a  great  and  glorious  light, 
and  attended  by  a  multitude  of  holy 
virgins.  Ida  asked  her  how  she  had 
earned  this  promotion,  and  she  said, 
"  Inasmuch  as  for  a  long  time  I  patiently 
endured  grievous  bodily  sufferings,  a 
scourge  with  which  my  Father  was 
pleased  to  afflict  me,  therefore  I  am 
numbered  among  the  martyrs.  By  the 
four  splendid  stones  that  you  see  in  my 
crown,  are  meant  the  four  principal 
virtues:  Wisdom,  Temperance,  Forti- 
tude, and  Justice."  Having  said  this, 
she  departed.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 
Henriquez,  Lilia. 

B.  Anastasia  (10),  Dec.  8.  1240. 
Duchess  of  Pomer&nia.  Daughter  of 
Mieczhlaws,  duke  of  Poland.  Married, 
in  1177,  as  his  second  wife,  Bogislaw 
I.,  duke  of  Pommern  Stettin,  who  died 
March  18,  1187.  Anastasia  then  built 
the  Bed  Monastery,  in  the  diocese  of 
Spalato,  in  Sclavonia.  She  brought 
thither,  10  nuns  of  the  PrcBmonstra- 
tensian  Order,  from  the  Bethlehemite 


monastery,  in  Frisia.  Having  divided 
her  lands  and  goods  between  her  two 
sons,  she  betook  herself  to  her  new 
monastery,  and  lived  there,  in  great 
strictness  and  humility,  as  a  lay-sister. 
Mirfflus,  Ordinis  Prsemonstratensk  Chroni- 
con,  p.  179.  Biilow,  Stammtafeln  des 
Pommersch  Biisischen  Fiirstenhauses,  p.  4. 
Le  Paige,  Bibl.  Ord.  Prsemonst.  Helyot, 
Ordres  Monastiques,  ii.  26. 

St  Anastaso,  or  Anastasone,  July 
18.    Matron  in  Epirns.  Guerin. 

St  Anatolia  (l),  Photina  (l). 

St  Anatolia  (2),  July  9,  V.  M.  3rd 
century.  Sister  of  St.  Victoria.  Repre- 
sented  (1)  with  torches  and  serpents; 

(2)  delivering  a  man  from  a  dragon  ; 

(3)  breathing  in  the  face  of  a  possessed 
man.  Anatolia  and  Victoria  were 
banished  from  Borne,  in  the  persecution 
under  Deems,  because  they  had  made  a 
vow  of  virginity.  Anatolia,  after  show- 
ing her  sanctity  by  casting  out  devils, 
was  shut  up  with  a  serpent.  It  did  her 
no  harm,  but  bit  Audax,  her  guard.  She 
took  the  serpent  in  her  hand,  spoke  to  1 
it,  and  sent  it  away.  She  cured  Audaz 
and  converted  him.  They  were  both 
tortured  and  put  to  death.  She  was 
buried  at  Terano,  in  the  Sabine  hills. 
She  is  honoured  with  Audax,  July  9; 
and  with  her  sister  Victoria,  Dec.  18 ; 
and  Victoria  has  a  separate  festival, 
Dec.  23.  B.M.  Boll.,  AA.SS.  Hare, 
Cities  of  Italy.  Husenbeth. 

SS.  Anatolia  (3)  and  Faustina,  or 
Fblicitab,  July  9,  MM.  with  seven 
Christian  priests.    Boll.,  AA.SS. 

St  Ancilla,  April  5,  V.  M.  343. 
Maidservant,  either  to  St.  PHERBUTHA  or 
her  widowed  sister,  and  martyred  with 
them  under  Sapor,  king  of  Persia.  See 
Tarbula. 

SS.  Androna  and  Theodota,  Nov. 
1,  3,  MM.,  with  Severus  and  Theodotus. 
Mentioned  in  a  metrical  Greek  Mar- 
tyrology.    G.  V.  H.,  in  AA.SS.,  Nov.  3. 

St  Andropelagia,  Sept.  6.  e.  250. 
V.  M.  with  her  sister  Thbcla  or  Thbocla, 
and  Calodota,  at  Alexandria,  in  Egypt, 
with  a  priest,  a  deacon,  a  reader,  a  soldier, 
a  sailor,  and  four  other  men.  AA.SS. 

St  Anea,  May  28  (Ania,  Anias),  M. 
at  Borne.  AA.SS, 

St.  Aneglia,   Ognie,  Ognies,  ox 


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56 


ST.  ANGADRESIMA 


Oneglia.  8th  century.  Friend  of  St. 
Silvinus,  a  legionary  bishop,  whose  office 
was  to  preach  to  the  heathen ;  he  died 
at  Auchy,  in  Artois,  718,  and  she  took 
care  of.  his  body  and  buried  it.  She  is 
mentioned  by  Henschenius,  in  the  Life 
of  St.  Silvinus,  Feb.  1 7,  and  is  there  said 
to  be  the  wife  of  Asquarius  and  mother 
of  Siccidis,  who  is  probably  St.  Sicildis. 
Mas  Latrie,  Trisor,  says  Aneglia  was 
wife  of  Adalsque,  and  is  honoured  at  the 
Fountain  of  Besse. 

St.  Angadresima  (l),  March  17, 
Oct.  14,  June  27  (Andragasima,  Andra- 
gasyna  ;  in  French,  Angadreme,  Anga- 
reme,  or  Gadron  ;  in  the  Martyrology  of 
Salisbury,  Gawdrysyve),  V.  c.  695. 
Abbess  of  Oroer,  near  Beauvais.  Patron 
of  Beauvais.  Represented  marked  with 
small-pox,  carrying  coals  in  her  apron. 
Daughter  of  Robert,  keeper  of  the  seals 
under  Clothaire  IIL,  and  his  mother  St. 
Bathilde.  Robert  betrothed  Angadre- 
sima to  Ansbert  or  Austrebert,  son  of 
Swivin,  lord  of  Vexin.  As  both  Ansbert 
and  Angadresima  wished  to  remain  un- 
married from  religious  motives,  they 
agreed  that,  if  compelled  by  their  parents 
to  marry,  they  would  pray  to  be  pre- 
served from  any  love  for  or  human 
interest  in  each  other  ;  Angadresima  also 
prayed  that  she  might  lose  whatever  was 
attractive  in  her.  She  was  soon  after- 
wards droadfully  disfigured  by  small- 
pox or  leprosy,  which  she  regarded  as  a 
good  excuse  for  breaking  off  her  engage- 
ment without  disobeying  her  father. 
Robert  now  took  her  to  Rouen  to  receive 
the  religious  veil  from  St.  Ouen,  the 
bishop.  Not  long  after  her  profession 
she  was  ordered  to  bring  some  live  coals 
to  light  the  candles.  She  brought  them 
in  her  apron,  which  was  not  burnt ;  this 
miracle  is  represented  in  her  pictures. 
She  soon  became  the  spiritual  mother 
of  many  nuns,  whom  she  edified  and 
governed  for  30  years,  in  an  abbey  which 
her  father  built  for  her  at  Oroer,  near 
Beauvais.  Her  life  is  gathered  from 
that  of  St.  Ansbert,  who  was  to  havo 
been  her  husband.  AA.SS.  Baillet. 
Bucelinus.  Cahier.  In  1473,  in  the 
reign  of  Louis  XI.,  the  city  of  Beauvais 
was  miraculously  defended  against  the 
Burgundian  army  by  this  saint ;  and 


ever  after,  on  her  festival,  women  and 
girls  took  precedence  of  men  in  tho 
procession.  Monstier,  Gynecseum,  March 
27. 

St.  Angadresima  (2),  Andraga- 
sima, Angareme,  Angarisma,  etc.  7th 
century.  Abbess  of  Arluc,  near  Antibes. 
Migne. 

St.  Angela  (1)  of  Bohemia,  July  (5. 
12th  century.  Carmelite  nun.  Daughter 
of  Wladislaus  II.,  duke  of  Bohemia. 
Sister  of  Ottocar,  first  king  of  Bohemia, 
and  B.  Agnes  of  Bohemia.  Angela 
had  divine  revelations,  and  wrote  several 
books,  one  on  the  Venerable  Sacrament ; 
hence,  in  her  picture  in  the  church  of 
the  Carmelite  fathers  at  Prague,  she  is 
represented  holding  a  book.  (Chanowski, 
Vestigia  Bohemiae  Pise.)  A  legend,  from 
the  Speculum  Carmelitanum  in  the  AA.SS. 
is  as  follows  : — 

St.  Angela  of  Bohemia,  V.,  daughter 
of  a  king  of  Bohemia  in  tho  12th  cen- 
tury, supposed  to  be  Ladislaus  II.,  was 
born  at  Prague  and  brought  up  in  a 
convent,  from  which  she  escaped  in 
men's  clothes,  to  avoid  being  given  in 
marriage  to  the  son  of  the  king  of 
Hungary,  leaving  a  letter  to  tell  her 
father  that  she  would  belong  only  to 
Christ.  Her  first  resting-place  was  the 
house  of  some  infidels,  whom  she  con- 
verted and  taught  to  read.  In  the  depths 
of  a  dreary  forest  she  was  hospitably 
received  by  some  barbarians,  who  engaged 
her  for  a  time  as  their  secretary.  Pro- 
ceeding on  her  travels,  she  met  a  company 
of  people  in  a  wood,  one  of  whom,  a 
soldier,  was  going  to  Jerusalem  by  way 
of  Constantinople,  and  gave  her  his 
protection  as  far  as  the  latter  city.  In 
the  church  of  St.  Sophia  there,  Christ 
appeared  to  her  and  gave  her  a  Latin 
book  of  prayers,  which  were  those  of  the 
order  of  the  Brothers  of  our  Lady. 
She  next  went  wjth  the  soldier  to 
Jerusalem,  where  a  woman  gave  her 
clothes,  and  took  her  to  the  prioress  of 
the  Sisters  of  our  Lady,  who  had  seen 
her  in  a  dream,  and  having  looked  at 
her  book  and  found  her  to  be  the  same 
as  the  woman  of  her  vision,  received  her 
into  the  sisterhood.  Here,  before  long, 
she  became  prioress,  and  so  continued 
for  35  years.    Luring  that  time,  by 


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B.  ANGELA 


57 


her  prayers,  she  rescued  her  monastery 
from  the  Mamelukes,  Ethiopians,  and 
Saracens,  and  obtained  rain  by  her  inter- 
cessions. Afterwards,  being  warned  that 
great  troubles  were  coming  on  her 
own  country,  and  that  it  stood  in  need 
of  her  prayers,  she  returned  to  Prague, 
where  she  is  said  to  have  died  towards 
the  end  of  the  12th  century. 

The  first  invasion  of  the  Mamelukes 
was  in  1250,  and  it  was  repeated  from 
time  to  time  till  1516,  so  that  if  it  is 
true  that  she  rescued  her  convent  from 
these  infidels,  she  must  have  lived  at 
least  60  years  later  than  she  is  said  to 
have  done.  Pinius,  however,  the  editor 
of  this  volume  of  the  AA.SS.,  does  not 
appear  to  consider  any  part  of  the  legend 
reliable.  Probably  it  is  a  romance 
added  to  the  life  of  the  sainted  Princess 
Angela  op  Bohemia. 

B.  Angela  (2)  of  Foligno,  Jan.  4, 
March  30.  1249-1309.  Patron  of  Foligno. 
Hrd  O.S.F.  Eepresented  (1)  with  a 
crown  of  thorns  in  her  hands  ;  (2)  with 
all  the  instruments  of  the  Passion  in 
her  arms,  a  crown  of  thorns  on  the 
ground  at  one  side  of  her,  and  a  crown 
of  roses  and  thorns  at  the  other.  Of  a 
distinguished  family  of  Umbria,  born  at 
Foligno,  a  few  miles  from  Assisi.  Her 
mother,  a  good  woman,  gave  her  some 
religious  instruction ;  but,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  time,  so  much  deplored 
by  St.  Angela  de  Mbrici,  her  education 
was  a  good  deal  neglocted.  Angela 
married  young,  and  had  several  children. 
She  was  not  a  good  wife  or  mother. 
She  was  self-indulgent  and  fond  of 
pleasure,  and  had  plenty  of  money,  both 
from  her  own  family  and  from  her 
husband,  to  procure  everything  she 
wanted.  She  had  occasional  serious 
thoughts,  and  fears  about  her  salvation. 
She  was  kind  and  generous,  and  retained 
from  her  mother's  early  teaching  a  great 
veneration  for  St.  Francis.  While  break- 
ing the  commandments  she  sometimes 
said  to  herself  that  if  death  overtook  her 
so  far  from  her  duty  to  her  husband, 
her  children,  and  to  God,  she  would 
be  lost;  but  she  shrank  from  changing 
all  her  habit?,  not  liking  to  excite 
observation,  and  not  having  courage  to 
break  with  her  life  of  ease  and  .  pleasure. 


At  last  it  happened  that  her  mother, 
her  husband,  and  all  her  children  died 
in  a  very  short  time.  Her  grief  for  their 
loss,  and  her  startling  conviction  of  the 
suddenness  with  which  souls  may  be 
called  away  from  this  life  to  the  other, 
led  her  to  withdraw  at  once  from  her 
former  pursuits  and  companions,  and 
give  herself  up  entirely  to  devotion. 

She  joined  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis,  and  tried  to  repent  and  amend  ; 
but  at  first  did  not  confess  fully  and 
honestly,  because  the  confessors  were  so 
strict,  and  she  was  so  ashamed  of  the 
sins  into  which  she  had  fallen.  She  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Sacrament  without 
having  made  a  full  confession. 

Tho  devil  kept  tempting  her  at  times 
to  return  to  her  old  vices  and  pleasures, 
sometimes  to  commit  sins  even  greater 
than  any  she  had  been  guilty  of,  and 
sometimes  to  despair  of  forgiveness  and 
even  of  repentance.  This  struggle 
lasted  about  two  years.  She  declared 
she  would  rather  be  subject  to  all  the 
diseases  in  the  world,  and  all  the 
tortures  and  wounds  of  the  martyrs,  than 
again  undergo  such  temptations.  Then 
came  peace,  for  she  began  to  love  God, 
and  to  see  that  He  was  the  proper  object 
of  her  thoughts  and  aspirations.  She 
cared  no  longer  for  any  thing  or  person 
on  earth,  not  even  for  the  saints  and 
angels,  but  for  God  alone.  After  this 
the  devil  again  tempted  her  to  sin,  to 
despair,  and  to  kill  herself,  but  she  came 
to  trust  in  the  love  of  God.  She  had  a 
friend,  a  devout  woman  named  Pasqua- 
lina,  who  assisted  her  in  her  charitable 
works,  and  went  with  her  to  visit  the 
poor.  After  they  had  given  all  their 
property  away,  Angela  said  to  Pasqua- 
lina,  "Let  us  go  and  visit  our  Lord 
Christ  in  the  hospital  of  San  Feliciano." 
They  wanted  to  give  the  patients  some- 
thing. All  they  could  muster  was  a 
handkerchief  and  a  cloth  of  little  value. 
These  they  got  the  servant  of  the 
hospital  to  go  and  sell  for  them.  In 
spite  of  her  reluctance,  she  consented, 
and  brought  them  back  twice  as  much 
money  as  they  expected.  With  this 
they  sent  her  to  buy  comforts  for  some 
of  the  most  suffering  patients.  Mean- 
time the  two  friends  washed  the  lepers 


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58 


VEN.  ANGELA 


and  those  who  bad  dreadful  sores ;  they 
made  the  beds,  and  said  words  of  con- 
solation and  kindness  to  the  poor  sick 
people. 

When  Angela  was  dying,  1309,  she 
said,  "Now  my  soul  is  washed  and 
cleansed  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  He  will 
not  send  saints  or  angels  for  me,  He 
will  come  Himself."  She  was  bnried  in 
a  chapel  of  the  church  of  St  Francis 
in  Foligno.  She  was  beatified  by 
Innocent  XII.  in  1693.  Jacobilli,  Santi 
dell'  Umbria,  gives  other  incidents  of  her 
life  besides  these. 

There  exists  a  very  curious  little  book 
of  Visions  and  Instructions,  dictated  by 
her  to  Arnold,  a  Franciscan  monk  and 
her  confessor,  and  revised  by  her  after 
he  had  written  it.  He  adds  some  little 
explanations  and  an  account  of  her  death. 
A  copy  in  the  British  Museum  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  printed  at  Venice  in 
loOO.  It  is  reprinted  as  Part  V.  of  the 
Bibliotheca  Mystica  et  Ascetica,  1849. 
There  is  an  English  translation  by  a 
secular  priest.  In  this  book  Angela  tells 
that,  while  she  was  trying  to  repent 
and  was  being  converted,  she  went 
through  18  steps  before  she  arrived  at 
knowing  the  imperfections  of  her  life. 
Collin  de  Plancy  gives  a  short  sketch  of 
her  in  his  Saintes  et  Bienheureuses. 
Bussy,  in  his  Courtisannes  de  venues 
Saintes,  mistakenly  gives  the  date  of 
her  death  as  1588.  Boll.,  AA.SS., 
Jan.  4.  A.R.M.,  Mart.  Seraphici  Ordinis, 
March  30. 

Ven.  Angela  (3)  Chigi.  14th 
century.  3rd  O.S.A.  Of  the  powerful 
family  of  the  Chigi,  lords  of  Macerate 
Niece  of  B.  John  Chigi  of  Siena,  for 
some  time  a  monk  in  the  old  convent  of 
Val  d'Aspra.  She  gave  all  her  goods  to 
the  convent  of  Sant  Antonio  at  Val 
d'Aspra,  and  took  the  veil  there  in  1366. 
Representations  of  her  as  a  saint,  and 
bearing  the  title  of  "Blessed,"  were 
common  in  Italy.  A  short  history  of 
her  life  was  appended  to  that  of  her  holy 
uncle,  published  in  Borne  by  Father 
Capizucchi,  master  of  the  sacred  apostolic 
palace.    Torelli,  Secoli  Agostiniani,  VI. 

B.  Angela  (4).  A  Koman  of  the 
Order  of  Hospitallers  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
•f  c.  1459.  In  Van  Lachom's  Collection  of 


Foundresses  of  Orders,  published  1639, 
she  is  represented  with  a  cross  crosslet 
on  her  cloak.  GuSnebault,  Did.  Icono- 
graphique. 

B.  Angela  (5)  of  San  Severino,  in 
the  march  of  Ancona.  O.S.D.  t  Perhaps 
14th  century.  Pio. 

B.  Angela  (6)  Serafina,  March 
24,  Feb.  4  (Angelica  Seraphina,  Corre- 
giara,  Cortregiara).  "J"  1512.  Dominican 
nun,  under  B.  Antonia  of  Brescia,  in 
the  convent  of  St.  Catherine  the 
Martyr,  at  Ferrara.  She  was  never 
guilty  of  mortal  sin,  and  died  in  the 
odour  of  sanctity.  Henschenius,  in  the 
AA.SS.,  mentions  Angela  as  a  disciple 
of  Antonia,  but  places  her  among  the 
Prsetermissi,  March  24.  Serafino  Bazzi, 
Predicatori.  Pio,  Uomini  Blustri  per 
Santita,  Feb.  4. 

St.  Angela  (7)  de  Merici,  May  31, 
Jan.  27,  Feb.  21,  June  2.  Called  also 
St.  Angela  of  Brescia.  1470  or  1474- 
1540.  Founder  of  the  Order  of  Ursu- 
lines.  Bepresented  with  a  ladder  beside 
her.  Born  at  Desenzano,  a  little  town 
on  the  western  shore  of  the  lake  of 
Garda,six  or  seven  leagues  from  Brescia. 
Her  father  was  Giovanni  Merici;  her 
mother,  of  the  family  of  Bianoosi,  of 
Salo.  They  were  in  a  comfortable  and 
respectable  position,  and  were  exemplary 
and  religious.  They  had  several  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Angela  was  the  youngest. 
Every  evening  they  gathered  their  little 
flock  together  for  religious  reading, 
sometimes  from  the  Bible,  sometimes 
from  accounts  of  the  hermits  and  fathers 
of  the  desert.  Angela  and  her  sister, 
like  most  children  of  any  imagination, 
dramatized  these  stories,  and  played  at 
hermit  life  in  their  own  room.  They 
were  still  very  young  when  both  their 
parents  died,  and  the  two  sisters  went 
to  live  with  their  mother's  brother,  at 
Salo.  Soon  after  they  had  taken  up 
their  abode  in  their  uncle's  house,  both 
girls  excited  great  consternation  by 
their  disappearance.  After  an  anxious 
search,  Bianoosi  found  the  children  in  a 
cave,  where  they  had  withdrawn  from 
the  world,  with  the  intention  of  living 
like  hermits.  He  brought  them  home, 
but  encouraged  their  taste  for  religious 
seclusion.   It  was,  perhaps,  at  this  time 


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59 


that  Angela,  to  avoid  admiration  and 
vanity,  washed  her  splendid  golden  hair 
with  sooty  water  to  dim  its  lnstre. 
When  the  girls  were  nearly  grown  up, 
the  elder  one  died  suddenly  without  the 
sacraments.  Angela  feared  she  might 
have  departed  with  some  unforgiven  sin 
on  her  soul,  and  might  be  eternally  lost. 
She  prayed  and  longed  intensely  to  be 
assured  of  her  sister's  salvation.  She 
grieved  and  fretted  so  distressingly  that 
her  uncle  tried  to  divert  her  thoughts 
from  the  subject.  One  day  he  sent  her 
to  his  farm  to  look  after  the  haymakers. 
On  the  way  thither  her  agonized  prayers 
were  answered :  she  saw  a  luminous 
cloud  before  her,  and  as  she  drew  nearer 
and  gazed  intently,  she  discerned  in  it 
a  countless  multitude  of  angels  and 
saints,  in  the  midst  of  whom  was  her 
lost  sister.  Angela  had  not  yet  received 
her  first  communion,  though  she  had 
long  passed  the  age  at  which  it  has  gene- 
rally been  customary  among  Catholics 
to  observe  that  sacred  rite.  She  now 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  perform  this 
duty,  and  from  that  time  she  became 
more  devout  and  ascetic  than  ever.  She 
enrolled  herself  in  the  Third  or  secular 
Order  of  St.  Francis,  fasted  to  excess, 
would  have  nothing  of  her  own,  and,  in 
spite  of  her  uncle's  objections,  turned  all 
the  furniture  out  of  her  room,  and  slept 
on  a  mat  with  a  stone  for  a  pillow. 

After  the  death  of  Biancosi,  she  re- 
turned to  Desenzano,  with  some  like* 
minded  companions;  she  thought  they 
should  try  to  be  of  use  to  their  fellow- 
creatures.  She  said  that  the  scandals 
and  abuses  in  society  arose  from  the 
want  of  order  in  families ;  the  faults  of 
families  were  generally  traceable  to  the 
mothers,  and  the  reason  there  were  so 
few  really  Christian  mothers  was  that 
girls  were  so  badly  brought  up.  This 
subject  being  much  in  her  thoughts,  one 
day,  as  she  was  in  the  fields  with  her 
friends,  she  stayed  a  little  apart  from 
them  to  pray,  and,  looking  up,  saw  in 
the  vault  of  heaven  a  brilliant  ladder, 
on  which  an  infinite  number  of  girls 
were  ascending  two  and  two,  wearing 
beautiful  crowns,  and  led  by  angels. 
While  she  watched  and  wondered,  she 
heard  a  voice  say,  "Courage,  Angela! 


before  you  die  you  shall  establish  in 
Brescia  a  company  of  virgins  like  those 
you  have  seen  here."  The  very  next 
day  she  and  her  companions  began  to 
collect  little  girls  and  teach  them ;  at 
the  same  time,  they  visited  and  ministered 
to  the  sick,  and  sought  out  sinners.  The 
devil,  in  the  form  of  an  angel,  tempted 
her  to  vain-glory,  but  she  camo  safely 
through  this  trial. 

She  joined  a  band  of  pilgrims  going 
to  the  Holy  Land.  In  the  island  of 
Candia,  one  of  their  resting-places,  An- 
gela became  blind.  Nevertheless,  she 
continued  her  journey,  desiring  to  tread 
the  ground  her  Lord  had  trod,  and  to 
visit  the  scenes  of  His  life  and  death, 
although  it  pleased  God  to  deny  her  the 
happiness  of  seeing  thorn.  Not  until 
she  arrived  again  at  Candia,  on  her 
return  journey,  did  she  recover  her  sight 
Passing  through  Venice,  she  was  invited 
by  the  Senate  to  take  the  direction  of 
all  the  hospitals  there,  but  she  departed 
quietly,  and  returned  to  Brescia.  Next 
year  she  went  to  Borne  for  the  jubilee 
of  1525,  and  was  presented  to  the  Pope, 
Clement  VII.,  by  his  chamberlain,  Paul 
de  la  Pouille  (di  Apuglia),  who  had 
made  the  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  in 
her  company.  The  Pope,  having  heard 
much  of  her  sanctity  and  miracles,  re- 
ceived her  very  graciously,  and  proposed 
to  place  her  at  the  head  of  a  house  of 
hospital  sisters,  or  that  she  should  remain 
in  Borne  and  take  charge  of  various 
houses  devoted  to  works  of  mercy.  Be- 
membering  her  vision,  she  felt  bound  to 
decline  the  flattering  offer,  and  explained 
to  his  Holiness  the  reason  she  must 
return  to  Brescia.  She  did  so,  but  about 
10  years  more  elapsed  before  she  founded 
her  celebrated  order.  Meantime  hor 
fame  was  growing.  In  1529  the  Duke 
of  Milan,  of  the  house  of  Sforza,  came 
to  Brescia,  to  beg  her  to  adopt  him  as 
her  spiritual  son,  and  to  take  his  do- 
minions under  her  protection.  The  King 
of  France,  the  Pope,  and  the  Emperor, 
were  fighting  for  his  as  well  as  other 
possessions,  and  the  duke  probably 
thought  nothing  but  the  intervention  of 
a  saint  could  restore  his  fortunes.  The 
people  fled  from  Brescia,  and  Angela 
sought  an  asylum  in  Cremona.  "While 


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CO 


VEX.  ANQELA 


there,  to  mollify  Heaven  in  favour  of  her 
afflicted  country,  she  macerated  her 
innocent  body  until  her  fastings  and 
austerities  brought  her  so  near  the  gates 
of  death  that  her  recovery  was  deemed 
miraculous. 

In  this  same  year,  1529,  the  Emperor, 
the  King  of  France,  and  the  Pope  came 
to  terms,  and  peace  was  restored.  Angela 
then  returned  to  Brescia,  and  while  at- 
tending Mass,  she  fell  into  an  ecstasy, 
during  which  she  was  seen  by  several 
persons  to  be  raised  from  the  ground 
and  to  float  in  the  air  for  a  considerable 
time.  Many  revelations  were  made  to 
her,  and  she  told  things  she  could  not 
possibly  have  known  by  means  less  than 
supernatural.  Notwithstanding  all  these 
favours  of  God,  and  her  great  progress 
in  spiritual  life,  she  still  delayed  to 
found  the  order. 

One  night,  in  a  vision,  Christ  up- 
braided her  with  neglect  of  her  voca- 
tion. After  this  she  felt  she  could  no 
longer  defer  the  execution  of  her 
plan.  She  stirred  up  her  companions, 
and  on  Nov.  15,  1535,  they  went  to 
the  prisons,  the  hospitals,  and  the  poorest 
and  lowest  places,  and  each  collected 
into  her  own  house  all  the  young  girls 
she  could  And,  and  began  to  instruct 
them.  At  first  it  was  merely  an  asso- 
ciation ;  the  associates  did  their  work 
each  under  her  parents'  roof.  They 
could  thus  go,  in  their  ordinary  clothes, 
into  houses  that  would  have  been  closed 
against  them  had  they  worn  the  dis- 
tinctive dress  of  a  religious  order,  because 
at  this  time  the  doctrines  of  Luther  were 
beginning  to  leaven  society.  Angela 
would  not  be  called  founder,  nor  allow 
the  new  order  to  be  named  after  her; 
but  as  St.  Ursula  is  the  patron  of  all 
who  devote  themselves  to  the  care  and 
education  of  young  women,  she  called 
her  companions  Ursulines.  She  gave 
them  a  rule,  but  did  not  compel  them 
to  live  together  or  to  bring  any  dowry 
to  the  association.  They  only  took 
simple  vows.  With  tho  approbation  of 
the  bishop  of  Brescia,  she  was  superior 
of  her  own  community  for  about  five 
years,  but  did  not  live  to  see  the  triumph 
of  her  order.  She  died  on  Jan.  27, 
1540,  and  was  buried  in  the  church  of 


St  Afra,  over  which  a  miraculous  light 
was  seen  by  all  the  city  for  several 
nights.  She  was  venerated  as  a  saint 
by  the  inhabitants  of  Brescia  long  before 
her  death,  and  multitudes  resorted  to  her 
tomb  to  obtain  favours  of  God  through 
her  intercession. 

Pope  Paul  III.,  soon  after  her  death, 
gave  the  new  order  his  sanction,  and  St. 
Charles  Borromeo,  the  young  archbishop 
of  Milan,  seeing  its  immense  usefulness 
in  Brescia,  established  a  branch  in  Milan. 
In  1572  Gregory  XIII.  raised  it  to  the 
rank  of  a  religious  order,  under  the  rule 
of  St.  Augustine,  and  bound  its  members 
to  the  cloister. 

The  Institute  of  the  Ursulines  consists 
of  several  congregations,  differing  in 
minor  matters,  but  all  having  for  their 
object  the  education  of  girls.  There 
were  more  than  300  houses  of  this  order 
in  France  before  the  Revolution,  one  of 
the  most  famous  being  that  in  the  Rue 
St.  Jacques,  Paris,  where  Madame  de 
Maintenon  was  a  boarder. 

St.  Charles  Borromeo  busied  himself 
about  her  canonization,  but  it  was  not 
accomplished  in  his  lifetime.  She  was 
inscribed  among  the  saints  by  Clement 
XIII.  in  1768;  beatified  by  Pius  VL, 
and  solemnly  canonized,  in  1807,  by 
Pius  VII.  She  is  claimed  as  a  member 
both  by  the  Augustinian  Order  and  the 
Third  Order  of  St  Francis.  Her  name 
is  in  the  B.M.,  Jan.  27,  the  day  of  her 
death,  and  also  May  31.  The  Bene- 
dictines transfer  her  festival  to  June  2, 
and  the  Romano-Seraphic  Order  to  Feb. 
21.  (Appendix  B.M.)  Her  Life,  pub- 
lished by  Duny,  in  the  Young  Christian^ 
Library.  Guorin,  Lcs  Petits  Bollan- 
distes,  xii. 

Ven.  Angela  (8)  Mary  Astorch, 
Sept.  29.  1092-1765.  Born  at  Barce- 
lona. Of  a  rich  family,  who  opposed  her 
vocation.  She  became  a  Capuchin  nun 
in  Barcelona,  was  appointed  mistress  of 
the  novices  in  a  new  convent  of  her 
order  at  Saragossa,  and  afterwards  supe- 
rior of  another  which  she  built  at 
Murcia.  She  resigned  that  office,  and 
devoted  herself  to  her  own  salvation. 
Pius  IX.,  in  1851,  published  a  decree, 
pronouncing  her  possessed  of  heroie 
virtue   Leon,  Aureole* 


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B.  ANGELINA  CORBARA 


61 


Ven.  Angelina  ( l ),  Oct.  9.  -fell  70. 
Nun  at  Fontevrault,  in  Anjou.  She  was 
of  one  of  the  noble  families  of  Anjon, 
and  was  consecrated  to  God,  in  the  con- 
vent of  Fontevrault,  by  her  parents,  in 
her  childhood.  She  had  the  most  beau- 
tiful voice  that  ever  was  heard  in  tho 
ehoir  there.  A  time  came  when  she  had 
to  choose  whether  she  would  take  the 
veil  or  leave  the  convent  and  live  in 
the  world.  A  dream  decided  her  voca- 
tion, and  she  became  a  nun.  She  had 
paroxysms  of  love  to  God.  She  died 
young,  about  1 1 70.  Her  biographer  ex- 
horts his  readers  to  ask  her  intercession, 
but  it  does  not  appear  that  she  has  ever 
been  honoured  with  public  worship. 
Chambard,  Saints  Personnages  d'Anjou. 

St.  Angelina  (2).  14th  century. 
Wife  of  St.  Lazarus.  The  elder  of  two 
SS.  Angelina,  queens  of  Servia,  Helen 
Angelina  Militza,  afterwards  in  re- 
ligion Euphemia,  or  Eugenia,  was  of  tho 
illustrious  family  of  the  Neemanides  and 
related  to  Stephen  Doushan.  She  mar- 
ried Lazarus  Grbljanovich,  the  last  in- 
dependent king  of  Servia.  He  came  to 
the  throne  in  1371.  He  was  grandson 
of  Stephen  Doushan.  They  had  eight 
children.  Lazarus  was  killed,  June  15, 
1389,  in  the  battle  of  Kossowa,  where 
the  Turks  defeated  the  Christian  host 
with  great  slaughter,  and  made  them- 
selves masters  of  Servia  and  the  neigh- 
bouring states.  Bajazet,  the  conqueror, 
gave  the  enslaved  kingdom  jointly  to 
Stephen  the  son,  and  Wuk  Brankovich 
the  son-in-law,  of  Lazarus  and  Angelina, 
and  took  their  daughter  Olivera  for  one 
of  his  wives.  Stephen  found  his  position 
ao  difficult  that  he  withdrew  for  a  time, 
with  his  mother  and  a  younger  brother, 
Vuk  or  Vlk,  to  the  monastery  of  Russi- 
kon,  on  Mount  Athos,  where  tho  monks' 
republics  were  respected  and  left  in 
peace  by  all  the  belligerents.  He  was 
accused  of  plotting  with  the  Hungarians 
against  his  over-lord,  and  Angelina  had 
to  go  to  Bajazet  to  convince  him  of  her 
son's  innocence.  Angelina,  Lazarus,  and 
Stephen  were  universally  beloved  in 
their  lives,  and  were  worshipped  as  saints 
after  their  death.  Lazarus  was  accounted 
a  martyr.  Two  different  monasteries, 
Eavanitsch  and  Yrdnik,  claim  to  have 


his  body  in  their  church,  and  pilgrims 
go  to  visit  his  shrine  at  each  place.  At 
Vrdnik  he  appears  wrapped  in  the  em- 
broidered mantle  which  he  is  said  to 
have  worn  at  Kossowa.  Stephen  died 
in  1427,  and  was  buried  at  Belgrade. 
Mas  Latrie  says  that  a  chrysobull  of 
June  8,  1395,  in  favour  of  the  monastery 
of  Bussikon,  on  Mount  Athos,  emanates 
from  the  nun  Eugenia,  her  son  prince 
Stephen  Lazarevich,  and  his  brother 
Vuk.  Among  the  spoils  of  war  in  the 
Serai,  at  Constantinople,  hangs  the 
armour  of  a  son-in-law  of  Angelina  and 
Lazarus,  Milosch  Eobilovich,  who  killed 
the  Sultan  Murad  at  Kossowa,  and  was 
taken  by  the  guards  and  hewn  in  pieces. 
Martinov,  Annus  Ecclesiasticus,  June  15, 
July  19.  Hammer,  Geschichte  des  Otto- 
manischen  Beichs,  i.  P.  J.  V.  Safarik, 
Gesch.  der  Serbischen  Literatur.  C.  J. 
Jirecek,  Gesch.  der  Bulgaren.  Meyer, 
Conversations  Lexikon.  Lebeau,  Bos 
Empire,  xx.,  xxi.  Mas  Latrie,  Trisor  de 
Chronologie. 

B.  Angelina  (3)  Corbara,  July  14, 
15,  and  Dec.  22,  V.  of  Marsciano.  1377- 
1435.  Called  in  her  own  order  La  B. 
Ministra,  B.  Contessa.  Countess  of 
Civitella  and  Montegiove.  Patron  of 
Foligno  and  of  the  family  of  Corbara. 
Founder  of  the  cloistered  nuns  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  of  the  con- 
vent of  St.  Anna  at  Foligno,  and  of  1 5 
other  houses  of  the  same  order  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Italy.  Represented  in 
the  habit  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis,  holding  a  church  in  one  hand, 
as  a  founder,  and  a  flaming  heart  or  a 
ball  in  the  other. 

Her  father,  Giacomo  della  Corbara, 
was  of  an  ancient  and  powerful  family, 
and  very  rich ;  he  was  count  of  Corbara, 
Monte  mar  ta,  Tisigniano,  and  several 
other  castles  and  villages  in  the  terri- 
tories of  Orvieto,  Todi,  and  Perugia. 
Her  mother  was  Countess  Anna  do  Bur- 
gari,  of  the  family  of  the  counts  of 
Marsciano.  Angelina  was  born  at  Monte 
Giove,  one  of  her  father's  fortresses,  10 
miles  from  Orvieto.  She  was  pious  from 
her  earliest  childhood,  and  at  the  age  of 
12  dedicated  herself  to  Christ  with  a 
vow  of  virginity.  The  first  miracle  re- 
corded of  her  is  that,  in  her  enthusiastio 


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62 


B.  ANGELINA  CORBARA 


love  of  almsgiving,  she  took  meat  out 
of  the  pot  in  her  father's  kitchen  to  give 
to  the  poor.  The  cook  was  very  angry, 
and  complained  that  she  gave  her  chari- 
ties at  the  expense  of  his  character, 
as  he  would  he  suspected  of  stealing; 
whereupon  the  meat  was  miraculously 
increased  to  the  original  quantity. 

Her  beauty,  amiability,  and  connec- 
tions soon  brought  numbers  of  suitors 
for  her  hand,  among  whom  her  parents 
chose  tho  Count  of  Givitella,  in  the 
Abruzzi.  In  vain  did  Angelina  beg  to 
be  allowed  to  remain  unmarried.  Her 
father  threatened  to  kill  her  unless  she 
consented  to  an  alliance  with  the  count. 
It  was  revealed  to  her  in  a  vision  that 
she  might  obey  and  still  keep  her  vow. 
On  the  day  of  the  marriage,  she  throw 
herself  on  her  knees  before  a  crucifix, 
and  implored  the  Saviour  to  remember 
that  she  had  dedicated  herself  to  Him. 
An  angel  appeared  and  comforted  her. 
Meantime  the  count,  wondering  where 
she  was  and  what  she  was  doing,  looked 
through  a  crack  in  the  door,  and  saw  a 
young  man  talking  to  her.  He  broke 
into  the  room  in  a  fury,  and  found  her 
alone.  He  asked  to  whom  she  had  been 
talking.  Angelina  then  confessed  all 
the  circumstances.  From  that  moment 
he  considered  himself  privileged  in 
having  under  his  care  a  virgin  espoused 
to  Christ.  He  followed  her  example 
and  advice  in  taking  a  vow  of  celibacy, 
and  they  lived  devoutly  at  Civitella, 
spending  their  time  in  works  of  piety 
and  mercy. 

There  were  at  least  six  places  in  Italy 
called  Civitella ;  this  was  Civitella  del 
Tronto,  and  in  the  time  of  Jaoobilli  was 
a  royal  free  city  with  837  fires,  a  castle, 
and  a  tower.  It  gave  to  its  possessor 
the  title  of  count,  as  also  did  Montorio, 
another  place  belonging  to  Angelina's 
husband;  both  were  near  Terano  and 
Ascoli. 

The  young  couple  lived  happily  at 
Civitella  for  a  year,  and  then  the  count 
died,  exhorting  his  wife  to  persevere  in 
all  her  good  intentions  and  good  works. 
Angelina,  who  was  now  17,  joined  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  with  all  the 
young  women  who  were  her  companions 
or  attendants.    They  travelled  through 


various  places  in  the  Abruzzi,  inspiring 
many  persons  with  the  wish  to  follow 
their  saintly  example.  She  was  sum- 
moned to  appear  before  Ladislas,  king 
of  Naples  (1386-1414),  accused  of  being 
an  extravagant  woman  who  had  spent 
all  her  husband's  property,  and  of  being 
a  vagabond  and  a  heretic  who  dis- 
approved of  marriage  and  misled  the 
ignorant.  The  king  resolved  to  have 
her  burnt  alive ;  he  did  not  tell  any  one 
of  his  intention,  but  Angelina  knew  it. 
Before  entering  his  presence,  she  went 
into  the  kitchen  of  his  palace,  and  got 
one  of  the  servants  to  fill  the  corner  of 
her  poor  cloak  with  burning  coals,  which 
she  carried  to  him.  Ho  saw  that  she 
was  not  afraid  of  fire,  and  that  God 
would  save  her  by  a  miracle  if  He  chose 
her  to  do  His  work.  Ladislas  conversed 
with  her,  and  was  completely  disarmed 
and  won  over  to  her  side  by  her  modest, 
fearless  answers,  her  good  sense,  and  un- 
selfishness. He  parted  from  her  with 
demonstrations  of  respoct  and  friendship. 
Her  reputation  for  sanctity  was  esta- 
blished by  her  raising  from  the  dead  a 
young  man  of  one  of  the  principal 
families  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  So 
many  persons  wished  to  do  her  honour 
that  she  had  to  leavo  Naples  by  night  to 
avoid  the  distinction  which  was  thrust 
upon  her.  Her  influonce  led  so  many 
young  girls  of  noble  families  to  becomo 
nuns,  that  their  parents  persuaded  the 
king  to  banish  her  from  his  dominions. 

She  returned  to  her  father,  who  gave 
her  his  blessing  and  his  consent  to  tho 
line  of  life  she  had  taken.  She  sold  all 
she  had,  and  distributed  the  money  to  tho 
poor.  In  August,  1395,  she  went  with 
her  companions  to  visit  the  sepulchre  of 
St.  Francis  at  Assisi,  and  to  obtain  the 
indulgence  at  the  famous  church  of  Santa 
Maria  degli  Angeli,  a  mile  from  Assisi. 
While  there  she  was  instructed  in  a 
vision  to  found  a  convent  in  Foligno,  of 
Tertiarie  Claustrale,  cloistered  nuns  of 
the  Third  Order.  She  went  to  Foligno 
with  her  friends,  and  visited  all  tho 
churches  in  tho  town,  including  that  of 
St.  Francis,  where  the  body  of  St.  Angela 
of  Foligno  was  kept.  Then,  having  ob- 
tained a  piece  of  ground  from  the  lord 
of  Foligno,  and  procured  tho  consent  of 


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B.  ANGELINA 


63 


the  Pope,  Angelina,  in  obedience  to  her 
vision,  built  the  monastery  of  St.  Anna, 
for  twelve  nuns.  It  was  finished  in  1 397. 
In  addition  to  the  ordinary  vows  of  ter- 
tiaries,  they  took  one  of  perpetual  cloister. 
It  was  the  first  convent  of  nuns  of  the 
Third  Order,  and  Angelina  was  elected 
the  first  abbess.  She  would  not  have  a 
larger  number  in  her  own  convent,  but 
so  many  holy  women  wished  to  adopt 
her  new  institution,  that,  in  1399,  she 
had  to  build  another  house,  the  church 
of  which  was  consecrated  in  the  name  of 
St.  Agnes,  V.  M.  She  appointed  B. 
Margaret  di  Domenico  of  Foligno  to  be 
its  first  superior.  Margaret  would  only 
accept  this  great  responsibility  and 
dignity  on  condition  that  Angelina 
should  always  pray  for  her  and  her 
charge. 

•  The  nuns  of  the  first  convent  were 
popularly  called  Contesse,  and  the  convent 
Santa  Anna  delle  Contesse,  in  honour  of 
their  founder.  The  nuns  of  the  second 
convent  were  known  as  Margaritole,  and 
the  convent  La  Margaritura.  Margaret 
died  there,  in  the  odour  of  sanctity, 
June  13,  1440. 

Angelina  built  16  monasteries  of  her 
order.  Their  names  are  given  in  her 
Life,  by  J acobilli.  Besides  B.  Margaret, 
Angelina  had  two  disciples  numbered 
among  the  "  Blessed,"  namely,  B.  Antonia 
op  Florence  and  B.  Paula  of  Foligno. 
After  edifying  her  order  and  her  country 
by  her  great  virtues  and  mortifications, 
and  after  28  years  of  success,  Angelina 
died  happily,  in  her  first  convent  of  St. 
Anna,  at  Foligno,  on  July  14,  1435,  in 
her  59th  year.  The  people  immediately 
began  to  worship  her.  The  bishop 
ordered  all  the  canons,  priests,  and 
monks  to  accompany  her  blessed  body  to 
the  church  of  the  Minors  of  St.  Francis, 
where  she  had  asked  to  be  buried.  The 
nuns  of  the  Margaritura  begged  that  the 
funeral  might  pass  by  their  monastery. 
When  it  did  so,  B.  Margaret  threw  her- 
self at  the  bishop's  feet,  and  begged  him 
to  take  the  holy  abbess's  arm,  and  bless 
the  nuns  with  it,  which  he  did.  The 
dead  saint  was  exposed  to  public  venera- 
tion in  the  church  of  the  Franciscans  for 
three  days,  during  which,  notwithstanding 
the  extreme  heat,  the  body  remained 


fresh  and  lifelike.     Immense  crowds 
pressed  round  the  bier.    So  great  was 
the  desire  to  possess  a  relic  of  the  beloved 
saint,  that  a  guard  of  soldiers  had  to  be 
stationed  on  each  side  of  her  to  prevent 
any  pious  theft.    Many  people  went  to 
pray  in  the  chapel  where  her  body  was 
laid,  and  miracles  were  soon  recorded. 
In  1453,  17  years  after  her  death, 
the  walls  of  her  chapel  sweated  blood. 
There  was  universal  consternation :  some 
attributed  the  miracle  to  some  fearful 
crime  which  was  to  be  brought  to  light ; 
some  to  an  impending  calamity;  and 
while  all  were  in  fear  and  distress, 
Angelina  appeared  to  a  devotee,  and  told 
him  it  was  because  the  Christians  had 
lost  Constantinople.    In  1492  Angelina 
appeared  to  Fra  Giacomo  Colombini,  who 
had  been  praying  to  her  to  procure  for 
him  some  alleviation  of  his  great  pain 
and  infirmity.    She  promised  to  cure 
him,  and  ordered  him  to  tell  the  father, 
guardian,  and  all  the  brothers,  to  move 
her  body  from  under  the  arch,  and  put 
it  on  the  altar  in  the  same  chapel. 
Accordingly,  they  opened  the  cypress- 
wood  chest,  found  the  sacred  body  fresh 
and  flexible,  took  it  in  procession  round 
the  town  and  through  the  seven  churches 
of  Foligno,  and  translated  it  to  the  place 
she  had  named.    A  second  translation 
was  made  in  1621.    She  was  publicly 
venerated,  particularly  by  the  counts  and 
countesses  of  Corbara,  who  considered 
her  their  advocato  and  protectress.  The 
people  of  Foligno  took  her  for  one  of 
their  chief  patrons,  although  without  the 
authority  of  the  Church  until  1825, 
when   they  petitioned   Leo   XII.  to 
sanction,  by  a  solemn  canonization,  the 
worship  they  already  paid  to  her.  This 
the  Pope  did  by  declaring  her  "  Blessed." 
A.B.M.  Romano-Seraphic  Mart,  July  15. 
Jacobilli,  Santi  dell'  Umbria,  Santi  di 
Foligno,  and  Vita  delta  Beata  Angelina* 
Helyot,  Ordres  Monastiques. 

B.  Angelina  (4)  of  Spoleto,  June  29, 
V.  "f  1450.  O.S.F.  Of  a  noble  family 
of  Spoleto.  She  became  a  nun  in  1440 
in  the  Franciscan  convent  of  St.  Gregory, 
under  her  aunt,  Franceses,  who  was  abbess 
there.  The  purity  of  Angelina,  and  tho 
fervour  of  her  devotion,  were  so  great 
that  an  angel  brought  her  a  ring,  in 


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ST.  ANGELINA 


token  that  Christ  Lad  married  her  in 
paradise.  Sho  died  at  the  age  of  25, 
having  been  a  nan  of  extraordinary 
sanctity  for  10  years.  While  she  lay 
dead  on  tho  bier,  a  wicked  woman  tried 
to  ki6S  her  hand.  Angelina  would  not 
submit  to  such  contamination,  but  drew 
her  hand  away.  Jacobilli,  Santi  delV 
Umhria.  Mas  Latrie,  Tresor.  Papebroch, 
AA.SS.f  relates  that  he  went  to  Spoleto, 
to  satisfy  himself  that  she  was  not  a 
duplicate  of  one  of  the  other  Angelas  or 
Angelinas  of  Umbria.  He  was  told 
that  innumerable  miracles  were  wrought 
through  her  intercession,  and  he  was 
shown  her  tomb  and  pictures  in  the 
church,  representing  some  of  her  many 
cures. 

St. Angelina (5), July 30.  -fcnis. 
Queen  of  Servia,  or  despotess  of  Rascia. 
Wife  of  St.  Stephen  the  Blind.  Mother 
of  SS.  George  (Jan.  18)  and  John  (Dec. 
10),  called  despots  of  Rascia,  now  Novi- 
Bazar  or  Yeni-Bazar,  the  capital  of 
Servia.  Saverstia  Angelina  was 
descended  from  the  imperial  family  of 
the  Comneni,  and  was  the  daughter  of 
George  Arianita  Topia  Golem,  lord  of 
Durazzo  and  Valona,  and  one  of  the 
greatest  nobles  of  Southern  Albania. 
He  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  to  him 
Pope  Eagenius  IV.  committed  the  banner 
of  the  Church,  to  carry  it  against  the 
Turks.  Angelina  grew  up  in  very 
troublous  times.  She  was  a  child  when, 
in  1448,  the  Christians  were  defeated  in 
the  second  great  battle  of  Eossowa. 
Under  the  tyranny  and  cruelty  of  the 
Turks,  many  of  the  Albanians  became 
Mohammedans;  many  emigrated  to 
Hungary ;  and  some  of  the  chief  families, 
holding  obstinately  to  the  Greek  or  to 
the  Roman  Church,  were  exterminated 
by  the  conquerors.  Stephen,  a  great- 
grandson  of  St.  Lazar  and  of  the  elder 
J3t.  Angelina  of  Servia,  was  now  despot 
of  Rascia.  He  had  been  blinded  in  his 
youth  by  the  Turks,  and  driven  from 
his  poor  remnant  of  a  kingdom  by  his 
brother,  but  had  succeeded,  for  the  second 
time,  to  the  throne,  and  been  hailed  by 
the  Serbs  as  their  prince.  He  was  living 
on  his  own  estates  in  Albania  when, 
about  1460,  he  married  Angelina.  They 
continued  to  live  in  Albania  for  some 


time,  until,  the  Tnrks  becoming  more 
and  more  of  a  scourge,  they  withdrew  to 
Kupinik,  now  Sirmisch,  on  the  Save, 
where,  according  to  Martinov,  tbey  and 
their  sons  died  and  were  buried;  the 
date  of  Stephen's  death  is  given  by  this 
account  as  1477.    Schafarik,  Serbischen 
Literatur,  however,  says  they  went  to 
Italy  in  1467,  apparently,  among  the 
30,000  Albanians  who — on  the  death  in 
that  year  of  Angelina's  brother-in-law, 
George  Castriota  (Scander  Beg),  their 
champion  against  the  Turks — migrated 
to  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  and  founded  a 
colony  at  San  Demetrio.    Here  Stephen 
died  about  1481.    Angelina  then  went 
with  her  sons  to  Transylvania,  and  after- 
wards returned  to  Kupinik.    Both  her 
sons  bore  the  title  of  despot,  and  she  was 
called  despotissa.     In   1490   the  two 
brothers  used  the  formula:  "Nos  Georgius 
regni  Bascise  despotus  et  Johannes  f rater 
ejusdem  carnalis."    In  1496  George  be- 
came a  monk,  taking  the  name  of  Maxim, 
and  afterwards  bishop  and  archbishop. 
He  rosigned  these  dignities,  and  retired 
to  the  monastery  of  Krusedol,  which  he 
had  built;  and  there  he  died,  Jan.  18, 
1516.    His  mother  survived  him  only  a 
few  days.    At  Krusedol  the  bodies  of  the 
four  saints,  Stephen,  Angelina,  George, 
and  John,  were  preserved  as  fresh  as  in 
their  lives  until  1716,  when  the  Turks 
plundered  the  monastery,  and  destroyed 
the  holy  relics.    Angelina  was  so  good 
and  charitable  that  the  Servians  to  this 
day  speak  of  her  with  affection  as 
"Mother  Angelina."     Several  MSS., 
now  in  the  cloisters  of  Sirmia,  belonged 
to  her  collection,  and  some  contain  notes 
made  by  her  own  hand.    She  was  a  nun 
during  the  last  years  of  her  life,  and  was 
called  Theodoka.    The  life  of  her  sou, 
George  Maxim,  is  said  to  be  preserved 
in  a  book  of  legends  at  Krusedol.  Be- 
sides her  two  sons,  she  had  a  daughter, 
Mary,  who  married  at  Innspruck,  in  148~>, 
Boniface  IV.    Paleologus,  Marquis  of 
Montferrat.     Martinov,  Annus  Eerie*., 
July  30,  Oct.  £>,  Dec.  10,  Jan.  18. 
Hammer,  Osmanischen  Belch.  Lebeau, 
xx.,  xxi.     Meyer,   Conversations  Lvxi- 
Icon.     Schafarick,  Serbischen  Literatur. 
C.  J.  Jirecek,  Geschichte  der  Btdgaren. 
Lenormant,  La  Grande  Grece. 


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ST.  ANNA 


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Ven.  Angilburga,  or  Engilburg, 
Jan.  12.  "f  i>15.  Empress.  Daughter 
of  Louis,  king  of  Germany.  Wife  of 
Louis  II.,  Emperor.  Although  innocent, 
«he  was  divorced.  She  lived  in  the 
convent  of  the  Eesurrection,  which  she 
Lad  founded  at  Placentia.  On  the 
Emperor's  death  she  took  the  veil,  and 
in  time  became  abbess.  After  a  few 
years  she  was  sent  to  the  convent  of  St. 
Julia,  at  Brescia,  over  which  she  pre- 
sided for  many  years.  She  died  at  a 
great  age.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Angre,  May  14,  V.  M.  Honoured 
at  Apt,  in  Provence.    French  Mart. 

St.  Ania,  May  28  (Anias,  Ama),  M. 
at  Borne.  AA.SS. 

St.  Animais,  M.,  with  Anna  (7). 

St,  Animida,  or  Amida,  July  2,  M. 
at  Borne  or  in  Mesopotamia.  Boll., 
AA.SS. 

St  Anna  (1),  Oct.  3.  Called  in  our 
Bible  Hannah,  and  by  Mgr.  Guerin  Ste. 
Anne  d'Elcane.  Wife  of  Elkanah,  and 
mother  of  the  prophet  Samuel,  who  was 
born,  b.c.  1155,  in  answer  to  her  fervent 
prayers  for  a  son,  accompanied  by  a  vow 
to  dedicate  him  to  God.  Her  hymn 
(1  Sam.  ii.  1-10)  has  strong  points  of 
resemblance  with  that  of  the  B.  V.  Mary 
(St.  Luke  i.  46-55),  and  her  mention  of 
the  Lord's  "anointed,"  with  which  it 
ends,  is  regarded  as  the  first  instance  in 
which  the  Christ  is  expressly  so  called 
in  the  Scriptures.  On  this  account  she 
is  considered  a  prophetess.  In  fulfil- 
ment of  her  vow,  she  placed  her  son 
in  the  tabernacle,  and  left  him  with 
the  judge  and  prophet  Eli.  With 
maternal  tenderness  she  made  him  a 
little  coat  each  year,  and  took  it  to  him 
when  sho  and  her  husband  went  from 
their  home  at  Bamathaim-Zophim  to 
make  their  annual  offering.  After 
Samuel,  she  had  three  sons  and  two 
daughters.  She  is  commemorated  in 
the  Greek  Church,  Oct.  3.  All  that  is 
known  of  her  is  in  the  first  and  second 
chapters  of  the  First  Book  of  Samuel. 
See  also  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible 
and  Calmet's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 

St.  Anna  (2),  Feb.  3,  Sept.  1,  is 
represented  holding  the  tables  of  the 
Jewish  Law,  to  denote  that  she  lived 
blamelessly.    She  was  a  prophetess, 


daughter  of  Phanuel,  of  the  tribe  of 
Aser.  At  the  age  of  eighty-four  she 
was  a  widow  who  spent  her  time  in  the 
temple,  and  "  served  God  with  fastings 
and  prayers  night  and  day."  When  the 
Infant  Jesus  was  presented  there,  she 
recognised  in  Him  the  expected  Messiah. 
She  is  the  earliest  of  the  New  Testament 
saints.  Her  name  is  in  the  B.M.,  Sept.  1. 
Ughelli  and  the  Greek  Meneas  honour 
her  with  St.  Simeon,  Fob.  3.  The  Feast 
of  the  Purification  was  anciently  called, 
in  tho  East,  the  Feast  of  the  Meeting, 
i.e.  of  St.  Simeon  and  St.  Anna,  with  the 
Christ,  in  the  Temple,  at  the  Presenta- 
tion. This  feast  is  mentioned  in  the 
Pilgrimage  of  St.  Silvia,  late  in  the  4th 
century;  but  at  that  early  date  it  was 
probably  celebrated  with  so  much  honour 
only  at  Jerusalem,  whence  the  custom 
of  its  solemnization  extended  to  other 
countries.  Bichard  et  Giraud,  Biblio- 
theque  Sacre-e.  St.  Luke  ii.  36-38.  B.M. 

St.  Anna  (3),  July  26  (Ann,  Anne). 
"f  a.d.  1.  Mother  of  the  B.  V.  Mary. 
Patron  of  two  places  called  Annaberg, 
one  in  Brunswick,  the  other  in  Misnia ; 
of  Madrid,  which  adopted  her  in  a  pesti- 
lence in  1597  ;  of  Apt,  Brittany,  Bruns- 
wick, and  Ourcamp ;  of  the  Counts  of 
Schlick,  and  tho  Counts  of  Hainault ;  of 
the  cathedral  of  the  Canaries ;  of  mar- 
ried people ;  takes  the  place  of  Juno 
Lucina  as  patron  of  confinements;  is 
called  in  Southern  Italy  la  vecchia  potente 
(the  powerful  old  woman);  pregnant 
women  who  place  themselves  under  her 
special  protection  wear  an  apron  or 
some  other  article  of  a  brilliant  emerald 
green.  She  is  also  patron  of  makers 
and  sellers  of  lace ;  makers  and  sellers 
of  linen  cloth ;  broom-makers ;  house- 
keepers ;  grooms ;  stable-boys ;  dealers 
in  old  clothes;  carpenters;  cabinet- 
makers ;  turners ;  inlayers  of  wood ;  and 
all  workers  in  hard  wood.  St.  Gomer 
is  patron  of  workers  in  soft  wood. 
According  to  Cahier,  the  reason  for 
Anna  being  adopted  patron  of  workers 
in  wood  is  that  no  one  was  received  to 
the  rank  of  master  in  any  guild  or  cor- 
poration of  tradesmen  until  he  had  made 
a  masterpiece.  In  the  16th  and  17th 
centuries  the  tabernacle  was  a  very  im- 
portant part  of  the  ornamentation  of  an 

F 


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ST.  ANNA 


altar,  and  a  wood-worker  generally 
showed  his  greatest  skill  in  its  construc- 
tion. St.  Anna  was  considered  to  have 
made  the  first  tabernacle,  namely,  the 
Virgin  Mary.  A  composition,  called  in 
the  workshops  "  the  brains  of  St.  Anna," 
was  the  great  resource  for  hiding  certain 
defects  in  the  wood.  It  consisted  of  a 
strong  glne  mixed  with  sawdust  of  the 
defective  wood,  and  was  cleverly  used 
to  fill  up  cavities. 

Azevedos  counts  SS.  Joachim  and 
Anna  among  the "  Advocates,"  or  "  Auxi- 
liary Saints." 

Pictures  or  drawings  of  Anna  have 
been  found  in  the  catacombs :  these  and 
other  early  representations  depict  her 
with  her  hands  stretched  out  in  prayer ; 
near  her  a  dove,  bearing  a  ring  or  a 
crown  in  its  beak.  In  mediteval  art  she 
holds  a  book,  and  generally  appears  to 
be  teaching  the  Virgin  Mary  to  read, 
and  sometimes  pointing  to  the  words, 
"  Radix  Jesse  floruit'*  In  some  of  these 
pictures  the  Virgin  Mary,  although  she 
appears  as  a  child  sitting  on  her  mother's 
lap,  holds  the  Infant  Christ.  St.  Anna 
is  sometimes  the  centre  figure  of  a  com- 
plicated picture  of  the  relatives  of  our 
Saviour.  Sometimes  she  appears  meet- 
ing and  kissing  St.  Joachim  at  the 
Golden  Gate,  bearing  a  lily,  on  the 
flower  of  which  is  represented  the  face 
of  the  Virgin  Mary. 

According  to  the  Golden  Legend, 
Perfetto  Leggendario,  etc.,  she  was  the 
daughter  of  S tolano,  also  called  Gazarius, 
of  the  house  of  Juda,  and  her  mother 
was  Emerentia.  They  had  another 
daughter,  Hysmerye,  who  had  a  daughter, 
St.  Elizabeth,  mother  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  and  a  son,  Elynd,  father  of 
Emynen,  of  whom  came  "S.  Servace 
whose  bodye  lyeth  in  Mastreyght  upon 
ye  ryver  of  Ye  Mase." 

St.  Anna  was  married  three  times, 
and  by  each  marriage  she  had  a  daughter 
named  Mary.  Her  first  husband  was 
Joachim,  father  of  the  B.  V.  Mary,  "  who 
chylded  our  lorde  Jhesu  cryste."  Joa- 
chim was  of  Nazareth;  Anna  was  of 
Bethlehem,  and  of  the  tribe  of  Juda. 
They  were  rich.  They  divided  their 
goods  into  three  parts:  one  they  gave 
to  the  temple  and  its  servants,  one  to 


pilgrims  and  the  poor,  and  the  third 
part  they  spent  on  themsolves  and  their 
servants.  When  -they  had  been  married 
twenty  years,  and  had  long  sorrowed 
becauso  they  had  no  child,  they  made  a 
vow  that  if  God  would  give  them  one, 
they  would  dedicate  it  to  His  service.  At 
the  Feast  of  the  Dedication  of  the  Temple, 
St.  Joachim  went  with  his  friends  to 
Jerusalem,  as  usual,  to  make  his  offering. 
The  high  priest  scornfully  rejected  it, 
saying  that  a  man  who,  inasmuch  as  he 
had  no  children,  was  evidently  under 
the  displeasure  of  God,  ought  not  to  pre- 
sume to  offer  gifts  at  the  altar.  Joachim 
went  away  sorrowful  and  confused.  In- 
stead of  returning  to  Anna,  he  went  to 
his  herdsmen  and  stayed  some  time  with 
them,  until  he  was  comforted  in  a  vision 
by  an  angel,  who  told  him  his  prayers  and 
alms  were  accepted  before  God,  and  that 
Anna  should  have  a  daughter  named 
Mary.  She  was  to  be  brought  up  in  the 
temple,  and  of  her  should  be  born  a 
great  Lord,  through  whom  salvation 
should  come  to  all  people.  The  angel 
said,  "  By  this  sign  thou  shalt  know  that 
the  vision  is  from  the  Lord :  when  thou 
shalt  come  to  the  Golden  Gate  of  Jeru- 
salem, thou  shalt  meet  Anna  thy  wife." 
Meantime,  Anna  remained  sorrowfully 
at  home.  One  day,  as  she  sat  under  a 
laurel  in  her  garden  watching  a  bird 
bringing  food  to  its  little  ones  in  the 
nest,  she  said  to  herself,  "Every  wife 
has  children  except  me  ;  the  very  birds 
in  the  trees  have  their  children,  but  I 
have  none."  Then  she  heard  her  maid, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  bushes,  deriding 
her  because  of  her  barrenness.  But  now 
the  same  angel  who  had  appeared  to 
Joachim  visited  her  in  a  dream,  promised 
her  a  child,  and  relieved  her  anxiety 
about  her  husband's  prolonged  absence 
by  telling  her  she  should  find  him  at 
the  Golden  Grate.  They  both  obeyed 
the  heavenly  messenger,  and  went  to 
Jerusalem.  There,  at  the  Golden  Gate, 
they  met.  Tho  next  year  Anna  had  a 
daughter,  according  to  the  promise  of 
the  angel ;  and  they  called  her  Mary,  as 
he  had  commanded.  When  Mary  was 
three  years  old,  they  brought  her  to  the 
temple,  with  offerings.  There  were  fifteen 
steps  up  the  temple,  and  the  child,  who 


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had  never  yet  walked,  ran  up  to  the  top 
of  the  flight  without  assistance.  When 
Joachim  and  Anna  had  made  their  offer- 
ing, they  left  Mary  in  the  temple  with 
the  other  virgins,  and  returned  home. 
Mary  grew  in  holiness  daily,  and  had 
visions  from  God. 

Anna  was  thirty-six  years  old  when 
Joachim  died.  She  then  married  Clopas, 
brother  of  St.  Joseph  the  carpenter,  and 
had,  by  him,  a  daughter  Mary,  wh  o  married 
Alphteus  and  had  four  sons — James  the 
Less,  Judas  Thaddeus,  Simon  Zelotes, 
and  Joseph  the  Just.  After  the  death 
of  Clopas,  Anna  took,  as  her  third  hus- 
band, Salome,  and  had  another  daughter, 
Mary  Salome,  who  married  Zebedee,  and 
was  the  mother  of  the  two  apostles, 
SS.  James  the  More  and  John  the 
Evangelist.  Anna  lived  until  our  Lord 
Christ  was  one  year  old.  In  the  time 
of  Octavian  her  soul  was  carried  to 
Abraham's  bosom;  at  the  ascension  of 
Christ  it  was  carried  to  heaven,  where 
she  has  a  very  honourable  place,  being 
one  of  the  saints  who  enjoy  the  glory  of 
the  great  God. 

Another  legend,  giving  miraculous 
birth  and  ancient  lineage  to  Anna,  is  to 
be  found  among  those  collected  by  Le 
Roux  de  Lincy,  who  derives  it  from  a 
metrical  Bible  of  the  13th  century.  It 
is  as  follows: — 

A  thousand  years  after  the  fall  of 
Adam,  God  transported  the  tree  of  life 
into  the  garden  of  St.  Abraham,  and 
sent  an  angel  to  inform  the  patriarch 
that  on  this  tree  the  Son  of  God  should 
be  crucified,  that  the  flower  of  the  tree 
would  give  birth  to  a  knight  who  would 
bring  into  the  world,  without  the  assist- 
ance of  any  woman,  a  virgin,  whom 
God  would  choose  for  His  mother. 
Abraham  had  a  daughter  who  breathed 
the  perfume  of  the  tree,  and  thereby 
beeanie  enceinte.  The  Jews  condemned 
her  to  be  burned  to  death.  She  went 
into  the  fire,  and  proved  her  innocence 
by  remaining  unhurt  in  the  midst  of  it. 
All  the  flames  then  changed  into  flowers ; 
there  was  not  a  coal  or  a  brand  but 
became  a  lily  or  a  rose.  By-and-by  she 
gave  birth  to  a  son,  who  grew  up  a 
valiant  knight,  and  rose  to  be  king,  and 
eventually  Emperor.    His   name  was 


Fanouel.  He  was  the  possessor  of  the 
Tree  of  Life,  and  although  he  did  not 
thoroughly  understand  all  its  properties, 
when  sick  or  wounded  persons  came  to 
him  for  help,  he  cut  a  fruit  from  the 
tree,  divided  it  in  several  pieces,  and 
distributed  them  to  the  sufferers,  who 
were  thereby  cured  of  whatever  diseases 
or  injuries  they  had.  When  he  cut  the 
fruit  he  always  wiped  the  knife  on  his 
thigh,  until  at  last  the  juice  of  the  fruit 
got  into  the  thigh,  which  swelled  and 
gave  him  some  trouble  and  anxiety.  All 
the  physicians  of  the  country  tried  their 
skill  in  vain.  The  thigh  grew  bigger 
every  day  for  nine  months,  and  then 
produced  the  prettiest  little  demoiselle 
that  ever  was  seen.  That  was  u  Sainie 
Anne  que  Bieu  aima  tant"  The  Emperor 
was  much  ashamed  of  the  slur  that  thus 
fell  on  his  character.  He  called  a  knight,, 
who  was  his  confidential  attendant,  and 
told  him  to  take  the  child  into  tho 
middle  of  a  forest  and  kill  her.  The* 
knight  proceeded  to  obey.  Just  as  he* 
was  going  to  strike  his  victim,  a  dove 
appeared  from  heaven,  saying,  "  Knight, 
do  not  kill  this  child ;  for  of  her  shall  be 
born  a  virgin  whom  God  will  choose  for 
His  mother."  So  he  put  the  babe  into  a 
swan's  nest  and  left  her.  A  stag  brought 
her  food,  and,  if  she  cried,  gave  her 
flowers  to  comfort  her.  About  ten  years 
after  this,  Fanouel  one  day  went  hunting 
in  the  wood,  and  followed  the  very  stag 
that  had  adopted  the  deserted  child. 
The  stag  took  refuge  under  the  swan's 
nest,  'where  tho  little  girl  still  lived. 
The  Emperor  was  astonished  to  find  a 
beautiful  young  lady,  ten  years  of  age, 
in  a  swan's  nest,  and  said  to  her,  "  My 
beauty,  who  are  you  ?  "  To  which  the 
wise  child  replied,  "Sire,  I  am  your 
daughter."  He  found  she  knew  the 
whole  story,  so  he  took  her  to  court  and 
married  her  to  Joachim,  a  knight  of  his 
empire.  Of  this  marriage  was  born  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

A  legend  of  Anna,  told  by  Dr.  Mant,. 
and  said  to  be  derived  from  the  writings, 
of  Hippolytus  the  martyr,  is  that  she 
was  the  youngest  of  three  daughters  of 
Matthan  tho  priest,  and  Mary  his  wife. 
The  two  elder  sisters,  Mary  and  Sobe, 
married  in  Bethlehem.    Mary  had  a 


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B.  ANNA 


daughter,  Salome  the  midwife  ;  Sobe  was 
the  mother  of  St.  Elizabeth,  mother  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist ;  Anna,  the  youngest, 
married  in  Galilee,  and  brought  forth 
Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus. 

Baillet,  Vies  des  Saints,  "  St.  Joachim," 
March  20,  says  that  we  know  from  St. 
Gregory  of  Nyssa  and  other  reliable 
writers,  that  these  traditions  come  to  us 
from  apocryphal  histories  of  St.  Mary, 
containing  divers  superstitions. 

Nothing  is  known  with  certainty  of 
the  father  of  the  B.  V.  Mary,  except  that 
he  was  of  the  house  of  David.  If  the 
genealogy  given  by  St.  Luke  is  that  of 
Mary,  then  her  father  was  Heli. 

St.  Gregory  XIII.,  by  a  brief  dated 
1584,  commanded  a  double  feast  to  be 
celebrated  in  honour  of  St.  Anna,  through- 
out all  Christendom.  The  worship  of 
St.  Joachim  was  not  established  by 
authority  in  the  Latin  Church  until 
1622,  under  Gregory  XV. 

B.  Anna  (4),  March  5,  V.  Time  of 
the  Apostles.  Wife  of  St.  Conon,  bishop 
of  Bida  or  Bidana,  in  Isauria,  who  con- 
verted his  father  and  mother,  Nestor  and 
Nada,  to  the  Christian  faith.  Anne, 
together  with  Nestor,  is,  by  the  Greek 
Church,  honoured  among  the  martyrs. 
Conon  is  commemorated  March  5.  Pape- 
broch  and  Henschenius  are  uncertain  as 
to  Anna's  right  to  the  honours  of  saint- 
ship.    Boll.,  AA.8S. 

St  Anna  (5),  Oct.  22.  2nd  or  3rd 
century.  Was  converted  by  seeing  the 
constancy  under  torture  of  St.  Alexander, 
M.,  bishop  of  a  place  unknown,  and  was 
put  to  death  with  him,  Heraclius  a 
soldier,  and  SS.  Theodota  (2)  and  Gli- 
ceria  (2).  St.  Elizabeth  (2)  is  com- 
memorated with  them,  but  is  supposed 
to  have  been  martyred  at  another  place 
*nd  lime.  A  church  in  their  honour 
was  built  at  Constantinople.  They  are 
mentioned  in  the  Menology  of  Basil,  but 
Greek  saints  were  received  with  caution 
by  the  Western  Church,  because  many 
schismatics  were  honoured  among  them. 
Benjamin  Bossue,  in  Boll.,  AA.SS.,  Oct. 
22,  ix. 

St.  Anna  (6),  Nov.  20,  V.  M.  c.  343, 
with  Bahuta. 

St.  Anna  (7),  March  26,  M.  c.  370. 
One  of  the  earliest  Christians  among  the 


Goths  on  the  Danube.  She  was  with  five 
other  women  and  twenty  men  in  a  church 
which  was  burned  by  Jungerich,  king 
of  the  Goths,  in  the  time  of  the  Emperors 
Yalens  and  Gratian:  the  names  of  the 
other  women  were  Allas  or  Halas,  Paris 
or  Baris  or  Bark  a,  Moico  or  Mamica, 
Virco  or  Vico,  and  Animais.  Boll., 
AAJSS. 

St.  Anna  (8),  Oct.  2  or  28,  or  May  4, 
M.  at  Jerusalem,  in  the  4th  century. 
Patron  of  Ancona.  Went  with  her  son, 
St.  Cyriacus,  bishop  and  martyr,  to  visit 
the  holy  places.  They  were  arrested  by 
order  of  Julian  the  apostate,  hung  up  by 
her  hair,  and  burned  with  lamps;  she 
died  under  the  torture.  Her  body  was 
translated  to  Ancona  by  the  Empress  B. 
Galla  Placidia,  in  the  following  cen- 
tury. Anna  is  mentioned  in  the  Greek 
and  Ethiopian  calendars.  Her  history 
is  only  known  from  the  fabulous  Acts  of 
her  son.  As  a  fact,  there  was  no  general 
persecution  of  Christians  under  Julian, 
although  there  doubtless  were  cases 
where  the  malice  or  covetousness  of 
those  in  power,  or  special  provocation 
on  the  part  of  certain  Christians,  led  to 
the  oppression  or  murder  of  individuals. 
Boll.,  AA.SS.  Gyneceeum. 

St.  Anna  (9).  5th  or  0th  century. 
Patron  of  the  church  of  East  Looe,  in 
Cornwall.  Daughter  of  the  Prince  of 
Glamorgan.  Married  Amwyn,  or  Amnon 
the  Black,  prince  of  Bro-Weroc,  in  Brit- 
tany, i.e.  the  country  about  Vannes  which 
was  colonized  from  Britain.  SS.  Padarn, 
Malo,  and  Magloire  were  of  the  same 
illustrious  Welsh  stock.  Anna  was  sister 
of  Gwen  Julitta  and  mother  of  St. 
Samson,  bishop  of  Dol,  in  Brittany,  who 
was  born  about  520.  A  holy  well  in 
the  churchyard  of  Whitstone,  in  Corn- 
wall, bears  her  name.  Her  worship — in 
England,  at  all  events — is  much  older 
than  that  of  St.  Anna  (3),  mother  of  the 
B.  V.  Mary.  Bev.  S.  Baring  Gould,  Book 
of  the  West.    Stadler.  Butler. 

St  Anna  (10),  Nov.  28.  A  young 
widow  of  high  rank  dwelling  in  Con- 
stantinople towards  the  middle  of  the 
8th  century.  Disciple  and  spiritual 
daughter  of  St.  Stephen  of  Mount  St. 
Auxentius,  also  called  St.  Stephen  the 
Younger,  to  distinguish  him  from  two 


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ST.  ANNA 


60 


contemporaries.  Her  real  name  is  un- 
known. She  took  that  of  Anna  on 
becoming  a  nun  in  a  convent  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain  on  which  St.  Stephen 
lived  as  a  hermit,  after  he  had  been  per- 
secuted by  tho  iconoclasts  at  Constanti- 
nople. In  754,  refusing  to  support  a 
false  accusation  against  Stephen,  she  was 
cruelly  scourged  by  order  of  the  Emperor 
Constantino  Copronymus,  and  put  in 
prison  at  Constantinople,  where  she  soon 
died,  in  consequence  of  the  ill  usage  she 
received.  She  is  mentioned  by  Surius 
in  the  life  of  St.  Stephen,  Oct.  28.  The 
Bollandists  promise  more  information 
when  their  calendar  comes  down  to  her 
day.  This  is  perhaps  the  saint  called 
Anna  Greca  by  Guenebault,  who  says  she 
was  an  abbess  of  the  Order  of  the  Ace- 
metes,  and  that  she  is  represented  hold- 
ing a  statuette,  doubtless  to  denote  that 
she  adhered  to  the  use  of  holy  images, 
notwithstanding  the  persecution  of  the 
iconoclasts. 

St.  Anna  (11)  Euphemian,  Oct.  29. 
8th  and  beginning  of  9th  century.  A 
native  of  Constantinople.  After  the 
death  of  her  husband  and  children,  she 
gave  all  her  property  to  the  poor,  and, 
disguised  as  a  man,  obtained  admission 
to  a  monastery  on  Mount  Olympus,  where 
she  lived  several  years,  under  the  name 
of  Euphemian.  She  was  much  perse- 
cuted by  a  fellow-monk,  changed  her 
residence  several  times,  and  died  a  re- 
cluse at  Constantinople.  Her  story,  from 
the  Meneas  of  the  Greek  Church,  is 
given  at  considerable  length,  with  notes, 
by  the  Bollandists,  who  do  not  seem  to 
think  it  reliable.  AA.SS. 

St.  Anna  (12),  July  23.  fc.  918. 
Y.  of  Leucada,  or  Leucata,  a  promontory 
of  Epirus,  or  Bithynia.  She  was  of  noble 
birth.  After  the  death  of  her  parents, 
the  Emperor  Basil,  the  Macedonian, 
desired  her  to  accept  a  husband  of  his 
choosing ;  but  she  chose  rather  to  lead 
a  celibate  ascetic  life.  She  was  about 
seventy-eight  years  of  age  when  she  died. 
Perier,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Anna  (13).  Grand-princess  of 
Russia.  963-1011.  There  are  many  con- 
tradictions in  the  accounts  of  this  prin- 
cess, and  it  is  doubtful  whether  she 
should  be  placed  among  the  saints. 


More  information  regarding  her  is  to 
be  found  in  tho  histories  cited  at  the 
end  of  this  article. 

Anna  was  born,  of  wicked  parents,  at 
Constantinople  in  963,  a  few  days  before 
the  death  of  her  father,  Romanus  II., 
Emperor  of  the  East.  Her  elder  sister, 
Theophano,  married  Otho  II.,  king  of 
Germany  and  Emperor  of  the  West  (see 
Adelaide  (3)).  Romanus  II.  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  sons,  Basil  II.  and  Con- 
stantino VIII.,  who  reigned  together. 
In  their  time  Anna  married,  with  con- 
siderable repugnance,  St.  Vladimir  (mon- 
arch of  Russia,  grandson  of  St.  Olga), 
to  make  peace  between  the  Greek  empire 
and  their  dangerous  neighbours,  and 
still  more  with  the  object  of  winning 
him  and  his  immense  country  over  to 
the  Christian  faith.  As  a  condition  of 
his  marriage,  he  put  away  his  other 
wives,  and  deposed  his  god  Perune.  He 
was  threatened  with  blindness,  and  Anna 
promised  him  that  his  sight  should  be 
restored  if  he  would  be  baptized.  He 
complied,  taking  the  name  of  Basil,  and 
was  immediately  cured.  He  then  built 
a  church  in  Kief,  dedicated  it  in  the 
name  of  St.  Basil,  and  enforced  his  new 
religion  with  all  the  determination  he 
had  previously  shown  in  other  matters. 
His  life,  after  baptism,  was  as  6trict  as 
it  had  before  been  dissolute.  He  died 
1015.  Anna  died  1011.  He  is  called 
Isapostolos,  and  has  also  been  called  the 
New  Solomon,  not  from  his  wisdom,  but 
from  the  great  number  of  his  wives.  He 
was  father  of  Yaroslav,  whose  wife  was 
St.  Anna  (14).  Lebeau,  Hi&toire  du  Baa 
Empire,  xvi.  57,  etc.  Martinov,  Orseco- 
Slav.  Calendar.  Karamsin,  Histoire  de 
Bussie,  i.  267-283. 

St.  Anna  (14),  Grand-princess  of 
Russia,  Feb.  10,  and,  with  her  son  St. 
Vladimir,  Oct.  4  (Ingardas,  Ingebiobg, 
Ingigerda,  Irene).  She  was  daughter 
of  Olaf  Skoetkonung,  king  of  Sweden, 
who  gave  her  for  dowry  the  town  of 
Aldeigaburg,  or  Old  Ladoga.  She  took 
the  name  of  Irene  at  her  baptism,  and 
that  of  Anna  with  the  monastic  habit, 
shortly  before  her  death.  She  was  the 
wife  of  Yaroslav  the  Great,  son  of  the 
first  St.  Vladimir  and  father  of  the  second, 
who,  in  1015,  succeeded  his  father  as 


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70 


ST.  ANNA 


Grand-prince  of  all  the  Bussias,  and 
reigned  from  the  Baltic  to  Asia,  and  to 
Hungary  and  Dacia.  He  was  far  more 
enlightened  than  his  predecessors,  and 
than  many  of  his  successors  for  some 
generations.  He  caused  the  Bible  to  bo 
translated  into  the  Slavonian  tongue, 
and  transcribed  some  copies  with  his 
own  hand;  he  founded  many  schools, 
but  his  great  glory  was  the  code  of  laws 
he  enacted.  Ho  built  the  church  of  St. 
Sophia,  at  Kief,  one  of  the  oldest  in 
Russia.  That  of  St.  Sophia,  at  Novgorod, 
was  built  by  the  second  St.  Vladimir ; 
it  is  the  oldest  building  in  Novgorod, 
and  one  of  the  three  oldest  churches  in 
Russia.  In  it  the  founder  and  his 
mother,  St.  Anna,  lie  buried.  The  date 
of  Anna's  death,  1050,  is  still  to  be  seen 
on  her  tomb.  She  was  the  first  of  the 
Russian  princesses  to  take  the  religious 
veil  on  the  approach  of  death,  a  custom 
which  afterwards  became  general.  Yaro- 
slav  and  Anna  had  six  sons,  one  of  whom 
was  St  Vladimir  IL,  and  one  is  said  to 
have  married  a  daughter  of  Harold  God- 
winsson  of  England.  Anna  had  three 
daughters :  Elizabeth,  queen  of  Norway ; 
Anna  or  Annte,  queen  of  France ;  and 
Anastasia,  or  Agmunda,  who  married 
Andrew  I.,  king  of  Hungary;  perhaps 
also  a  fourth  daughter,  Agatha,  who 
married  the  English  Prince  Eadward 
Aethling,  and  was  mother  of  Edgar 
Atheling  and  St.  Margaret,  queen  of 
Scotland.  Yaroslav  died  in  1054,  and 
was  buried  at  Kief. 

These  accounts  of  these  Russian  prin- 
cesses are  chiofly  taken  from  Karamsin, 
Eisioire  de  Bussie.  S.  Anna  Ingigerda 
is  also  mentioned  by  Mailath,  Stammi- 
afel  der  Arpaden;  Martinov,  Slav.  Calen- 
dar; Snorri  Sturlusson,  Kings  of  Norway; 
Neale,  Holy  Eastern  Church. 

St  Anna  (15),  daughter  of  the 
Emperor  Romanus.  Wife  of  the  Rus- 
sian Prince  St.  Vladimir  IL  (Yarosla- 
vitch),  son  of  St.  Anna  (14).  Mother 
of  the  Grand-prince  St.  Mistislav  the 
Brave,  who  feared  no  person  or  thing, 
but  God  only.  He  defended  Novgorod 
against  Andrew  of  Sousdalia,  and  was 
beloved  all  over  Russia.  Mistislav,  his 
father  St.  Vladimir,  his  mother,  and 
grandmother  are  buried  in  the  church  of 


St.  Sophia  at  Novgorod,  which  Vladimir 
Yaroslavich  built  on  the  site  of  the 
wooden  church  of  the  year  1000:  the 
stono  church  was  built  by  Greek  archi- 
tects, and  is  preserved,  with  its  gilt 
domes,  in  all  its  grandeur,  unspoilt  by 
wars  or  storms.  St.  Miotislav's  dead 
hand,  quite  black,  protrudes  from  under 
the  cloth  which  covers  his  body,  and  is 
exposed  for  the  kisses  of  the  faithful. 
Chester's  Bus&ia,  and  the  authorities  for 
the  other  Russian  saints. 

B.  Anna  (16)  Michieli  Giustini- 
ani, Nov.  21.  O.S.B.  Daughter  of 
Vitale  Miohieli,  doge  of  Venice  (1156- 
1172),  the  last  doge  who  was  elected  by 
the  people,  the  seventeenth  who  was  vio- 
lently dethroned,  and  the  sixth  who  was 
murdered  in  a  riot.  In  1170  there  was 
war  between  the  state  of  Venice  and  the 
empire  of  Constantinople.  At  the  same 
time,  the  Emperor  had  a  personal  dis- 
like to  and  quarrel  with  the  Giustiniani, 
one  of  the  most  ancient  and  wealthiest 
of  the  Venetian  noble  families,  and  much 
beloved  by  all  classes  in  the  city.  They 
therefore  took  up  the  national  quarrel 
with  family  pride  as  well  as  political 
and  patriotic  ardour,  contributing  a  large 
contingent  of  ships  and  men,  and  desir- 
ing to  make  good  all  loss  that  might 
accrue  to  the  Republic  from  the  war. 
The  doge  led  the  expedition,  and  every 
man  of  the  Giustiniani  family  went  with 
him.  At  first  the  Venetians  had  some 
successes,  but  after  suffering  greatly 
from  the  treachery  of  the  Greeks,  they 
were  attacked  by  the  plague.  Some  of 
the  Giustiniani  had  been  killed  in  skir- 
mishes, and  all  the  rest  were  among  the 
victims  of  the  pestilence.  About  two  years 
from  the  time  he  had  set  forth  so  gallantly, 
Vitale  returned  home,  bringing  back 
only  seventeen  of  the  hundred  ships  he 
had  taken  out.  The  people  were  furious 
with  the  doge,  and  threw  upon  him  the 
whole  blame  of  the  ill  success  of  the 
expedition,  and  the  destruction  of  a 
family  so  popular  among  them.  The 
Emperor  triumphed  in  the  extermina- 
tion of  the  hated  race,  but  Vitale  knew 
there  was  one  scion  of  the  family,  a 
certain  brother  Niccolo,  who,  although 
accounted  dead  to  the  world,  was  still 
living  in  the  monastery  of  S.  Niccolo 


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B.  A 

del  Lido.  Through  this  man  he  re- 
solved to  revive  the  great  and  popular 
family  bo  tragically  cut  off,  and  applied 
to  Pope  Alexander  III.  for  permission  to 
marry  his  own  daughter  to  Niccolo 
Giustiniani.  The  Pope  freed  Niccolo 
from  his  monastic  vows,  and  commanded 
him  to  restore  his  family  to  its  proper 
place  in  Venice  by  marrying  Anna 
Michieli.  It  soon  became  evident  that 
the  ships  which  had  returned  had  brought 
the  plague  with  them;  hundreds  of 
persons  died  within  a  few  days.  Terror 
reigned.  The  fickle  populace  again  laid 
all  .the  fault  on  their  doge,  and  mur- 
dered'him  in  a  tumult.  As  soon  as 
they  had  done  it,  they  repented,  and 
remembered  how  good  he  had  been. 
Niccolo  and  Anna  spent  many  years  to- 
gether, rich  in  this  world's  goods,  and 
richer  in  good  deeds.  They  had  six 
sons  and  three  daughters.  Eventually 
Mccolo  returned  to  his  monastery,  and 
Anna  went  to  live  in  the  magnificent 
nunnery  of  St.  Adrian,  which  she  had 
built  at  Amiano ;  and  there  she  spent 
the  rest  of  her  life  in  fastings,  prayers, 
and  good  works.  The  pictures  of  Nic- 
colo and  Anna  are  kept  with  great  vene- 
ration in  the  church  of  St.  Nicholas,  in 
token  of  their  sanctity.  Many  miracles 
have  been  wrought  by  both  saints.  Life 
of  B,  Lorenzo  Giustiniani,  their  descen- 
dant, who  died  Jan.  8,  1455,  written  by 
Bernardo  Giustiniani,  and  given  in  the 
AA.SS.,  Jan.  8.  The  story  is  told  with 
many  interesting  details  by  Lebeau, 
Histoire  du  Bob  Empire,  xix.,  xx.  of  the 
old  edition,  xvi.,  xvii.  of  the  new  (1833). 
Daru,  Histoire  de  Venise.  Fougasses, 
History  of  Venice,  "  Englished  "  by  W. 
Shute  (1612).  Wion,  Lignum  Fi<«,who 
calls  Anna  "  Duchess  of  the  Venetians." 
Mas  Latrie,  Tresor.  Bucelinus,  Men. 
Ben.,  Nov.  21.  Light  is  thrown  on  the 
customs  of  Venice  at  the  time,  and  the 
status  of  the  families  of  Michieli  and 
Giustiniani  by  Molmenti,  Storia  di 
Venezia  netta  Vita  Privata.  The  Life  of 
Anna  is  promised  by  the  Bollandists 
when  they  come  to  her  day. 

B.  Anna  (17),  March  6.  t 1244- 
Of  the  noble  family  of  Frankeuhofen. 
Cistercian  nun  at  Seefeld  ;  succeeded  B. 
Tudeca  as  abbess.   In  1241  Conrad  of 


*NA  71 

Winterstettin  built  the  nunnery  of 
Paindt,  near  the  monastery  of  Weingar- 
ten,  in  the  ancient  diocese  of  Constance, 
and  thither  Anna  moved  as  abbess. 
She  died  1244,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Ermengard,  daughter  of  the  founder. 
Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben.  Migne,  Diet,  des 
Abbayes.  Monstier,  Gynecseum.  The 
accounts  of  the  situation,  etc.,  of  the 
nunneries  do  not  quite  agree. 

B.  Anna  (18),  Amioia. 

St.  Anna  (19),  Duchess  of  Silesia, 
born  at  Prague,  1204.  f  1246.  Daughter 
of  Premysl  Ottokar  I.,  first  king  of 
Bohemia  (1198-1230),  by  his  second 
wife,  Constance  of  Hungary.  St.  Agnes 
op  Bohemia  was  her  sister,  St.  Elizabeth 
op  Hungary  her  cousin,  St.  Abdbla  her 
half-sister,  St.  Hedwig  her  mother-in- 
law.  Anna  married,  in  1216,  Henry  II., 
the  pious  duke  of  Silesia ;  he  was  killed 
at  Legnitz,  1241,  in  a  great  battle 
against  the  Tartars,  where,  although  the 
Christians  were  defeated,  overpowered 
by  numbers,  they  made  such  a  good 
fight  against  the  heathens,  and  inflicted 
on  them  such  heavy  loss,  that  the  tide  of 
their  invasion  was  effectually  arrested. 
St.  Anna,  St.  Hedwig,  and  all  the  nuns 
of  Trebnitz  were  in  the  fortress  of 
Chrosna  when  the  battle  was  fought. 
Anna  buried  her  husband  in  the  Fran- 
ciscan oonvent  which  he  had  begun  to 
build  at  Breslau,  and  which  she  finished 
after  his  death.  She  had  six  sons  and 
three  daughters.  For  somo  particulars 
of  the  Tartar  invasion  and  the  battle 
of  Legnitz,  see  St.  Hedwig,  duchess  of 
Silesia.  Dlugosch,  Historia  Pohnica. 
Palacky,  Geschicte  von  Bbhmen.  Stenzel, 
Scriptores  Rerum  Silesise,  ii.  127,  etc. 
A.  Knoblich,  Herzogin  Anna  von  Schlesien, 
Breslau,  1 865.  Anna  is  called  "  Blessed  " 
by  several  writers,  and  M  Saint "  by  Mas 
Latrie,  Trtsor,  p.  905. 

B.  Anna  (20),  April  8,  of  Schlussel- 
berg.  18th  century.  Daughter  of 
Conrad,  baron  of  Schlusselberg,  near 
Bamberg,  in  Franconia.  Anna  became 
second  abbess  of  the  Cistercian  house  of 
Schlusselberg,  and,  being  a  woman  of 
many  virtues,  received  sundry  privileges 
from  her  brother-in-law  Leopold,  bishop 
of  Bamberg.  When  she  was  dying  she 
directed  that  her  grave  should  be  loft 


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ST.  ANNA 


open  to  receive  her  sister-in-law  and 
successor,  Anna,  countess  of  Zollern, 
who  would  die  within  a  month,  which 
happened.  Henriquez,  Lilia  Cistercii, 
ii.  250.  Bucelinus.  Kigollot,  in  Index 
to  Boa,  AA.SS. 

St.  Anna  (21)  of  Viterbo,  Sept.  21. 
■f  1306.  3rd  O.S.D.  Worship  un- 
certain. 

St.  Anna  (22),  Oct.  2.  1338.  Duchess 
of  Tver,  and  Grand-princess  of  Bussia. 
Daughter  of  Demetrius  Borissovitch, 
duke  of  Eostov.  Married,  c.  1294, 
Michael  Jaroslavitch,  duke  of  Tver, 
nephew  of  St.  Alexander  Nevski.  Her 
sister  was  married  to  Andrew,  grand- 
prince  of  Russia,  who  died  about  1295. 
Michael,  duke  of  Tver,  succeeded  to  the 
principality.  According  to  Martinov's 
Slavonian  Calendar,  he  was  killed  in  a 
glorious  battle  against  the  Tartars  in 
1315.  But  according  to  Raramsin's 
Histoire  de  Bussie,  iv.,  he  survived  the 
battle.  His  nephew  George,  duke  of 
Moscow,  who  had  married  a  sister  of 
Usbek,  khan  of  Tartary,  tried  to  deprive 
him  of  his  right.  Michael  took  Moscow, 
and  carried  away  George's  wife  among 
the  prisoners.  Unfortunately,  an  epi- 
demic broke  out  in  Tver,  and  she  fell  a 
victim  to  it.  George  accused  his  uncle 
of  poisoning  her.  The  grand-prince 
had  to  go  to  the  horde  and  appear  before 
the  khan  to  clear  himself  of  the  alleged 
crime.  After  undergoing  much  ill  usage, 
which  he  bore  with  great  fortitude  and 
dignity,  Michael  was  put  to  death, 
Nov.  22,  1319.  Some  months  after 
execution  his  body  was  brought  home, 
and  found  to  be  in  perfect  preservation. 
It  was  buried  with  all  honour  in  the 
Kremlin  of  Moscow,  in  the  monastery  of 
St.  Saviour,  on  the  spot  where  now 
stands  the  old  church  of  the  Transfigura- 
tion. He  was  mourned  as  the  friend  of 
his  country  throughout  all  Bussia,  most 
of  all  in  his  own  dukedom  of  Tver.  He 
is  honoured  as  a  saint  and  martyr.  The 
Duchess  Anna  took  the  veil,  and  so  did 
Xenia,  the  virtuous  and  pious  mother  of 
Michael.  Anna  removed  from  Tver  to 
Kasan,  at  the  request  of  her  son  Basil, 
and  died  there  in  1338.  Her  body  was 
translated  into  the  cathedral  in  the  reign 
of  Alexander  Michaelovitch  (1645-1 670), 


the  first  of  the  Romanoffs;  the  king 
himself  carried  the  venerable  corpse. 

B.  Anna  (23),  April  16,  of  Camerino, 
O.D.S.  "fl369.  A  native  of  the  march  of 
Ancona.  Mentioned  in  the  Dominican 
Martyrology  and  by  various  writers  of 
that  order.  Jacobilli  calls  her  a  nnn 
famous  for  sanctity  and  miracles.  Pio, 
Uomini,  etc. 

B.  Anna  (24)  of  the  Cross.  16th 
century.  First  abbess  of  the  first 
nunnery  of  the  Order  of  the  Assumption 
of  our  Lady,  otherwise  called  our  Lady 
of  Mercy.  The  order  was  founded  for 
men,  by  Peter  Nolasca,  in  1235,  but  had 
no  communities  of  women.  The  first 
nunnery  was  founded  at  Seville  about 
1568.  (See  St.  Mary  op  Help.)  Helyot,. 
Hist,  des  Ordres  Monastiques,  part  iii. 
chap.  37. 

B.  Anna  (25)  Toschel,  Jan.  2Sr 
Nov.  10.  "f  1582.  A  Benedictine  abbess 
at  Riga,  who  distinguished  herself  by 
her  streuous  opposition  to  the  Lutheran 
and  Calvinistic  heresies.  She  lived  to 
the  age  of  130.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben.f 
Jan.  28,  spells  her  name  Toichel. 
Collin  de  Plancy,  Saintes  et  Bienheurcusesy 
Nov.  10. 

B.  Anna  (26)  de  Roussy,  founder  of 
the  first  convent  of  Ursulines  at  Paris, 
c.  1 6 1 2.  {See  Angela  Merici.)  Gu6ne- 
bault. 

B.  Anna  (27)  of  Beaulieu,  June  24. 
•f  1618.  Galuota. 

Ven.  Anna  (28)  of  St.  Bartholomew, 
June  7.  1530-1628.  Born  at  Almandral, 
in  Old  Castile.  Her  parents  were  Fer- 
nando Garcias  and  Mary  Mancanas. 
Anna  was  a  Carmelite  nun  of  the  re- 
formed order.  One  of  the  first  who  took 
the  habit  in  St.  Teresa's  monastery  of 
St.  Joseph,  at  Avila.  Her  humility 
made  her  a  great  favourite  with  Teresa,, 
who  calls  her  "  a  great  servant  of  God," 
and  says  that,  although  only  a  lay-sister, 
she  was  of  more  use  to  her  than  any  of 
the  other  nuns  whom  she  took  with  her 
on  her  journeys  to  assist  in  making  re- 
forms and  establishing  new  monasteries 
of  the  reformed  rule.  She  accompanied 
her  beloved  mistress  on  many  of  these 
expeditions  as  her  secretary,  and  attended 
her  with  devoted  affection  in  her  last 
illness.    On  October  4,  1582,  at  Alba 


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B.  ANNA 


73 


de  Tonnes,  Teresa  lay  the  last  hour 
of  her  life  with  her  head  on  Anna's 
shoulder,  and  died  in  her  arms.  Haying 
served  her  apprenticeship  under  this 
great  reformer  and  founder,  Anna  went 
to  France,  about  1004,  and  founded 
houses  of  the  same  Order  of  Barefooted 
Carmelites  at  Tours  and  Pontoise.  In 
1611  she  was  sent  for  by  Albert  and 
Isabel,  to  found  a  monastery  at  Antwerp. 
There  she  remained  until  her  death  in 
1626,  four  years  after  the  canonization  of 
her  mistress,  aged  seventy-six.  The  Life 
of  St  Jane  de  Chantal,  written  by  her  niece 
Mother  Chaugy,  says,  "  Mother  Anne  of 
St.  Bartholomew,  who  is  now  held  to  be 
a  saint,  had  a  vision  respecting  the 
Congregation  of  the  Visitation,  more 
than  four  years  before  its  foundation. 
Madame  de  Ghantal  one  day  told  her 
that  she  often  wished  to  enter  the  Order 
of  Beformed  Carmelites.  Anna  said, 
'No.  St.  Teresa  will  not  have  you  as 
her  daughter.  You  will  have  so  many 
daughters  of  your  own  that  you  will  be 
the  companion  of  our  blessed  Mother. 
God  has  work  for  you  to  do  through  the 
Bishop  of  Geneva.' "  Anna  was  regarded 
as  a  saint  by  the  people  of  Antwerp. 
When  her  body  was  laid  in  tho  church, 
before  burial,  they  came  and  touched  it 
with  more  than  twenty  thousand  rosaries 
and  images.  Next  day  the  people  from 
all  the  country  round  came  to  honour 
the  saint  and  derive  some  benefit  from 
touching  her  sacred  remains.  She  is  not 
canonized.  She  is  called  "  Venerable  " 
by  Butler  and  Dalton,  also  by  the  Bol- 
landists,  who  relate  that  her  heavenly 
intercessions  twice  saved  the  city  of 
Antwerp  from  imminent  danger  in  sieges. 
Cahier,  quoting  Terwecorin,  Precis 
EiHtoriqu.es,  says  that,  after  hor  death,  the 
municipal  body  of  Antwerp  went  every 
year  in  procession,  carrying  candles,  to 
her  convent,  to  acknowledge  solemnly 
that  they  owed  their  deliverance  to  her 
prayers.  She  is  mentioned  several  times 
in  St.  Teresa's  account  of  her  Founda- 
tions. In  1735  Clement  XII.  permitted 
proceedings  for  her  canonization  to  be 
put  in  hand.    Guerin,  Petits  Bollandistes. 

Anna  (29)  Toussaint  de  Volvire, 
Feb.  22,  of  a  noble  family  of  Bretagne, 
1653-1694,  called  Sainte  Anne,  also  the 


Saint  of  Neant.  Neant  was  her  parish 
(dep.  Morbihan).  She  built  the  hospital 
of  Ploermel.    Petits  Bollandistes,  xv. 

B.  Anna  (30)  Maria  Taigi,  June  9. 
1769-1837.  3rd  Order  of  Trinitarians. 
Represented  looking  up  to  a  sun.  Anna 
Maria  Antonietta  Gesulda  was  born  at 
Siena.  Her  father  was  Luigi  Pietro 
Gesulda,  a  chemist.  In  1775  he  was 
ruined  by  his  own  fault.  The  family, 
being  reduced  to  extreme  poverty,  re- 
moved on  foot  to  Borne.  Gesulda  and 
his  wife  became  servants.  Their  little 
girl  worked  in  a  silk  factory.  She 
married  Domenico  Taigi,  a  servant  in 
the  noble  family  of  Chigi.  Anna  Maria 
was  fond  of  dress  and  amusement, 
especially  theatrical  entertainments. 
These  frivolous  tastes  facilitated  the 
wicked  designs  of  an  old  libertine  who, 
with  great  patience  and  cleverness, 
pursued  her  with  unholy  attentions, 
until  a  day  came  when  her  passion  for 
finery  delivered  her  into  his  hands. 
From  that  day  her  existence  was  em- 
bittered by  shame  and  regret.  The 
whole  of  her  after-life  was  an  incessant 
penance  for  this  sin.  Her  husband's 
presence  was  a  continual  reproach  to  her, 
and  she  bore  all  his  exactions  and 
caprices  with  great  humility.  She  had 
four  sons  and  three  daughters,  whom  she 
brought  up  very  carefully  and  piously. 
She  dutifully  cared  for  and  waited  on 
her  father  and  mother  as  long  as  they 
lived.  She  was  naturally  inclined  to 
gluttony,  and  mortified  this  temptation 
with  great  ardour  and  self-denial, 
especially  by  going  for  days  together 
without  drinking. 

In  1798  the  Taigi  were  reduced  almost 
to  destitution,  in  consequence  of  tho 
attempt  of  the  French  to  establish  a 
republic  in  Borne,  which  took  away  the 
means  of  subsistence  from  the  poorer 
classes.  The  Chigi  were  unable  to  pay 
the  wages  of  so  many  servants,  and  they 
were  thrown  upon  the  charity  of  those 
who  had  anything  left  to  give. 

From  the  time  of  her  conversion  and 
the  beginning  of  her  penitent  life,  Anna 
always  saw  before  her  what  she  described 
as  a  sun.  It  was  of  the  size  that  the 
real  sun  in  the  heavens  appears  to  our 
ordinary  sight,  of  extreme  brightness, 


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ST.  ANNOFLEDIS 


and  yet  she  could  look  at  it,  even  with 
her  eye  which  was  nearly  blind.  In 
this  sun  she  saw  events  past,  present, 
and  future,  and  sometimes  thoughts  and 
motives.  She  first  saw  it  while  taking 
the  discipline,  and  for  the  rest  of  her 
life  it  was  always  before  her.  She  had 
frequent  ecstasies,  during  which  she  was 
eo  insensible  to  all  that  went  on  around 
her,  that  her  husband  used  to  shake  her 
and  reproach  her  with  falling  asleep  in 
the  midst  of  her  duties,  and  even  at  her 
prayers.  She  would  never  suffer  any 
one  to  be  spoken  ill  of  in  her  presence, 
and  always  suggested  excuses  for  those 
who  had  done  wrong.  She  was  zealous 
in  the  conversion  of  the  wicked,  there- 
fore some  who  were  pronounced  hope- 
lessly hardened  were  commended,  in 
desperation,  to  her  intercession.  While 
obtaining  of  God  the  conversion  of  a 
sinner,  she  suffered  great  agony  of 
body,  as  well  as  anguish  of  mind. 
Her  charity  included  condemned  crimi- 
nals, whom  she  was  sometimes  successful 
in  persuading  to  ropentance  and  con- 
fession, after  priests  had  been  discouraged- 
by  their  obduracy.  She  was  much  liked 
and  respected  for  her  piety  and  her  gift 
of  prophecy  by  Cardinal  Fesch,  Napo- 
leon's uncle,  by  Marie  Louise  de  Bourbon, 
queen  of  Etruria,  by  Cardinal  Pedicini, 
and  several  other  persons  of  much  higher 
education  and  station  than  herself;  but 
although  she  had  taken  alms  when 
her  family  were  at  the  verge  of  starva- 
tion, she  would  never  accept  from  any 
of  those  exalted  persons  any  favours  or 
benefactions  which  would  in  the  least 
degree  raise  her  out  of  her  humble  state 
of  life,  and  this  was  for  two  reasons: 
first,  she  wished  to  remain  independent, 
to  be  always  free  to  Bpeak  fearlessly  and 
truly;  secondly,  she  did  not  desire  to 
place  within  reach  of  her  children 
luxuries  and  leisure  which  thoy  might 
miss  when  they  were  grown  up.  She 
feared  for  them  idleness  and  love  of 
pleasure ;  she  thought  that  if  they  were 
lifted  for  a  time  out  of  the  life  of  toil 
and  privation  to  which  they  were  born, 
and  then  dropped  back  into  it,  the 
remembrance  of  their  temporary  ease 
and  luxury  might  become  a  temptation 
to  them.   She  died  in  1837.   Her  beati- 


fication took  place  in  1 863,  under  Pius  IX. 
Her  husband,  then  a  very  old  man,  was 
one  of  the  important  witnesses  on  the 
occasion.  He  said  that  she  was  a  very 
good  woman ;  he  as  little  suspected  her 
of  being  a  saint  as  of  having  ever  sinned 
against  him;  he  said  he  had  always 
considered  her  a  person  of  great  virtues 
and  an  incomparable  wife,  but  most  of 
her  extraordinary  gifts  and  graces  he 
had  only  heard  of  since  her  death.  She 
was  a  tertiary  of  the  Order  of  the  Trini- 
tarians for  the  Redemption  of  Captives. 

While  her  canonization  was  going  on, 
in  1863,  her  Life  was  written  by  Dr. 
Luquet,  bishop  of  Hesebon,  and  during 
that  time  sundry  notices  appeared  in 
the  Giomale  di  Roma  and  the  Analecta 
Juris  Pontificii,  iii.,  iv.  The  author  of 
Les  Mystiques  says  that  her  reputation 
for  sanctity  and  prophecy  was  such  that 
she  was  the  fashion  among  cardinals 
and  prelates,  and  attained  a  degree  of 
notoriety  and  the  entrSe  to  houses  and 
society  to  which  her  position  would  not 
have  entitled  her.  Dr.  Luquet's  little  book 
is  the  chief  authority  for  this  article. 

St.  Annofledis,  Dec.  1  and  7  (Agne- 

FLKTTE,  IiANOFLEDIB,  N0FLEDI8,  NOFLETE, 

Onoplette).  c.  655.  Nun  under  St. 
Faba.  Angels  were  heard  singing  at  the 
moment  of  her  death.  Chastelain,  Voc. 
Hag.    Mabillon,  AA.SS.  O.S.B. 

St.  Anominata,  V.  M.  Sister  of 
St.  Colomba  op  Evoba. 

Anonymous  Saints.  Besides  the 
vast  number  of  saints  named  in  the 
various  calendars  of  Christian  Churches, 
a  multitude  of  others  are  commemorated 
whose  names  are  not  preserved. 

In  the  Roman  Martyrology  alone  there 
are  more  than  thirty-Bix  thousand  un- 
named martyrs.  Of  these,  a  great  number 
are  women,  who  perished  in  the  indis- 
criminate massacre  of  Christians  by 
heathens,  or  of  orthodox  or  Catholic 
Christians  by  heretics.  When  a  whole 
family  were  massacred,  the  names  of 
the  men  are  often  mentioned,  while 
the  wives,  daughters,  or  companions 
who  shared  the  martyrdom  are  com- 
memorated, but  not  named.  Thus  we 
have,  Feb.  15,  St.  Crato  with  his  wife 
and  family;  Sept  1,  forty  virgins  are 
honoured  at  Heracles,   disciples  and 


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folio w-marfcyrs  of  St.  Amnion  the  deacon. 
On  Dec.  25  we  find  that  seventy  women  and 
two  hundred  men  were  companions  of  the 
martyrdom  of  St.  Anastasia,  early  in 
the  4th  century.  On  the  same  day  are 
also  honoured  "many  thousands"  who 
perished  about  that  time,  at  Nicomedia, 
under  Diocletian.  These  Christians  had 
assembled  in  church  on  Christmas  Day. 
The  Emperor  ordered  the  gates  to  be 
shut,  and  fires  prepared  all  round  the 
building,  tripods  with  incense  being  set 
before  the  doors.  An  officer  then  pro- 
claimed, with  a  loud  voice,  that  whoever 
wished  to  escape  had  only  to  come  out 
and  offer  incense  to  Jove.  The  Christians 
all  answered  with  one  voice  that  they 
would  rather  die.  So  they  were  burnt 
alive,  and  were  born  in  heaven  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  same  day  that  Christ 
was  born  on  earth.  There  occur  fre- 
quently in  the  B.M.,  such  entries  as 
"seven  virgins,"  "  forty  virgins,"  "six 
sisters,"  "  four  hundred  martyrs  of  both 
sexes." 

Besides  these,  there  are  the  nuns  who 
followed  the  precept  and  example  of 
St.  Ebba,  their  abbess,  and  obtained 
martyrdom  by  disfiguring  themselves 
rather  than  endure  desecration  from  the 
barbarians  who  attacked  their  convent. 

The  legend  of  St.  Ursula  and  her 
eleven  thousand  virgins  of  Cologne  may 
be  mentioned,  whose  story,  if  mythical, 
is  of  very  ancient  origin. 

In  addition  to  the  unnamed  martyrs, 
a  number  of  comparatively  obscure  per- 
sons are  honoured  by  writers  of  saintly 
history,  and  some  of  the  stories  told  of 
them  are  worthy  of  a  place  among  the 
poetic  legends  of  the  Middle  Ages:  the 
following  is  an  example : — 

On  a  wide  and  somewhat  dreary  plain 
in  New  Castile,  not  far  from  the  source 
of  the  Tagus,  stood,  in  the  middle  of  the 
8th  century,  a  Benedictine  nunnery.  Its 
holy  inmates  were  threatened  with  cap- 
ture by  an  army  of  Saracens.  The  walls 
of  the  building,  being  only  of  sufficient 
strength  to  withstand  the  attacks  of  wild 
beasts  or  any  chance  intruder,  could  offer 
no  effectual  resistance  to  an  armed  band. 
The  abbess  rang  the  bell,  and,  assembling 
all  the  sisters  in  the.  chapel,  exhorted 
them  to  pray  that  the  earth  should 


swallow  them  up,  rather  than  that  they 
should  fall  alive  into  the  hands  of  the 
infidels.  Their  prayer  was  granted,  and 
the  Saracens,  approaching,  found  nothing 
but  scanty  heath,  lavender,  and  wild 
shrubs,  where  from  a  distance  they  had 
seen  the  .towers  of  a  stately  convent. 
While  vainly  seeking  for  that  which 
was  no  longer  to  be  found,  at  Vesper- 
time  they  suddenly  heard  the  convent 
bells  ringing  beneath  their  feet.  To 
this  day  shepherds  and  travellers  passing 
over  the  spot  at  the  hours  of  prayer, 
hear  the  muffled  ringing  of  the  convent 
bell  and  the  sweet  distant  voices  of  the 
nuns  singing  the  office  underground. 

There  are  many  other  nameless  soldiers 
of  the  noble  army  of  martyrs,  who  in 
large  and  uncertain  numbers  followed 
their  leaders  of  either  sex  to  martyrdom, 
and  are  commemorated  with  them,  but 
whose  names,  in  the  words  of  an  old 
hagiologist,  u  are  known  only  to  God." 

St.  Anor,  or  Honobia,  de  Monte- 
bard.  12th  and  13th  centuries.  Cousin 
of  St.  Bernard.  Married  a  brother  of 
Hugh  de  Seignelay,  archbishop  of  Sens 
and  Diambert,  head  of  the  Seignelay 
family.  Her  son,  William  de  Seignelay, 
was  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  1207-1223. 
Gallia  Christiana.    Mas  Latrie,  Tr&or. 

St.  Anscrida,  April  28,  V.  Wor- 
shipped with  a  double  office  at  Nonan- 
tula,  in  Italy,  where  her  body  is  kept 
It  was  probably  taken  there  from  one  of 
the  Roman  cemeteries.  AAJSS.  Boll., 
Pr»termt8ti. 

St.  Ansitrudis,  Austbude. 

St.  Ansoald,  Aug.  24,  V.  at  Mau- 
beuge.  11th  century.  B.  Theodoric, 
abbot  of  Andagin  or  Audain,  in  the 
forest  of  Ardennes  in  Belgium,  was 
vowed  to  a  religious  life  by  his  mother 
in  his  childhood.  His  father  was  very 
angry,  and  insisted  that  he  should  be 
brought  up  as  a  soldier.  The  child  broke 
his  arm  and  was  nearly  killed,  whereupon 
his  father  gave  him  up  to  his  mother, 
saying  that  if  it  were  God's  will  that  he 
should  be  a  monk,  he  would  recover* 
She  tended  him  so  well  that  he  did 
recover,  and  then  she  confided  him  to 
her  daughter  Ansoald,  in  the  convent  of 
Maubeuge,  to  be  taught  his  letters  and 
the  Psalter.   Ansoald  was  a  woman  of 


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great  piety  and  very  dirty.  She  in- 
structed and  tended  her  little  brother 
with  gentleness  and  diligence.  She  died 
of  cancer.  Boll.,  AA.SS.,  inter  Prse- 
termissos. 

St.  Ansomia,  June  4,  M.   Same  as 
Ausonia,  J une  2,  M.  at  Lyons. 
St.  Anstrude,  Austrude. 
St.  Anstruse,  Austrude. 
St  Antea,  Anthia. 
St.  Antha,  Dec.  12,  M.,  with  Ammo- 

KARIA. 

St.  Anthia,  April  18  (Ancia,  Antea, 
Antia),  M.  at  Home  or  Messina,  with 
her  son,  St.  Eleutherius,  Bishop,  perhaps, 
of  Illyricnm.  She  is  said  to  have  been 
contemporary  with  the  Apostles  and  to 
have  seen  St.  Paul ;  but  the  Acts  of  St. 
Eleutherius,  on  which  the  story  rests,  are 
pronounced  by  Papebroch  to  be  apocry- 
phal.  B.M.    Boll.,  AA.SS.  Martin. 

St.  Anthilia,  Sept.  24, 25  (Anthilla, 
Antilia),  V.  M.  at  Arezzo,  in  Tus- 
cany. 

St  Anthilla,  Anthilia. 

St  Anthusa(l),or  Domnina,  March 
20.  Nero,  angry  at  the  success  of  St. 
Photina's  preaching  at  Carthage,  ordered 
her  and  her  five  sisters  to  bo  taken  to 
a  golden  chamber,  seven  golden  chairs 
and  a  table  to  be  placed  there,  and  his 
daughter  Domnina,  with  a  hundred  fol- 
lowers, to  go  in  and  talk  to  these  Chris- 
tian women.  Domnina  and  her  attendants 
were  speedily  converted.  She  was  bap- 
tized by  Photina,  and  took  the  name  of 
Anthusa  (sometimes  given  to  Photina 
herself).  There  are  several  saints  of 
the  names  of  Domnina  and  Anthusa 
honoured  in  the  Church  on  various  days, 
but  it  is  not  recorded  that  any  one  of 
them  was  daughter  of  Nero. 

Henschenius  and  Papebroch  give  the 
story  in  the  Life  of  St.  Photina,  from 
some  old  Greek  Acts,  but  do  not  consider 
it  probable.    Boll.,  AA.SS. 

St  Anthusa  (2),  Aug.  22.  Time  of 
Valerian.  4th  century.  Called  in 
Roman  Martyrology  Anthusa  the  Elder. 
A  woman  of  Seleucia.  Daughter  of  rich 
idolaters.  She  took  her  two  servants, 
Charisius  and  Neophytus,  and  left  her 
home,  pretending  she  was  going  to  visit 
her  nurse,  but  took  the  road  to  Tarsus, 
where  she  wanted  to  go  and  be  baptized. 


St:  Athanasius,  bishop  of  that  city,  was 
brought  by  an  angel  to  meet  her  on  the 
road.  There  was  no  water  to  be  had,  so 
he  prayed  and  brought  water  out  of  the 
ground,  wherewith  he  baptized  Anthusa 
and  her  two  servants.  She  then  re- 
turned to  her  mother's  houso,  but  was 
refused  admittance;  so  she  betook  her- 
self to  a  solitary  life  in  the  desert,  and 
lived  among  the  beasts  for  twenty-three 
years,  and  then  died  in  peace.  Meantime 
SS.  Athanasius,  Charisius,  and  Neophytus 
were  taken  by  Valerian  and  put  to  death. 
All  four  are  commemorated  together. 
Anthusa  is  called  "Martyr"  in  the 
Boman  Martyrology.  AA.SS. 

St.  Anthusa  (3)  the  Younger,  Aug. 
27,  M.  Clothed  in  a  rough  and  ragged 
garment  and  thrown  into  a  well.  Wor- 
shipped in  Sicily.  B.M.  Pinius,  in 
AA.SS. 

St  Anthusa  (4),  July  27,  V.  8th 
century.  Abbess  of  Constantinople. 
She  dedicated  herself  to  an  ascetic 
religious  life,  after  the  example  of  St. 
Sisinnus,  and  founded  two  religious 
houses,  one  for  men  and  the  other  for 
women;  she  herself  presided  over  the 
latter.  In  the  iconoclastic  persecution, 
the  Emperor  Constantino  Copronymus, 
hearing  that  Anthusa  and  her  nuns  wor- 
shipped images,  sent  for  her.  She  was 
brought  to  trial  with  her  nephew,  who 
had  succeeded  Sisinnus  in  the  care  of  the 
monastery.  Anthusa  was  subjected  to 
many  tortures,  and  would  perhaps  have 
been  put  to  death,  but  it  happened  that 
the  empress  was  at  the  point  of  death  in 
child-birth.  Anthusa  prophesied  for 
her  a  safe  delivery  of  twins — a  son  and 
daughter.  As  this  presently  proved 
true,  the  saint  was  liberated,  and  taken 
into  great  favour  by  the  empress.  The 
girl  was  called  after  Anthusa  and  edu- 
cated by  her,  and  is  commemorated 
April  17.    B.M.  AA.SS. 

St  Anthusa  (5),  April  17.  8th 
century.  A  benevolent  and  pious  prin- 
cess. Daughter  of  Constantino  V.  (Co- 
pronymous).  Named  after  and  educated 
by  St.  Anthusa  (4).  Founded  the  first 
orphan  asylum  in  the  Christian  world. 
Finlay,  Byzantine  Empire,  p.  81.  Hen- 
schenius.   Boll.,  AA.SS. 

St  Anthusa  (6),  Feb.  22.  A  Grecian 


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lady  put  to  the  sword  with  her  twelve 
servants.    Henschenius.    Boll.,  AA.SS. 

St.  Anthusa  (7),  mother  of  St. 
Arthellais. 

B.  Anthusa  (8),  Jan.  27.  4th  cen- 
tury. Mother  of  St.  Chrysostom. 
Stadler. 

St  Antia,  Anthia. 

St  Antiga,  Feb.  22,  M.  at  Nico- 
media,  with  SS.  Victorina,  Paula,  Eme- 
jrita,  Antoniana,  Dativa,  Eogatiana, 
Urbana,  Maxima,  Marina,  Matrona  and 
her  daughter  Pekegrina,  Secundula, 
Justa,  Castula,  Marcellina,  Casta, 

DONATULA,  LlBOSA,  FLAVIA,  DoTA,  FUR- 

nata,  and  Eegina  (3).  Many  Christians 
were  martyred  at  Nicomedia,  in  Bithynia, 
at  different  times.  Ten  thousand  are 
commemorated  on  one  day  in  the  Greek 
calendars,  and  3628  on  another.  Whether 
the  few  whose  names  are  here  preserved 
are  amongst  the  same,  or  were  slain  at 
other  times,  we  do  not  know.  Hen- 
schenius. AA.SS. 

St  Antigone  (1),  Feb.  27,  M.  at 
Rome.  AA.SS. 

St  Antigone  (2)  of  Pannonia,  Feb. 
28,  M.  Perhaps  the  same  as  the 
above. 

Antilia,  Anthilia. 

St  Antiquiora,  Aug.  31,  M.  at 
Ancyra,  in  Galatia.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Antonia  (l)  and  Tertulla, 
April  29,  VV.  MM.  Consecrated  virgins, 
put  to  death  at  Cirtha,  in  Numidia,  with 
SS.  Agapius  and  Secundinus,  bishops, 
who  had  long  been  in  exile  there ;  also 
St  Aemilianus,  a  soldier ;  and  a  woman 
with  her  twin  children.    B.M.  AA.SS. 

St  Antonia  (2),  May  4,  M.  at  Nico- 
media, in  Bithynia.  Mentioned  in  the 
Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome.  She  was  hung 
up  by  one  arm  for  three  days,  kept  in 
prison  for  two  years,  and  then  burned  to 
death.  Henschenius  thinks  she  may 
possibly  be  the  same  as  Antonina  (1). 
B.M.  AA.SS. 

St  Antonia  (3).  One  of  the 
martyrs  .of  Lyons,  who  died  in  prison. 
See  Balbina. 

St  Antonia  (4),  June  4.  Com- 
memorated with  Trophonia.  AA.SS. 

St  Antonia  (5),  April  12,  M. 
AAJ3S. 

B.   Antonia  (6),  Antoinette,  or 


Antonietta,  Feb.  28,  April  7.  1401- 
1472.  O.S.F.  A  native  of  Florence. 
She  was  still  very  young  when  left  a 
widow  with  one  son.  She  took  the  veil 
in  Florence,  in  the  convent  of  Sant* 
Onofrio,  of  cloistered  nuns  of  the  Third 
Order  of  St.  Francis.  B.  Angelina 
Corbara  was  founder  and  superior  of 
all  the  cloistered  tertiaries.  In  1430 
she  set  Antonia  over  her  head  convent 
of  St.  Anna,  at  Foligno,  where  she 
formed  a  great  friendship  with  B.  Paula. 
In  1433  Angelina  sent  them  to  Aquila 
to  found  two  convents  of  the  observance. 
Antonia  became  superior  of  St.  Eliza- 
beth's. While  she  was  there  Angelina 
died,  and  was  succeeded  by  B.  Mar- 
garet of  Foligno.  Through  St.  John 
of  Capistrano,  vicar-general  of  the  ob- 
servance, who  visited  Aquila  at  the  time, 
Antonia  obtained  the  monastery  of  Corpo 
di  Cristo,  or  the  Holy  Eucharist,  which 
had  just  been  built  at  Aquila  for  another 
order.  She  settled  there  in  1447,  with 
twelve  nuns  of  her  order,  to  follow,  in 
all  its  rigour,  the  first  rule  of  St.  Clara. 
In  this  monastery  Paula  died.  Antonia 
soon  had  to  enlarge  the  house.  Her 
son  and  her  other  relations  came 
troubling  her  with  their  worldly  affairs, 
which  was  a  trial  to  her.  She  ruled 
here  for  seven  years,  and  died  Feb.  28, 
1472,  aged  seventy -one.  Her  body 
lay  in  the  church  there  for  over  four 
centuries,  with  the  limbs  supple,  the 
eyes  open,  and  every  appearance  of  life. 
In  1847  Pius  IX.  approved  her  im- 
memorial worship.  Her  feast  is  only 
kept  in  her  own  order.  A.R.M.  Bomano- 
Seraphic,  April  7.  Jacobilli,  Saints  of 
Umbria.  Leon,  Aureole  de  Sainte  Claire. 
Collin  de  Plancy  gives  her  day  as 
Feb.  29. 

B.  Antonia  (7)  Guaineri,  Oct.  27. 
O.S.D.  1407-1507.  Nun  in  the  Do- 
minican convent  of  St.  Catherine  the 
Martyr,  in  Brescia.  While  very  young, 
she  was  reproved  one  day  by  the  choir- 
mistress  for  not  singing  loud  enough. 
Either  not  understanding  how  to  modu- 
late her  voice,  or  being  a  little  obstinate, 
she  did  not  obey.  To  teach  her  sub- 
mission, she  was  stripped  down  to  her 
waist,  and  whipped  in  presence  of  the 
nuns  in  the  chapter.    She  became  a 


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B.  ANTONIA 


pattern  nun.  At  sixty-six  she  was  sent 
with  others  to  reform  the  convent  of  St. 
Catherine  at  Ferrara.  There  she  was 
nnanimonsly  chosen  prioress.  She 
governed  so  well  that  that  convent  was 
soon  remarkable  for  sanctity,  and  several 
of  her  nuns  were  sent  to  reform  other 
convents.  Several  of  them  are  num- 
bered among  the  saints ;  they  are  BB. 
Vebonica,  who  died  July  6,  1511 ;  Ce- 
cilia, who  died  1511 ;  Angela  (0) 
Serafina,  who  died  1512 ;  Paula  Spez- 
zani,  who  died  Aug.  18, 1509  ;  Perpetua 
Sardi;  and  Costanza.  Antonia  was 
humble  and  self-denying,  but  strict,  and 
at  one  time  some  discontented  subordi- 
nates succeeded  in  deposing  her;  but 
the  old  nuns  remonstrated,  and  had  her 
reinstated.  She  died  in  1507,  at  the 
age  of  a  hundred,  and  was  honoured 
thenceforth  as  a  saint.  AA.SS.  Razzi, 
Predicatori.  Pio,  Uomini  Ulustri  per 
Santiia. 

B.  Antonia  (8),  or  Antoinette 
d'Orleans,  April  22.  +1618.  Marquise 
de  Belle  Isle.  Founder  of  the  Bene- 
dictines of  Mount  Calvary.  She  was 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Longueville, 
and  related  to  the  royal  family  of  France. 
She  married  the  Marquise  de  Belle  Isle, 
eldest  son  of  the  Duke  of  Ketz,  and  was 
left  a  widow  while  still  young  and  beau- 
tiful. She  took  the  veil,  at  the  ago  of 
twenty-seven,  in  a  Cistercian  monastery 
at  Toulouse,  where  she  was  buried.  She 
founded  the  nunnery  of  SS.  Mary  and 
Scholastica,  at  Poitiers,  and,  on  be- 
coming abbess  there,  restored  the  primi- 
tive strictness  of  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict. 
The  members  of  this  reformed  rule  are 
called  the  Congregation  of  Benedictine 
Nuns  of  Mount  Calvary.  Guenebault, 
Diet.  d'Icon.  AA.SS.,  April  22,  Preeter. 
Butler's  Lives,  note  to  "  St.  Benedict," 
March  21.    Henriquez,  LiUa. 

St.  Antoniana^M.  with  St.  Antioa. 

St.  Antonina  (l),  May  3,  V.  M. 
Called  "the  Disguised,"  to  distinguish 
her  from  two  other  martyrs  of  the  same 
name.  Represented  wearing  a  veil,  to  indi- 
cate disguise.  At  Constantinople,  in  the 
persecution  under  Diocletian  and  Maxi- 
mian,  c.  300,  she  was  condemned  by 
Festus,  the  governor,  to  the  lowest  de- 
gradation. Alexander,  a  soldier,  changed 


clothes  with  her,  and  thus  enabled  her 
to  escape  from  the  infamous  place  in 
which  she  was.  Both  were  taken,  their 
hands  cut  off,  and  they  were  burned  to 
death. 

The  story  of  SS.  Theodora  and 
Didymus  is  almost  identical  with  this; 
the  incident,  in  their  case,  happened  at 
Alexandria  during  the  same  persecution. 
St.  Ambrose,  writing  in  the  4th  century, 
tells  the  story  with  some  amplifications, 
laying  the  scene  at  Antioch.  He  says 
that  the  young  woman,  being  ordered 
to  choose  between  abjuring  her  religion 
and  being  sent  to  the  lupanar,  said, 
"  What  I  lose  by  force  and  against  my 
will  is  not  my  sin,  and  my  Lord  will 
not  account  me  polluted  if  my  heart 
is  pure,  but  if  I  renounce  Him  and 
sacrifice  to  idols,  that  which  I  keep  at 
such  a  price  will  profit  me  nothing." 
So  they  took  her  to  a  place  resorted 
to  by  the  wicked.  One  of  her  guards 
changed  clothes  with  her,  and  she  es- 
caped in  safety.  >  Soon  afterwards  some 
wicked  men  came  into  the  room  where 
she  had  been,  and  finding  a  man  in  her 
stead,  thought  the  place  was  bewitched. 
They  said,  "  Did  not  the  governor  send 
a  woman  here  in  this  very  dress  ?  Who 
knows  what  metamorphosis  may  befall 
us  if  wo  stay?  Let  us  escape  out  of 
this  house  while  we  know  what  we  are." 
The  pious  fraud  was  soon  discovered. 
The  soldier  was  brought  before  the 
governor,  who  condemned  him  to  death 
for  aiding  the  escape  of  a  prisoner  under 
his  care.  The  Christian  maiden,  hear- 
ing of  it,  came  and  begged  to  be  put  to 
death  instead.  The  governor  seemed 
willing  to  consent.  The  soldier,  how- 
ever, entreated  that  the  sentence  already 
pronounced  against  him  might  be  exe- 
cuted, and  the  woman  liberated.  The 
governor  said  that  as  they  were  so 
anxious  to  die  they  might  be  gratified. 
Accordingly  both  were  burnt.  B.M. 
Chlden  Legend. 

Quintaduenas  says  Alexander  and 
Antonina  were  natives  of  Ocana,  near 
Madrid,  and  suffered  about  the  year  100. 
The  Spanish  and  other  hagiologists 
occasionally  claim  as  compatriots  the 
saints  and  martyrs  who  have  become 
popular  among  them;  this  doubtless 


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79 


gives  rise,  in  some  cases,  to  a  multi- 
plication of  saints. 

St  Antonina  (2),  June  12,  M.  at 
Nicea,  in  Bithynia.  In  the  persecution 
under  Diocletian  and  Maximian,  she  was 
scourged,  hung  on  the  equuleus,  her 
sides  torn  with  hooks,  burnt  with  lamps, 
and  finally  killed  with  a  sword.  JK.Af. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Antonina  (3)  of  Cea,  March  1,  M. 
Represented  with  a  barrel  near  her,  or 
being  put  into  a  cask  or  sack. 

Said  by  the  Spanish  hagiographers 
to  have  been  born  at  Cea,  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Beira,  in  Portugal.  Accused  of 
deriding  tho  gods,  she  was  tortured  in 
various  ways,  then  shut  up  in  a  vessel 
and  drowned  in  a  lake  near  Cea,  under 
Diocletian.  She  is  one  of  the  most 
popular  of  the  Portuguese  saints.  This 
rhyme  is  common  among  the  peasants 
of  the  province,  and  refers  to  her — 

"  Antonina  peqnena, 
Dos  olhos  grandea, 
Matorao-na  idolatras 
E  feros  gigantes." 

"Idolaters  and  savage  giants  killed 
little  Antonina  of  the  large  eyes.'1 

St.  Antonina  (3)  is  given  in  the  Roman 
Martyrology.  According  to  Henschenius, 
AA.SS.J  this  is  no  other  than  St.  Anto- 
nina of  Nicea,  in  Bithynia ;  her  worship 
was  introduced  into  the  Latin  Church 
from  the  Greek,  in  the  16th  century; 
and  the  word  "  Cea  "  has  been  introduced 
by  mistake  for  "  Nicea  "  by  some  of  the 
copyists  of  old  calendars.  Antonina  of 
Nicea  has  also  been  set  up  as  another 
saint  of  the  island  of  Cea,  or  Ceo. 

St.  Antonina  (4),  May  7,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Antonina  (5),  June  2.  One  of 
227  Roman  martyrs  commemorated  this 
day  in  St.  Jerome's  Martyrology.  AA.SS. 

St.  Anysia  (1),  Dec.  30.  f304. 
V.  M.  A  young  lady  of  Thessalonica, 
who  was  so  beautiful  and  had  such 
quantities  of  money,  slaves,  jewels,  and 
all  kinds  of  splendid  things,  that  she 
knew  not  what  to  do.  She  said  to  her- 
self, "  How  can  I  be  saved  with  all  this 
wealth?"  One  Sunday,  during  the 
persecution  under  Diocletian,  as  she  was 
going  through  the  Cassandriote  Gate  on 


her  way  to  church,  or  to  the  secret 
meeting-place  of  the  Christians,  she  met 
a  soldier,  who  rudely  stopped  her,  and 
asked  where  she  was  going.  In  her 
fright  she  made  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
He  thought  she  was  making  game  of 
him,  seized  hold  of  her,  and  insisted  on 
having  an  answer.  She  said,  "I  am  a 
servant  of  Christ,  and  I  am  going  to  my 
Lord's  assembly/1  "  I  will  no*  let  yon 
go  there,"  said  the  soldier.  *'I  will 
take  you  to  pour  a  libation  to  the  gods, 
for  to-day  we  worship  the  sun."  As  she 
tried  to  get  away  from  him,  he  pulled 
her  veil,  and  rudely  touched  her  face. 
"  May  Christ  Jesus  rebuke  thee,  devil  1 " 
cried  the  maiden,  angry  and  terrified. 
The  soldier  drew  his  sword,  and  plunged 
it  in  her  side.  She  fell,  and  all  the 
ground  was  stained  with  her  blood. 
The  crowd  first  pitied  her  youth,  and 
then  abused  her  for  contemning  the  gods. 
The  Christians  buried  her  two  stadia 
from  that  gate,  and  when  the  persecution 
was  over,  they  built  a  house  of  prayer 
on  the  spot,  to  the  left  of  the  public 
road.  Such  is  the  story  given  by  Simeon 
Metaphrastes,  Migne's  edition,  iii.  747. 
It  is  also  in  Sarins,  Baronius,  the  Meno- 
hgy  of  the  Emperor  Basil,  Butler,  Mar- 
tin, etc. 

St.  Anysius,  bishop  of  Thessalonica,, 
is  commemorated  with  St.  Anysia.  (R.M. 
and  Cheek  Synaxary.)  Baring-Gould, 
Lives,  says  Anysius  received  his  name 
from  tho  circumstance  of  Anysia's  mar- 
tyrdom being  fresh  in  the  memory  of 
the  Christians  of  Thessalonica  when  he 
was  born.  He  was  bishop  there  at  the 
time  of  the  memorable  massacre  under 
Theodosius  the  Great,  in  consequence  of 
which  St.  Ambrose  forbade  that  Emperor 
to  enter  the  church  at  Milan,  in  389. 

St.  Anysia  (2),  Dec.  31,  M.,  is 
said  by  the  Bollandists,  Grseco-Slav. 
Calendar,  to  mean  Anabtasia  ;  but  this 
compiler  ventures  to  think  it  is  Anysia 

(i). 

St.  Apersia,  July  25.  Commemo- 
rated in  the  Arabico-Egyptian  Martyro- 
logy. AA.SS. 
St.  Aphra,  Afra.  ^  / 

St.  Aphrodisia,  Nov.  6.  There  wa/s. 
a  church  in  her  honour  at  Beziers,. 
where  St.  Gerald,  bishop  of  Beziers^ 


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SO  ST.  j 

chose  to  be  buried  in  1123.  Baring- 
Gould,  Lives  of  the  Saints,  "  St.  Gerald." 

St.  Aphte,  Agatha. 

St.  Apollinaris  (l),  Aug.  23.  M. 
witb  St.  Timothy  at  Bheims,  in  Gaul. 
B.M. 

St.  Apollinaris  (2)  Syncletica, 
Jan.  5.  Early  in  the  5th  century. 
Daughter  of  Anthemius,  who  is  called 
by  Metaphrastes,  Emperor;  but  Mr. 
Baring-Gould  considers  it  more  probable 
that  he  was  grandfather  of  the  Emperor 
of  that  name,  and  held  the  office  of 
consular  prefect  of  Rome  and  regent 
during  the  minority  of  Theodosius  the 
Younger.  Having  obtained  her  parents' 
permission  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to 
Jerusalem,  she  there  liberated  all  the 
slaves  who  had  been  sent  with  her,  keep- 
ing in  her  service  only  one  eunuch  and 
•an  old  man  to  arrange  her  tent.  One 
night,  having  gone  into  her  tent  as 
usual,  her  two  servants  sleeping  outside, 
she  put  on  a  hermit's  habit,  which  she 
had  procured  in  Jerusalem  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  fled  silently  into  the  desert. 
When  her  servants,  aided  by  the  gover- 
nor of  the  place  where  they  were,  had 
sought  her  in  vain,  they  returned  to  her 
parents,  who  supposed  she  had  taken 
refuge  from  the  world  in  some  sister- 
hood of  holy  women.  Meantime,  Apol- 
linaris betook  herself  to  St.  Macarius  of 
Alexandria,  who  lived  in  the  desert  of 
Scete,  at  the  head  of  a  large  community 
of  recluses  in  cells  and  caves.  Having 
cut  off  her  hair,  and  being  by  this  time 
much  tanned  and  disfigured  by  exposure 
to  hardships,  hunger,  and  the  Egyptian 
sun,  she  easily  passed  for  a  man,  and 
spent  many  years  among  the  brethren 
under  the  name  of  Dorotheus.  Anthe- 
mius  had  another  daughter,  who  was 
possessed  of  a  devil,  and  as  he  had 
heard  of  the  sanctity  and  miracles  of 
St.  Macarius,  he  sent  her  to  him  to  be 
cured.  Macarius  handed  her  over  to 
Dorotheus,  who  said  that  God  had  not 
conferred  on  him  the  gift  of  miracles, 
and  begged  the  good  abbot  not  to  give 
the  young  women  into  his  charge. 
Macarius  insisted,  and  the  girl  was  shut 
'ipVith  Dorotheus  in  his  cell  for  some 
days,  that  he  might  cast  out  the  devil 
bj  prayer  and  fasting.    After  a  time, 


the  daughter  of  Anthemius  was  sent 
home  cured.  A  few  months  afterwards 
she  became  dropsical.  Her  parents, 
believing  her  to  be  pregnant,  and  turn- 
ing a  deaf  ear  to  her  denial,  insisted  so 
vehemently  on  knowing  who  was  her 
seducer,  that  at  last  she  said  it  was 
Dorotheus,  in  whose  cell  she  had  spent 
some  days.  Anthemius  therefore  sent 
to  St.  Macarius,  and  requested  an  inter- 
view with  the  guilty  Dorotheus.  The 
monks  were  horrified  at  the  charge 
brought  against  their  brother ;  but  Doro- 
theus said,  "Fear  not,  brethren,  God 
will  reveal  my  innocence."  When  Apol- 
linaris was  brought  into  the  presence  of 
Anthemius,  she  told  him  she  was  his 
lost  daughter.  Ho  rejoiced  greatly  to 
see  her  again.  When  she  had  stayed  a 
short  time  with  her  parents,  and  had  by 
her  prayers  obtained  her  sister's  cure, 
she  returned  to  the  desert.  The  B.M. 
says  that  her  illustrious  actions  are 
praised  by  St.  Athanasius.  Boll., 
AA.SS.  Her  story,  as  told  by  Meta- 
phrastes, is  given  by  Baring-Gould, 
Lives  of  the  Saints. 

St  Apollonia  (1),  Feb.  9,  is  called 
in  French  Appoline,  V.  M.  at  Alexan- 
dria, 249.  Patron  against  toothache  and 
diseases  of  the  teeth.  Eepresented 
bound  to  a  pillar,  having  her  teeth  pulled 
out,  or  holding  a  tooth  in  pincers.  After 
the  murder  of  Sr.  Quinta  (q.v.),  the 
mob  pillaged  the  houses  of  the  Christians, 
burning  what  they  did  not  carry  away, 
so  that  the  city  looked  like  a  place 
taken  by  storm.  After  this  they  seized 
"  that  admirable  and  aged  virgin  Apol- 
lonia ;  "  and  first  they  broke  all  her 
teeth  with  heavy  blows,  then  they  kindled 
a  great  fire,  and  told  her  she  should 
be  thrown  into  it  unless  she  would 
repeat  their  blasphemies.  At  first  she 
seemed  to  hesitate ;  then,  taking  courage, 
she  leapt  into  the  fire,  and  became  a 
burnt  sacrifice  to  the  Lord.  (Crake, 
Hist  of  the  Church,  quoting  a  letter  of 
Dionysius,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  describ- 
ing the  seventh  persecution.) 

Suicide  and  courting  martyrdom  and 
persecution  have  been  repeatedly  con- 
demned by  the  Church  in  all  ages, 
and  decrees  have  been  made  forbidding 
the  honours  of  martyrs  to  those  who 


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ST.  AQUILINA 


81 


voluntarily  sought  them ;  but  St.  Apol- 
lonia  has  always  been  ranked  among 
the  martyred  Saints. 

This  persecution  is  described  in  a 
letter  (^preserved  by  Eusebius)  from  St. 
Dionysius,  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  to 
Fabius,  Bishop  of  Antioch.  It  was  not 
commanded  by  the  Emperor  Philip,  who 
favoured  the  Christians,  but  was  an  out- 
break of  ill  feeling  on  the  part  of  the 
Alexandrians,  stirred  up  to  hostility 
against  the  Christians  by  a  poet  and 
soothsayer. 

B.M.  Villegas.  Tillemont.  Baillet, 
Callot.  Husenbeth. 

Her  apocryphal  Acts,  given  by  Bol- 
landus,  place  hor  martyrdom  in  the  time 
of  Julian  the  Apostate,  who  kills  her 
with  his  own  hand. 

B.  Apollonia  (2),  Sept.  10,  1 622.  M. 
A  widow,  aged  sixty,  descended  from 
the  Kings  of  Firando.  She  lived  with 
Mary  Mourayama,  and  was  put  to  death 
with  her  and  Lucy  Freitas  ( q.v.).  Apol- 
lonia's  nephew,  Gasper  Cotenda,  and 
his  son  Francis  were  martyred  next 
day. 

St.  Appamia.  M.  with  St.  Julia 
of  Troyes. 

St.  Apphia,  or  Appia  (1),  Nov.  22,  M. 
1st  century.  Wife  of  St.  Philemon,  a 
citizen  of  Colosse.  The  Epistle  of  SS. 
Paul  and  Timothy  concerning  Onesimus 
is  addressed  to  Philemon  and  "  our  be* 
loved  Apphia."  In  the  Koman  Catholic 
version  she  is  called, "  Appia,  our  dearest 
sister."  The  Roman  Martyrology  and 
the  Greek  menologies  say  SS.  Philemon 
and  Apphia,  disciples  of  St.  Paul,  suf- 
fered martyrdom  at  Colosse  in  Phrygia. 
When,  on  the  festival  of  Diana,  tho 
heathen  invaded  the  churches  and  some 
Christians  fled,  these  two  were  scourged 
by  order  of  Artocles,  the  prefect,  and 
afterwards  buried  up  to  their  waists  in 
the  ground,  and  stoned  to  death  in  that 
defenceless  condition.  More  modern 
writers  say  the  manner  of  their  death 
appears  to  indicate  that  it  was  perpe- 
trated by  a  mob,  in  a  riot,  and  not  by 
legal  trial  and  sentence.  Tradition 
makes  St.  Philemon  Bishop  of  Gaza. 
The  Menology  of  Basil  places  the  martyr- 
dom at  Ephesus.  Baillet,  Vies.  Phile- 
mon 2. 


St.  Appia  (1),  Apphia. 

St.  Appia  (2),  June  1,  M.  with  St. 
Auckga.  AA.SS. 

St.  Appia  (3),  June  20,  M.  at 
Corinth.  AA.SS. 

St.  Appoline,  Apollonia. 

St.  Apra,  Afra. 

St.  Aprincia,  or  Prece,  June  22,  25, 
V.  Abbess  of  Epinal  on  the  Moselle. 
10th  century.  Her  relics  were  kept  in 
the  monastery  of  St.  Clement  at  Metz 
(Metis).  Papebroch  could  ascertain 
nothing  of  her  date  or  history,  and  sus- 
pected she  miyht  be  the  same  as  Apho- 
nia, July  15.    AAJSS.  Stadler. 

St.  Apronia,  or  Evronia,  July  15, 
Sept.  15.  5th  century.  Invoked  by 
women  in  labour  and  other  danger. 
Born  at  Troyes,  in  Champagne.  Sister 
of  St.  Apere,  or  Epirus  (in  French  Evre), 
Bishop  of  Toul.  AA.SS.,  July  15. 
Baillet,  in  the  Life  of  St.  Evre,  Sept.  15. 
Petis  Bollandistes. 

St.  Apt,  or  Aphte,  Feb.  5.  St. 
Agatha  is  worshipped  under  this  name 
in  Provence,  and  a  town  is  called  after 
her. 

St  Aquila,  Jan.  23,  M.  with  SS. 
Severian  her  husband,  and  Florus  their 
son;  they  were  burnt  at  Neo-CsBsarea, 
anciently  Jol,  on  the  coast  of  Mauri- 
tania. Martyrology  of  Salisbury.  Boll., 
AA.SS.  R.M. 

St.  Aquilina  (1),  Jan.  22,  M.  291. 
Mother  of  St.  Victor,  a  priest  or  deacon, 
who  for  the  crime  of  showing  hospi- 
tality to  the  martyrs  SS.  Vincent  and 
Oronto,had  his  arms  cut  off  by  the  elbows, 
and  was  then  beheaded.  His  father, 
although  a  Christian,  was  going  to  flee 
from  the  persecutors,  but  at  the  entreaty 
of  Aquilina,  he  remained  at  home,  where 
they  wero  both  soon  put  to  death  with 
another  son.  These  events  took  place 
either  at  Gerunda  (Gerona  in  Catalonia), 
or  at  Pax  Augusta  (Badajoz),  or  Pax 
Julia  (Beja).  The  relics  of  all  these 
martyrs  were  removed  to  Ebrodunum 
(Embrun,  Alpes  Maritimes,  in  France). 
Bollandus,  AA.SS.  Cahier,  CaracUr- 
istiques  Voc.  Groupes. 

St.  Aquilina  (2),  June  13,  V.  M. 
293.  Daughter  of  Christians  at  Byblus, 
the  place  called  in  the  Old  Testament 
Gebal,  tho  city  of  the  Giblites,  a  ve>y 


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82 


ST.  AQUILINA 


ancient  city  of  Phoenicia  and  a  chief  seat 
of  the  licentious  worship  of  Adonis.  The 
votaries  of  this  horrible  religion  and  the 
priests  who  profited  by  it  were  bitterly 
opposed  to  Christianity,  and  although 
there  was  at  this  time  no  general  per- 
secution of  the  Church,  there  were  al- 
ways laws  and  customs  that  could  be 
brought  into  play  by  malice  or  greed. 
The  priests  were  incensed  to  find  that 
Aquilina,  an  orphan,  scarcely  twelve 
years  old,  was  converting  many  of  her 
companions  and  the  women  with  whom 
she  came  in  contact  in  her  daily  work, 
and  was  constantly  speaking  against  the 
religion  of  the  place.  So  when  Volusian, 
the  proconsul,  came  to  Byblus,  they  ac- 
cused her  of  impiety.  He  had  her  ar- 
rested. When  she  was  brought  into  his 
presence  he  was  touched  with  compassion 
at  the  sight  of  her  youth  and  beauty  and 
her  fragile  appearance,  and  besought  her 
to  renounce  her  dangerous  opinions,  as 
the  least  of  the  tortures  to  which  she 
might  be  subjected  would  certainly  de- 
stroy her  life  at  once.  She  answered 
that  she  did  not  want  his  pity,  and 
would  gladly  suffer  tortures  and  death 
for  the  sake  of  her  Master.  He  then 
ordered  the  executioners  to  beat  her  with 
their  hands,  and  asked  her  how  she  liked 
this  first  and  least  of  the  torments.  "As 
little,"  said  she,  "  as  you  spare  the 
Christians,  will  the  God  of  the  Christians 
spare  you."  Then  he  caused  her  to  be 
stripped  of  her  clothes,  and  held  by  two 
of  the  executioners,  while  a  third  beat 
her  with  a  scourge ;  at  the  same  time 
Volusian  said  to  her,  "  Where  is  this 
God  of  yours,  who  will  not  spare  me  ?  " 
Other  tortures  and  insults  were  heaped 
upon  the  brave  little  girl,  and  at  last  red- 
hot  awls  were  driven  into  her  ears  to 
burn  the  brain,  the  smoke  came  out  at 
her  nostrils,  and  the  pain  was  so  great 
that  she  fell  lifeless  to  the  ground. 
Volusian  commanded  that  she  should  not 
be  buried,  but  cast  out  to  be  eaten  by 
dogs  and  unclean  beasts ;  so  her  body 
was  thrown  into  the  road  outside  the  gate 
of  the  town.  But  she  was  not  dead,  and 
as  she  lay  an  angel  touched  her  and 
bade  her  arise  and  go  back  to  the  city 
and  address  a  final  remonstrance  to  her 
tyrant.    She  arose,  gave  thanks  to  God 


for  her  recovery,  and  then  kneeled  down 
and  prayed, "  Lord,  I  hoped  yesterday 
that  I  was  counted  among  Thy  martyrs. 
Thou  knowest  that  I  suffered  pain  and 
shame  for  Thee,  and  was  willing  to  suffer 
even  unto  death.  Lord,  let  mo  not  lose 
my  crown."  Then  she  was  comforted; 
and,  in  obedience  to  the  angel,  returned 
to  the  town.  She  went  through  the  gates, 
passed  the  guards  unnoticed,  and  walked 
into  the  room  where  Volusian  lay  asleep. 
He  awoke  and  saw  a  small  white  ghostly 
creature  in  the  room.  In  his  fright  he 
called  to  his  servants  to  bring  a  light, 
and  asked  who  had  disturbed  him.  They 
said,  "  It  is  the  Christian  maiden  that 
you  killed  yesterday,  and  cast  out  for 
the  dogs  to  eat."  Then  Aquilina  said, 
"  Volusian,  my  God  sends  me  back  to 
warn  you  again  that  you  cease  from  per- 
secuting His  servants.  If  you  will  still 
repent,  you  may  be  as  one  of  us ;  but  if 
not,  know  that  our  God  will  punish  you 
with  everlasting  torments  greater  than 
those  you  inflict  upon  us."  "  Take  her 
away,"  said  Volusian  ;  "  keep  her  safely 
until  it  is  day."  In  the  morning  he 
tried  again  to  persuade  her  to  apostatize. 
Finding  his  efforts  vain,  he  condemned 
her  to  be  beheaded.  She  kneeled  down 
and  died  praying,  untouched  by  the  oxe- 
cutioner,  and  the  Christians  took  her 
away  and  buried  her.  BM.  and  AA.SS., 
from  ancient  Acts  given  in  Greek  and 
Latin  by  Henschenius. 

St.  Aquilina  (3),  March  30,  V.  M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Aquilina  (4),  July  26,  M.  Be- 
headed in  Lycia.  Disciple  of  St.  Chris- 
topher.   See  Niceta.  BM. 

St.  Aquilina  (.r>).   Sec  Akchasgela 

DE  PrEGNACHIS. 

St.  Arabia,  March  13.  Burnt  at 
Nicea,  with  St.  Theuseta  and  others. 
BM.  Henschenius,  AA.SS.  St.  Ahiaba 
is  possibly  the  same. 

St.  Araclea,  or  Hekaclea,  Sept.  2kj. 
The  first  name  in  a  list  of  martyrs  in 
Thrace.  It  is  uncertain  whether  Araclea 
is  a  place  or  a  person.  AA.SS. 

St.  Aradegundis,  Radegund. 

St.  Aragond,  Radegund. 

St.  Aragone,  Radegund. 

B.  Archangela  (l)  de  Pregna- 
chis,  M.    Said  to  have  been  a  martyr  at 


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ST.  ARMAGILD 


83 


Brescia,  in  the  2nd  century.  St.  Aqui- 
lina  (5)  was  her  fellow-Christian  and 
martyr.  Their  story  was  considered  by 
Bollandists  unworthy  of  attention,  being 
found  only  in  a  fabulous  martyrology  of 
Brescia. 

B.  Archangela  (2)  Girlani,  Jan.  25, 
28,  Feb.  0,  19,  June  1,  27.  f  15(51  • 
Superior  of  the  convent  of  St.  Mary  of 
Paradise  at  Mantua  :  it  was  called  Little 
Carmel.  Her  penitence  and  asceticism 
were  wonderful.  Her  holiness  was  at- 
tested by  miracles.  Her  worship  was 
authorized  by  Louis  Gonzaga,  Bishop  of 
Mantua,  and  his  successors.  Her  Life, 
in  Italian,  by  Guastalla,  was  printed  in 
1680.  She  is  commemorated  in  the 
A.R.M.  for  the  Order  of  St.  Mary  of 
Mount  Carmel,  Jan.  25,  Feb.  6 ;  in  that 
for  the  Barefooted  Carmelites,  Jan.  28, 
Feb.  19.  AA.SS.,  Prseter.,  Juno  1.  Stad- 
ler  gives  the  date  of  her  death  as  1480. 

St.  Archelaa,  or  Arqueiais,  Jan.  18, 
V.  M.  3rd  century.  Took  ref age  with 
SS.  Thbcla  and  Susanna,  at  Nola,  in 
Campania;  they  were  all  martyred  at 
Salerno.  AA.SS.  in  SS.  Cesarius  and 
Julian,  Nov.  1. 

St  Archelais,  Oct.  28,  M.  at  Antioch 
in  Syria,  with  SS.  Marianus  and  Sma- 
ragdus.  Mentioned  in  the  apographs  of 
St.  Jerome.    Pe tits  Bollandistes. 

St.  Archiroga,  Jan.  22,  is  mentioned 
in  the  Mart.  Bichenoviense  as  a  saint  of 
Spoleto. 

St.  Arddun  Benasgell.  (>th  cen- 
tnry. Sister  of  St.  Dunawd,  husband  of 
St.  Dwywe.  Wife  of  Brochwel  Ysy- 
throg,  son  of  a  Prince  of  Powis.  In  the 
war  against  the  Northumbrians,  Brochwel 
was  left  to  defend  the  monks,  who  were 
praying  at  a  distance  from  the  main 
body  of  the  army.  Ethelfrid,  King  of 
Northumberland,  unexpectedly  attacked 
the  monks  and  reserve,  and  defeated 
them.  It  is  said  that  some  Welsh 
churches  were  dedicated  in  her  name, 
bat  their  place  is  not  now  known.  Rees, 
Wekh  Saints,  p.  207. 

St.  Areapila  is  honoured  at  St. 
Hubert  as  one  of  the  eleven  thousand 
virgins  of  Cologne.  Guerin. 

St  Aregundis,  Radegund. 

St  Arema,  June  6,  M.  at  Rome. 
Gn6rin. 


St.  Aretina,  Abtena. 

St.  Argentea  of  Andalusia,  May  13, 
M.  in  931,  at  Cordova,  with  St  Vulfurus, 
a  Frenchman.  They  are  represented 
together.  Cahier,  Groupes.  Palestra 
Sagrada,  i. 

St.  Ariaba,  M.  Possibly  the  same 
as  Arabia. 

St  Ariadne,  Sept  17,  M.  Repre- 
sented hiding  in  a  rook  from  her  pursuers. 
Jn  the  reign  of  Adrian  or  Antoninus 
Pius,  she  was  a  servant  of  Tertillua,  at 
Prymnesia,  in  Phrygia.  She  was  cruelly 
beaten  and  sent  away  because  she  refused 
to  join  an  idol  festival  in  honour  of  the 
birthday  of  hor  master's  son.  After- 
wards she  was  brought  before  the  prefect 
and  put  to  the  torture,  to  induce  her  to 
sacrifice  to  the  gods.  Being  set  at 
liberty,  she  fled  to  the  hills,  but  was 
pursued  by  soldiers.  Seeing  no  help  or 
chance  of  rescue,  she  cried  to  God  to 
deliver  her.  A  rook  opened,  admitted 
her,  and  closed  again.  Thus  she  re- 
ceived her  martyrdom  and  her  tomb  at 
the  same  moment,  praising  and  giving 
God  thanks.  Her  pursuers  were  killed 
by  an  apparition  of  angels  sitting  on 
horses  and  holding  spears.  Stilting, 
AA.SS.    B.M.    Bioy.  Ecclcs. 

St.  Ariene  is  honoured  in  Ethiopia. 
Same  as  Irene.  Guerin. 

St.  Arild,  or  Arila,  Oct  30,  V.  M.  of 
virginity,  at  Kington,  near  Thornbury. 
She  is  commemoratod  at  Gloucester, 
Oct  30.  The  ohuroh  of  Oldbury,  in 
Gloucestershire,  is  dedicated  in  her  name. 
Victor  de  Buck,  in  AA.SS.,  from  Leland 
and  others.  Memorial  of  British  Piety, 
supplement.  Parker's  Calendar.  1070 
is  supposed  to  be  the  date  of  her  trans- 
lation to  St.  Peter's  Abbey  at  Gloucester. 
Her  martyrdom  probably  occurred  very 
much  earlier.  Eckenstein. 

St.  Ariotrudis,  Erentrude. 

SS.  Arisima  and  Agaieta.  Same 
as  Ripsima  and  Gaiana. 

St.  Arixa,  July  2,  M.  at  Rome  or  in 
Mesopotamia.    Pctits  Bollandistes. 

St  Armagela,  or  Armel,  Oct.  24. 
According  to  Mas  Latrie,  Tresor,  she 
was  a  servant  at  Yienne,  but  she  is 
probably  the  same  as  Armella. 

St.  Armagild,  Aug.  27.  Petits 
Bollandistes. 


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84 


ST.  ARMATA 


St.  Armata,  Feb.  14,  M.  at  Alex- 
andria, with  many  others.  Henschenius, 
in  AA.SS. 

St.  Armella,  Oct.  24  (Armel,  Armi- 
gbla).  "J"  1671.  Kepresen  ted  sitting  on 
the  floor  in  a  kitchen,  with  cooking 
utensils  in  her  hands. 

Daughter  of  pious  peasants  at 
Kampeneac,  in  Brittany.  At  twenty  she 
went  to  be  nursery-maid  in  the  neigh- 
bouring town  of  Plormel.  When  one  of 
her  master's  daughters  married  a  noble- 
man, Armella  went  to  be  her  maid.  At 
sixty  she  had  her  leg  broken  by  a  kick 
from  a  horse.  Long  before  sho  was 
sufficiently  recovered  to  walk,  she  sat  in 
a  corner  of  the  kitchen  to  look  to  the 
housekeeping,  and  do  what  she  could  for 
her  master  and  mistress.  Ott,  Die 
Lfyendc. 

St.  Arminia  (1),  March  26,  is  men- 
tioned, among  other  martyrs,  this  day,  in 
some  old  martyrologies.  A  A.SS.,  Pr eater . 

St.  Arminia  (2),  or  Mariminia, 
May  28,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Arminia  (3),  April  19,  M.  at 
Melitina,  in  Armenia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Arndrude,  Erentrude. 

SS.  Aroa,  or  Koa,  and  Lucy.  See 
Cyprilla. 

St.  Arquelais,  Archelaa. 

St.  Arsenia,  Herenia. 

Arsima  and  her  mother,  Agatha, 
are  mentioned  in  the  Coptic  calendar, 
Sept.  26.  AA.SS. 

St.  Artemia  (1),  or  Arthemia,  Aug. 
H,  16.  Daughter  of  the  Emperor  Dio- 
cletian and  St.  Serena.  Artemia  was 
delivered  from  a  devil  by  St.  Cryia- 
cus,  who  afterwards  baptized  her.  She 
was  killed  by  tho  Emperor  Maximian 
after  the  martyrdom  of  Cyriacus.  Her 
body  is  supposed  to  be  in  the  church  of 
St.  Silvester,  in  the  Campus  Martius,  at 
Eome.  Artemia  appears  as  a  saint  in 
Greven's  Calendar,  but  her  worship  has 
never  been  generally  recognized  through- 
out the  Church.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Artemia  (2)  and  Attica,  Feb. 
18,  VV.  Daughters  of  Gallicanus,  who 
was  to  have  married  St.  Constance. 

St.  Artemia  (3>  9th  century. 
Abbess  of  Cuteclar,  in  Spain.  One  of 
her  nuns  was  St.  Mary,  fellow-martyr 
of  St.  Flora.    Baillet,  Vies. 


St.  Artemidos.  Patron  of  weakly 
children  in  Scio,  one  of  the  Cyclades. 
J.  Theodore  Bent,  "Old  Mythology  in 
New  Apparel,"  Macmillan's  Magazine, 
March,  1885. 

St.  Artena,  or  Aretina,  of  Tuderto, 
Jan.  29.  -f  303.  She  buried  St. 
Seustio,  martyr  of  Todi,  and  honoured 
him  by  building  a  church  over  his  grave. 
Jacobilli,  Saints  of  Umbria,  iii.  263. 

St.  Arthellais,  or  Arthelais,  March 
3,  V.  t  c.  570.  A  native  of  Con- 
stantinople. The  beautiful  daughter  of 
Lucius,  proconsul  under  the  Emperor 
Justinian,  and  of  St.  Anthusa  his  wife. 
As  the  Emperor  expressed  great  admira- 
tion for  her,  Lucius  concealed  her  for 
a  time.  Anthusa  wept  and  lamented 
because,  her  daughter  being  already 
vowed  to  a  religious  life,  she  did  not 
wish  her  to  return  to  the  world  or  to  fall 
into  the  power  of  the  Emperor.  At  her 
own  request,  she  was  sent,  under  the  care 
of  three  confidential  servants,  to  her 
uncle  Narses,  who  ruled  in  Italy.  When 
she  had  accomplished  more  than  half  tho 
journey,  she  was  seized  by  robbers.  Her 
guardians  fled  to  the  church  of  St. 
Eulalia,  where  they  prayed  for  the 
release  of  their  mistress,  and  gave  alms 
of  her  money  to  the  poor.  One  of  the 
beggars  who  received  their  alms  said, 
"Inasmuch  as  you  gave  to  one  of  the 
least  of  these  My  brethren,  ye  gave 
unto  Me."  And  when  He  had  thus 
spoken  He  vanished  out  of  their  sight. 
Then  they  knew  that  Christ  bad  accepted 
their  charity  and  heard  their  prayers. 
The  robbers  resolved  to  sell  their  captive 
for  wicked  purposes.  As  they  went  out 
of  their  house  they  were  seized  by  the 
devil,  and  so  died  ;  at  the  same  time  an 
angel  of  the  Lord  slew  her  gaoler  and 
all  his  men,  loosed  her  bonds,  and  led 
her  out  of  the  prison.  She  soon  met  her 
servants,  and  they  all  proceeded  to 
Sipontum,  a  city  of  Apulia.  She  made 
an  offering  in  the  church  of  St.  Michael 
at  Monte  Gargano  near  the  town.  Mean- 
time Narses  was  informed  in  a  dream  of 
her  approach.  He  went  to  meet  her,  and, 
having  stayed  three  days  by  the  way  at 
Luceria,  brought  her  to  Benevento. 
She  walked  barefooted  to  the  church  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  where  sho  offered  six 


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ST.  ASELLA 


85 


hundred  pieces  of  gold  on  the  altar,  and 
then,  with  her  friends,  received  the  Holy 
Communion.  *  Soon  after  her  arrival  she 
was  seized  with  fever,  and  died  in  her 
seventeenth  year.  All  the  women  of 
the  city  lamented  and  wept.  Sho  was 
buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Luke,  at  the 
Porta  Rufina,  and  afterwards  translated 
into  the  cathedral.  Hensohenius  and 
Papehroch,  in  AA.SS.  from  an  old  Life 
in  a  manuscript  martyrology  in  the 
Library  at  Benevento,  and  a  Life,  in 
Longobardic  characters,  in  the  Vatican ; 
also  from  Vipera's  History  of  the  Bishops 
of  Benevento;  and  Ferrarius'  Italian 
Saints. 

St  Arthongathe,  Ercongotha. 

St.  Artongate,  Ebcongotha. 

St.  Ascelina,  Aug.  23,  Dec.  27,  V. 
Cistercian,  f  1105.  Related  to  St. 
Bernard.  When  she  was  twelve  years 
old,  a  young  clerk,  being  much  struck 
with  her  beauty,  and  desiring  some  oppor- 
tunity of  conversing  with  her  alone, 
offered  to  teach  her  Latin,  music,  and 
singing.  As  he  could  not  talk  to  her 
long  at  a  time,  he  wrote  letters  and 
verses  to  her  in  French.  At  the  third 
lesson,  he  confessed  his  love.  The  un- 
suspecting child  answered  that  if  he 
would  become  a  monk  she  would  give 
him  her  love..  The  sinner  changed  his 
dres3t  but  not  his  heart,  and  dwelt  three 
months  among  the  brethren— a  wolf  in 
sheep's  clothing.  About  this  time,  a 
leper  appeared  to  Ascelina,  and  bade  her 
beware  of  her  false  teacher,  as  he  was  an 
instrument  of  Satan  to  rob  her  of  her 
innocence.  The  girl,  distressed  and  per- 
plexed, ran  and  told  her  mother,  who 
came  at  once  to  question  the  lepor ;  but 
he  was  gone,  and  no  trace  of  him  could 
be  found.  Her  mother  took  her  to  a 
holy  priest,  who  cut  off  her  hair,  and 
from  that  time  she  led  an  ascetic  life, 
which  soon  destroyed  her  beauty.  The 
false  monk  soon  left  his  cloister  and  re- 
turned to  the  world.  By  the  advice  of 
St.  Bernard,  Ascelina  became  a  Cister- 
cian nun  under  his  niece  Adelino,  at 
Pouligny,  near  the  monastery  of  Boulan- 
court,  in  Haute  Marne.  AA.SS.,  from  a 
Life  given  as  contemporary  by  Henriquez. 

St.  Asdepiodote,  Sept.  15,  M.  under 
Maximian.    A  relation  of  SS.  Maximus 


and  Theodotus,  and  put  to  death  with 
them  at  a  village  between  Philippopolis 
and  AdrianopoHs  in  Thrace.  Ascelepio- 
dote  was  tied  to  a  wild  bull  at  Adria- 
nople ;  it  stood  quiet  and  did  not  hurt 
her.  Teres,  the  tyrant  of  Thrace,  had 
the  three  martyrs  taken  to  a  villa  called 
Saltys,  and  there  beheaded.  Very  soon 
after,  he  was  struck  dead  by  lightning. 
The  Acts  end  by  a  prayer  of  the  writer 
for  the  cessation  of  the  persecution. 
Stilting,  in  AA.SS.  from  Greek  Acts, 
believed  to  be  contemporary  and  authen- 
tic. In  the  B.M.  the  name  is  written 
Asclepiodotus,  and  the  story  seems  to 
be  of  three  men. 

St.  Asella  (Ocella,  Osella),  Dec.  6, 
V.  Born  c.  334,  -f  between  405  and  408. 
Friend  and  disciple  of  St.  Jerome, 
whose  writings  are  the  authority  for  her 
story.  Whether  he  is  to  be  understood 
literally  or  not  when  he  speaks  of  her 
as  the  daughter  of  Albina  and  sister  of 
Mabcella,  she  seems  to  have  been  a 
member  of  a  noble  and  wealthy  Roman 
Christian  family.  She  was  not  more 
than  ten  years  old  when  St.  Athanasius 
paid  his  third  and  last  visit  to  Rome. 
His  conversation  made  a  deep  impression 
on  her,  and  being  already  a  pious  child, 
she  (wished  to  dedicate  her  life  to  the 
service  of  Christ.  For  a  long  time  her 
parents  would  not  give  her  the  rough 
brown  gown  worn  by  the  women  who 
devoted  themselves  to  a  life  of  asceticism 
and  charity,  so  she  sold  her  gold  neck- 
lace and  bought  the  coarse  stuff,  made 
the  dress  secretly,  and  when  she  was 
twelve,  surprised  her  family  by  appear- 
ing before  them  in  this  garb  of  consecra- 
tion. From  this  time  she  lived  in  great 
silence  and  seclusion,  inhabiting  a  narrow 
cell  where  she  enjoyed  the  breath  of 
Paradise,  having  one  stone  for  a  place  of 
prayer  and  of  repose.  She  lived  on 
bread,  salt,  and  water,  sometimes  fasting 
for  days  together.  She  would  not  go 
into  society  nor  speak  to  any  man. 
She  worked  with  her  hands  and  sang 
psalms.  When  she  attended  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Martyrs  she  went  very  fast,  so 
as  not  to  be  seen.  "  You,"  writes  Jerome 
to  Marcella,  "  have  seen  with  your  own 
eyes  her  holy  knees  hardened  like  those 
of  a  camel.1'   These  austerities  never 


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ST.  ASGITH 


injured  her  health  or  her  skin ;  she  was 
over  fifty  when,  according  to  Jerome, 
"  with  a  sound  body  and  a  still  sounder 
soul,  she  found  for  herself  a  monkish  cell 
in  the  midst  of  busy  Rome."  In  384, 
in  one  of  St:  Jerome's  letters  to  St  Mar- 
cella,  he  praises  St.  Asella,  and  says, 
"  Do  not  tell  her  what  I  say,  for  she  will 
be  displeased  with  eulogies  of  herself, 
but  read  the  letter  to  young  girls,  that 
they  may  find  in  her  conduct  a  rule  of 
perfect  piety.  Let  widows  and  virgins 
imitate  her.  Let  wives  make  much  of 
her,  let  sinful  women  fear  her,  and 
let  bishops  look  up  to  her."  St.  Jerome 
highly  valued  Asella's  affection  for 
him ;  he  calls  her  an  44  example  of 
modesty,"  44  the  ornament  of  virginity," 
44  a  flower  of  the  Lord."  To  her,  as  one 
of  the  eldest  and  most  honoured  of  the 
community  of  learned  and  pious  women 
who  so  valued  his  instruction,  he  ad- 
dressed the  farewell  letter  which  he 
wrote  from  the  ship  in  the  port  of  Ostia, 
by  which  ho  was  leaving  Borne  for  the 
East  in  385.  In  it  he  indignantly  refutes 
the  calumnies  which  called  him  an 
impostor  and  a  hypocrite,  and  miscon- 
strued his  friendship  with  St.  Paula  and 
other  friends.  He  bids  her  salute  several 
of  the  familiar  group  by  name,  and 
among  them  "  Albina  your  mother,  and 
Mar  cella  your  sister."  Notwithstanding 
these  words,  and  the  fact  that  sho  was 
undoubtedly  on  a  sisterly  footing  in  the 
house  and  social  circle  of  Marcella, 
Tillemont  and  some  other  historians  and 
commentators  say  that  this  relationship 
is  not  to  be  understood  literally,  and 
that  it  is  not  known  to  what  family 
Asella  belonged. 

Palladius,  who  visited  Home  in  405, 
says  that  he  saw  there  the  excellent 
Asella — that  virgin  of  Christ  who  had  so 
holily  grown  old  in  a  monastery.  He 
calls  her  the  gentlest  of  women,  and  says 
that  she  took  the  most  loving  care  of  a 
company  and  a  house,  where  they  re- 
ceived and  instructed  new  converts. 
She  was  then  about  seventy. 

B.M.  St  Jerome's  Letters,  Free- 
mantle's  edition,  letters  24, 45.  Baronius, 
Annates.  Tillemont,  Histoire  des  Auteurs 
Ecclesiastiques,  xii.  Baillet,  Vies  des 
Saints. 


St.  Asgith,  Osith. 

St.  Askama.   See  Acrabonia. 

St.  Aspasia,  Athanasia  (l). 

St.  Aspedia,  Dec.  14,  M.  Mentioned 
in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome. 

St.  Aspida,  Feb.  5.  (5th  century. 
Related  to  St.  Avitus,  Archbishop ,  of 
Vienne,  who  took  an  important  part  in 
the  religious  and  theological  contro- 
versies of  his  time.  His  name  is  in  the 
B.M.,  Feb.  5,  tho  day  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  523,  and  some  of  his  poems 
and  letters  are  extant.  Aspida  is  men- 
tioned in  his  Life,  but  her  right  to  the 
title  of  Saint  is  uncertain.  AA.SS.  See 
Fuscina. 

St.  Aste,  Nov.  20,  V.  M.  in  Persia, 
with  a  man  callod  Boithazate,  and  a 
great  many  other  holy  martyrs.  Petin, 
Diet.  Hag. 

St.  Asteria,  or  Hesteria,  Aug.  10, 
V.  M.  Patron  of  Bergamo.  Sister  of 
St.  Grata  of  Bergamo,  where,  in  the 
time  of  Diocletian  and  Maximian,  they 
both  buried  St.  Alexander.  Grata  was 
put  to  death.  Asteria  buried  her,  and 
afterwards  was  hersolf  arrested,  tortured, 
and  beheaded.  See  the  legend  of  Hes- 
teria.    B.M.    Biografia  Eccles. 

St.  Astrude,  Austrude. 

St.  Astuta,  Feb.  28.  One  of  many 
martyrs  at  Alexandria.  Henschenius, 
in  AA.SS.,  from  Mart,  of  Beichenau. 

St.  Atalduid,  Adfalduid. 

St.  Atea,  May  23,  July  5  (Aetha, 
Ale  a,  Athea,  Athy),  9  th  century,  was 
a  cousin  and  disciple  of  St.  Modwenxa. 
They  lived  in  Ireland,  and  built  a  monas- 
tery on  a  hill,  laboured  with  their  hands 
for  their  daily  bread,  "  fall  often  digging 
with  a  mattocke  and  sowing  seeds  in 
the  earth,"  and  feeding  on  raw  herbs. 
They  came  from  Ireland  to  England 
with  Luge,  Brigid,  and  St.  Eonan  the 
brothor  of  Modwenna.  When  they 
arrived  on  the  Irish  shore,  they  found 
no  boat  to  take  tbem  across  the  sea. 
They  prostrated  themselves  on  the 
ground  and  prayed  for  aid,  and  lo,  the 
earth  on  which  they  lay  was  severed 
from  the  land  and  floated  out  to  sea ; 
and,  directed  by  an  angel,  they  arrived 
on  the  coast  of  England.  When  Mod- 
wenna built  her  monasteries,  she  left 
Atea  in  charge  of  Pollesworth  while  she 


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ST.  ATHANASIA 


87 


went  to  Strenshalen,  After  her  return 
from  Home,  Modwenna  built  herself  an 
oratory,  dedicated  to  St.  Andrew,  on  an 
island  of  Kent,  called  ScaleclifF,  after- 
wards Andresia,  and  when  she  went  back 
to  Ireland  she  left  Atea  in  charge  of  it. 
Lives  of  the  Women  Saints  of  .  .  . 
England,  E.E.T.S. 

St.  Atela,  May  24.  In  Campania. 
Mart,  of  Beichenau. 

St.  Athala,  sometimes  means  Adela 
or  Adelaide,  and  sometimes  Attala. 

St  Athna,  Ethnea. 

St.  Athanasia  (l),or  Aspasia,  Jan. 
31,  M.  312,  towards  the  end  of  the  per- 
secution under  Maximinus.  She  and  her 
three  daughters,  Theodosia,  Theoctiste, 
and  Eudoxia,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  fif- 
teen, were  tortured  and  beheaded  at  Cano- 
pus,  not  far  from  Alexandria.  They  were 
encouraged  by  St.  Cyrus,  a  physician 
of  Alexandria,  and  St.  John,  who  were 
tortured  at  the  same  time  as  Athanasia 
and  her  daughters,  and  put  to  death 
after  them.  They  were  the  last  martyrs 
in  this,  the  last  general  persecution  of 
the  Christians.  AA.SS.  Neaje,  Holy 
Eastern  Church.  Martin. 

St  Athanasia  (2), Feb.  27.  5th  cen- 
tury. Wife  of  St  Andronicus,  and  com- 
memorated with  him,  Oct.  9.  He  was  a 
silversmith  of  Antioch.  They  were  rich 
in  this  world's  goods  and  also  in  good 
works.  They  had  one  son  and  one 
daughter,  who  both  died  on  the  same  day, 
when  they  were  about  twelve  years  old. 
Andronicus  resigned  himself,  like  Job, 
to  the  will  of  God.  Athanasia,  overcome 
with  grief,  would  not  leave  the  church 
of  St.  Julian,  where  her  children  were 
buried;  but  said  she  would  die  there, 
and  be  buried  with  them.  At  midnight, 
St  Julian  the  martyr  appeared  to  her 
dressed  as  a  monk.  He  asked  her  why 
she  wept,  and  why  she  did  not  leave  the 
dead  alone.  She  told  him  her  grief.  He 
comforted  her  with  the  assurance  that 
her  children  were  alive  with  Christ  in 
Paradise.  The  saint  disappeared,  and 
she  understood  that  6he  had  seen  a 
vision.  She  returned  to  her  house  and 
told  everything  to  her  husband.  They 
liberated  their  slaves,  sold  their  goods, 
gave  most  of  their  money  to  the  poor, 
and  the  rest  to  his  father-in-law,  bidding 


him  to  show  charity  and  hospitality  to 
sick  persons,  monks,  and  pilgrims.  Leav- 
ing Antioch,  they  went  to  the  holy 
places  at  Jerusalem,  and  conversed  with 
godly  persons  living  in  that  city.  Then 
they  journeyed  to  Egypt  to  the  desert  of 
Scete,  and  visited  the  Abbot  Daniel,  who 
had  a  great  reputation  for  sanctity.  By 
his  advice  Athanasia  took  the  veil  in  a 
convent  at  Tabenna  or  in  Alexandria. 
Andronicus  became  a  monk,  and  re- 
mained with  Daniel  and  his  brethren. 
After  twelve  years  spent  among  these 
monks,  Andronicus  had  a  great  longing 
to  revisit  Jerusalem,  and  with  Daniel's 
permission  he  set  out  on  a  journey 
thither.    One  day,  as  he  sat  resting 
under  a  palm-tree,  he  saw  a  monk  coming 
towards  him.  This  monk  was  Athanasia, 
who  also  had  been  seized  with  an  ardent 
desire  to  return  to  Jerusalem,  and  had 
disguised  herself  as  a  man  for  the  pur- 
pose.   She  recognized  her  husband,  but 
he  only  saw  in  her  a  stranger  of  his  own 
sex  and  profession.    She  was  the  moro 
altered  of  the  two,  her  ascetic  life  having 
deprived  her  of  all  remains  of  beauty, 
and  made  her  as  black  as  an  Ethiopian. 
Andronicus  had  no  suspicion  that  hor 
dress  was  a  disguise,  and  they  sat  to- 
gether and  talked  as  two  pilgrims  who 
met  for  the  first  time.    Hearing  that  ho 
came  from  Daniel's  monastery,  Athanasia 
asked  if  he  knew  a  monk  there  of  the 
name  of  Andronicua    "Yes,"  said  he, 
"  I  know  him  well."    To  which  she  re- 
sponded, "  May  his  prayers  be  with  us." 
"  Amen,"  answered  Andronicus.  As 
they  were  both  going  the  same  way, 
they  made  the  remainder  of  the  pil- 
grimage together,  and  when  they  re- 
turned to  Egypt,  Andronicus  proposed 
that  they  should  live  together.  Atha- 
nasia consented,  on  condition  that  they 
should  observo  a  strict  rule  of  silence. 
They  lived  twelve  years  in  one  cell, 
never  speaking   except    to   say  their 
prayers.    During  all  that  time  Andro- 
nicus did  not  suspect  that  his  companion 
was  the  same  with  whom  he  had  lived 
so  many  years  at  Antioch,  and  who  had 
borne  him  two  children.    At  last  she 
was  attacked  by  fever,  and  Andronicus 
went  in  great  distress  for  the  abbot  of  a 
neighbouring  community,  begging  him 


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8S 


ST.  ATHANASIA 


to  come  and  pay  the  last  duties  to  his 
dear  brother  who  was  about  to  depart. 
The  dying  Athanasia  told  her  story  to 
the  abbot,  but  not  to  her  husband.  A 
few  days  after  her  death,  Andronicus 
was  seized  with  the  same  fever.  The 
abbot,  seeing  him  near  death,  told  him 
who  it  was  that  had  shared  his  cell  for 
so  many  years.  Daniel's  monks,  having 
heard  much  of  the  sanctity  of  their 
former  companion,  wished  to  take  his 
body  and  bury  him  near  their  own  abode, 
but  the  brethren  near  whom  he  had  spent 
his  later  years  claimed  him  as  their  own. 
It  was  finally  settled  that  the  pair  should 
be  buried  side  by  side,  near  the  spot 
where  they  had  led  their  silent  ascetic 
life.  AA.SS. 

St.  Athanasia  (3),  Aug.  4, 14,  April 
18,  called  in  some  calendars  An  astasia. 
c.  860.  Abbess  of  Timia,  in  Egypt, 
epresented  (1)  weaving  at  a  loom,  a 
star  over  her;  (2)  with  a  star  on  her 
breast. 

Born  in  the  island  of  Egina.  Her 
parents,  Nicetas  and  Irene,  instructed 
her  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  from  her 
earliest  childhood,  and  married  her 
young,  about  822,  to  an  officer  in  the 
imperial  army.  He  was  obliged  to  leave 
her  sixteen  days  after  their  marriage,  to 
oppose  the  Saracens,  who  had  come  from 
Africa,  and  were  threatening  the  shores 
of  Greece.  He  was  killed,  and  she  be- 
took herself  to  a  religious  life,  but  before 
she  had  made  any  vows,  an  edict  was  pro- 
mulgated by  the  Emperor  Michael  the 
Stammerer,  to  oblige  all  marriageable 
girls  and  young  widows  to  marry,  on 
the  ground  that  war  and  other  scourges 
had  depopulated  the  greater  part  of  the 
Greek  empire.  Athanasia's  parents  found 
her  a  good  religious  husband,  who  joined 
in  all  her  pious  and  charitable  works. 
On  Sundays  and  other  holy  days  she  used 
to  assemble  all  the  women  of  her  neigh- 
bourhood, and  read  and  explain  the  Bible 
to  them.  Her  husband  became  a  monk, 
and  Athanasia,  having  no  children  to 
take  care  of,  converted  her  house  into  a 
convent,  of  which  she  was  too  humble  to 
assume  the  direction,  until  it  was  forced 
upon  her  by  the  community.  Austerities, 
which  usually  tend  to  make  the  temper 
sour  and  discontented,  never  diminished 


her  sweetness  and  patience.  After  four 
years,  she  decided  that  her  house  was 
too  near  the  stir  of  tho  world.  With 
the  assistance  of  a  holy  priest  named 
Matthias,  she  found  a  more  suitable 
place,  where  she  built  three  churches, 
as  well  as  a  convenient  house  for  her 
increasing  community.  Her  convent  was 
called  Timia,  which  means  a  place  ho- 
noured or  respected.  In  superintending 
the  removal  of  her  nuns  to  their  new 
residence,  Matthias  observed  that  they 
were  all  extremely  thin,  and  looked 
very  ill.  He  advised  St.  Athanasia  to 
moderate  the  severity  of  her  rule,  and 
she  thenceforth  took  more  care  of  #  the 
health  and  comfort  of  her  spiritual 
daughters.  She  went  to  Constantinople 
to  get  funds  for  her  three  churches,  and 
to  visit  the  Empress  Theodora,  mother 
and  guardian  of  the  Emperor  Michael 
III.,  who  was  fond  of  receiving  persons 
illustrious  for  sanctity.  She  remained 
there  against  her  will  for  seven  years, 
and  died  soon  after  her  return  to 
Timia.  After  her  death  she  appeared 
in  a  vision  to  her  successor,  the  new 
abbess,  and  reproached  her  for  not 
making  the  prayers  and  alms  for  her 
soul  that  she  ought  to  have  done  for 
forty  days,  bidding  her  do  her  duty  in 
this  respect,  and  assuring  her  that  at 
the  end  of  that  time  she  would  enter 
into  Paradise.  At  the  end  of  forty  days, 
two  of  the  nuns  saw  Athanasia  crowned 
above  the  altar,  and,  many  miracles  being 
performed  at  her  tomb,  her  sanctity  was 
universally  acknowledged.  Long  after- 
wards her  body  was  found  fresh  and 
entire,  and  was  dressed  in  goodly  robes 
and  removed  into  the  church.  The 
Muscovites,  who  follow  tho  Greek  rite, 
place  her  fete  on  April  18.  B.M.,  Aug. 
14.  AA.SS.,  Aug.  4.  Baillet  says  that 
her  Life  is  contemporary,  but  has  passed 
through  the  hands  of  Metaphrostes.  In 
the  Martyrology  of  the  Order  of  St.  Basil 
the  Great,  A.EM.,  Aug.  21,  she  is  said 
to  belong  to  that  order.  Callot,  Images. 
Husenbeth,  Emblems  of  Saints.  Cahier, 
Caractiristiqu.es,    Die  Heiligen  Bilder. 

The  legend  that  explains  the  loom  and 
star  in  her  pictures  is  that  one  day, 
while  she  was  still  a  young  girl,  sitting 
at  her  loom,  she  fell  into  an  ecstasy ;  a 


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ST.  ATTRACTA 


89 


brilliant  star  darted  from  heaven  to  her 
breast,  and  disappeared  there,  bnt  illu- 
minated her  whole  person  as  long  as  the 
ecstasy  lasted.  From  that  time  she  was 
a  changed  creature,  and  began  to  despise 
earthly  objects  and  interests.  (Stadler 
u.  Heim,  Heiligen  Lexikon.) 

St.  Athea,  Atka. 

St.  Athela,  Adela. 

St.  Athelburga,ETHELBURGA,  July  7. 

St.  Athora,  Feb.  23,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St  Athy,  Atea. 

St.  Attala,  or  Athala,  Dec.  3.  "f  c. 
741.  Represented  having  a  well  near 
her,  or  as  a  corpse  with  one  hand  cut 
off.  St.  Attala  was  first  abbess  of  the 
first  monastery  in  Strasburg.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Adelbert,  Duke  of 
Alsace,  by  his  first  wife  Gerlinda.  He 
had  her  carefully  trained  for  the  duties 
of  an  abbess,  by  his  sister  St.  Odila, 
and  in  717,  when  he  built  the  monastery 
of  St.  Stephen,  he  set  her  over  it.  She 
won  the  love  and  reverence  of  her  own 
convent  and  of  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Strasburg.  So  highly  was  she  venerated, 
that,  after  death,  her  body  was  exposed 
for  five  weeks,  and  the  faithful  came 
from  all  parts  to  honour  her.  Weren- 
trude,  Abbess  of  Hohenburg,  and  a 
particular  friend  of  St.  Attala,  desiring 
a  relic,  employed  a  priest,  who  cut  off 
the  right  hand  of  the  saint.  He  was 
discovered.  The  hand  was  enclosed  in 
a  crystal  box,  and  is  preserved  in  the 
church  of  St.  Stephen,  where  it  is  ex- 
hibited on  Dec.  3.  Her  black  woollen 
mantle  was  also  preserved,  and  was 
placed  on  the  shoulders  of  each  succeed- 
ing abbess  at  her  installation.  A  well 
in  the  crypt  was  credited  with  healing 
powers  in  her  time  and  for  centuries 
afterwards.  French  and  German  Mar- 
tyrologies.  Cahier.  Guerin,  Petite  Bol- 
landistes,  xiv. 

St.  Attica,  Feb.  13,  V.  4th  century. 
Converted  by  St.  Constance  Augusta 
AA.SS.  Stadler. 

St.  Attracta,  Feb.  9,  Aug.  11 
(Tabacta,  Tarahatta,  Tarnutha,  Tha- 
katta).  5th  or  6th  century.  An  Irish 
virgin,  daughter  of  Saran,  or  Talan,  or 
Tigernach,  of  royal  descent  in  Ulster. 
,  The  legend  is  that  she  made  a  vow 


of  celibacy  at  a  very  early  age.  To 
avoid  marrying  in  obedience  to  her 
parents,  she  left  her  home,  accompanied 
only  by  her  maid  Mitain  and  her  man- 
servant Mochain,  and  came  to  Connaught. 
She  decided  that  her  house  must  be 
where  seven  roads  met,  that  she  might 
entertain  travellers  from  all  directions. 
Mochain  eventually  discovered  such  a 
site  for  her,  and  there  she  built  a  church 
and  monastery.  In  her  wanderings  she 
came  to  a  beautiful  place  where  St. 
Conallus,  her  brother  or  near  relation, 
had  his  church.  She  sent  to  ask  if  she 
might  build  herself  a  house  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. It  happened  to  be  Lent,  and 
St.  Conallus  was  spending  the  holy 
season,  according  to  his  custom,  saying 
his  prayers  in  cold  water.  He  called 
to  mind  certain  prophecies  concerning 
the  wonderful  works  of  Attracta,  and 
the  fame  she  was  destined  to  attain,  and 
decided  not  to  have  her  within  his  terri- 
tory. He  sent  Dachonna  (probably  the 
same  as  St.  Machonna)  to  give  her  his 
blessing,  and  to  beg  her,  in  the  name  of 
God,  not  to  erect  any  building  in  that 
place.  She  wa9  very  angry.  Besides 
other  fierce  and  cruel  things,  she  said, 
"  Since  you  ask  me  in  the  name  of  God, 
I  cannot  refuse.  And  since  you  order 
me  to  leave  your  lands,  I  obey  your 
decree.  But  that  Conallus  may  feel 
how  bitter  is  my  sentence,  I  pray  that 
no  corn  may  ever  grow  on  his  estate, 
and  that  no  father  and  son  together  may 
ever  serve  there.  I  foretell  that  a  sound 
of  bells  will  come  into  your  dwelling, 
which  will  diminish  the  offerings  you 
receive  from  the  people,  or  deprive  you 
of  them  altogether."  This  soon  hap- 
pened: a  monastery  was  built  in  the 
place,  and  took  all  the  tribute  which 
formerly  went  to  St.  Conallus'  churoh. 

Bee,  King  of  Lugna,  sent  for  Attracta 
to  kill  a  monster  which  devastated  his 
country.  As  a  reward,  he  gave  to  her 
and  her  successors  for  ever,  the  land 
which  had  been  rendered  uninhabitable. 
In  course  of  time,  the  King  of  Con- 
naught  went  to  war  against  the  men  of 
Lugna,  and  hemmed  them  in  by  lake 
Techot.  St.  Attracta  led  them  through 
the  midst  of  the  lake,  on  condition  that 
no  one  should  look  behind  him.   A  boy, 


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90 


ST.  ATZIN 


who  was  the  servant  of  the  drummer, 
had  the  curiosity  to  look  hack.  He  was 
immediately  drowned.  Whereupon  the 
drummer  told  Attracta  that  if  he  did 
not  without  delay  have  his  boy  back 
safe,  he  would  slander  her  throughout 
the  world.  So  she  prayed  for  the  resur- 
rection of  the  lad.  An  angel  told  her 
she  was  troubling  God  too  much  :  never- 
theless, she  should  have  her  wish,  but 
she  must  ask  St.  Foelan  to  raise  the 
youth.  St.  Foelan  was  lying  asleep  or 
dead,  with  a  stone  in  each  hand,  and 
another  in  his  mouth.  He  arose  as  out 
of  an  ecstasy,  and  raised  the  drowned 
boy  to  life.  Many  other  miracles  are 
told  of  her. 

Once  on  a  time,  Keannfaeland,  King 
of  Connaught,  ordered  that  all  his  sub- 
jects, including  the  clergy,  should  help 
to  build  him  a  beautiful  castle.  Attracta 
begged  to  bo  excused  from  this  service, 
promising  the  king  instead  fair  winds 
for  his  ships  to  bring  beautiful  things 
from  unknown  countries,  tbat  the  king- 
dom should  remain  in  his  family  for 
ever,  and  many  other  advantages,  which 
he  so  undervalued  as  not  to  accept  the 
bargain.  So  she  went  in  a  rage  to  tho 
forest,  with  St.  Nathy  and  a  few  men 
and  horses,  to  cut  down  trees  and  saw 
up  the  prescribed  quantity  of  wood. 
One  of  her  servants  suggested  that,  in- 
stead of  the  horses,  the  stags  of  the 
forest  might  as  well  carry  the  wood  to 
the  king — so  the  stags  came  to  be  laden. 
Attracta  pulled  a  few  long  hairs  out  of 
her  own  head ;  with  these  she  tied  the 
planks  on  to  the  stags,  and  sent  them 
off  to  the  king.  Instead  of  being  con* 
verted  Jby  the  miracle,  he  hardened  his 
heart  like  Pharaoh,  and  set  his  dogs  at 
the  stags ;  but  the  devil  entered  into  the 
dogs,  they  bit  the  king  and  queen  and 
everybody  who  tried  to  defend  them, 
and  most  of  the  courtiers  were  killed. 
The  stags  returned  in  peace  to  the  forest, 
and  the  dogs  were  turned  into  stones. 
.  These  incidents  are  told  in  a  frag- 
ment of  a  Life  of  this  saint,  which 
Colgan  gives  (Feb.  9)  in  his  collection 
of  Irish  Saints.  It  is  supposed  to  be 
the  work  of  a  Cistercian  monk  of  the 
11th  century,  and  to  be  quite  destitute 
of  foundation.   The  beginning  and  end 


of  the  story  are  lost.  Attracta  appears 
in  some  Irish  calendars  on  Aug.  7. 
Butler  and  Lanigan  say  she  was  an 
Irish  nun,  who  lived  and  died  at  a  place 
still  called  Eillaraght,  whioh  is  a  con- 
traction of  Kil  Attracta,  the  church  or 
cell  of  Attracta.  Some  accounts  say 
she  received  the  religious  veil  from  St. 
Patrick,  who  lived  in  the  5th  century, 
but  Lanigan  thinks  she  was  a  sister  of 
St.  Coemgen,  and  lived,  in  the  7  th  or 
late  in  the  6  th  century,  in  a  convent 
founded  by  St.  Patrick  a  century  before, 
but  which  afterwards  took  her  name. 
There  are  several  places  in  Ireland 
called  Kil  Attracta :  this  one  is  in  Sligo. 
See  also  AA.SS.  and  Britannia  Sancta. 

St.  Atzill,  ACHACHILDI8. 

St.  Aubierge,  Ethelburga  (3). 

St.  Aucega,  or  Acceia,  June  1,  M. 
A  queen  of  the  barbarians,  called  in 
some  martyrologies  Aucias,  or  Auceia, 
king,  commemorated  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  Christians  martyred,  either  all 
at  Thessalonica,  or  some  of  them  there 
and  some  at  Kome.  The  story  given 
by  Papebroch  (AA.SS.,  June  25)  of  St. 
Luceja,  V.,  and  St.  Auceja,  king  of  the 
barbarians,  appears  to  be  the  same. 

St.  Aucta,  patron  of  Lisbon.  Cahier. 

St.  Auda,  Alda. 

St.  Audata,  March  28,  M.  at 
Cfesarea.  AA.SS. 

St.  Audex,  Nov.  18,  V.  Sir  H. 
Nicolas,  Chronology  of  History. 

St.  Audientia,  Feb.  5.  A  holy 
woman,  mother  of  St.  Avitus.  Wife 
of  St.  Isicius.  Bollandus  is  doubtful 
whether  she  is  to  be  placed  among  the 
saints  or  not.    AA.SS.,  Prsster. 

B.  Audouvaria,  Audovera. 

B.  Audovera.  Aug.  17  (Andovera, 
Audovaria).  583.  Queen  of  France, 
the  first  wife  whom  we  know  by  name 
of  Chilperio  I.,  King  of  France.  Wion 
says  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  prince  of 
Spain;  but  perhaps  he  confounds  her 
with  St.  Galswintha,  another  wife  of 
the  same  king.  During  the  absence  of 
Chilperic,  Audovera  gave  birth  to  her 
fifth  child, Childechinda,and,being  a  very 
pious  woman,  she  was  desirous  to  have 
her  admitted  as  soon  as  possible  into 
the  Church  by  baptism.  Her  confiden- 
tial but  treacherous  maid,  Fredegunda, 


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ST.  AUGUSTA 


01 


professed  great  affection  for  her  mistress 
and  the  infant  princess,  and  profound 
sympathy  in  the  queen's  anxiety  to  have 
the  child  christened.  Audovera  was 
much  puzzled  about  her  choice  of  a  god* 
mother.  She  was  sure  that  that  honour 
would  cause  jealousy,  quarrels  would 
arise,  the  husbands  of  the  offended 
ladies  might  give  trouble  to  the  king, 
and  she  did  not  know  what  to  do.  In 
her  perplexity  she  sought  advice  from 
her  slave.  "  What  lady  in  France  is  so 
great  as  the  queen  ?  "  said  the  designing 
Fredegunda.  "No  one  can  be  jealous 
of  you,  or  pretend  to  be  your  equal :  hold 
the  illustrious  infant  yourself."  Audo- 
vera was  delighted  to  find  so  clover  a 
way  out  of  the  difficulty.  The  christen- 
ing took  place  with  great  rejoicing  and 
feasting,  and  everybody  was  pleased.  A 
month  or  two  after,  King  Chilperic  came 
home  victorious  from  his  wars,  and  all 
the  maidens  went  out  to  meet  him  with 
garlands,  songs,  and  dances.  Fredegunda 
took  care  to  attract  his  attention  to  her- 
self, made  him  compliments  on  his 
prowess  and  heroism,  and  announced  to 
him  the  birth  of  his  daughter.  When 
she  had  coquetted  with  him  a  little,  she 
said,  "  There  is  only  one  sad  thing  about 
your  triumphant  home-coming.' 1  "  What 
is  that  ?  "  said  the  king.  "  Oh,  I  am  so 
abrry  about  it,  I  hardly  like  to  tell  your 
Highness."  Here  she  pretended  to  shed 
a  tear.  Chilperic  insisted  on  knowing 
what  was  the  matter,  and  Fredegunda, 
with  feigned  reluctance,  said,  "  Alas,  my 
lord,  there  is  nobody  for  you  to  sleep 
with  now."  "But  you  said  the  queen 
was  well."  "  Ah,  yes,  the  queen  is  well ; 
but  she  has  become  your  sister.  For- 
getting the  duty  she  owed  to  her  king 
and  husband,  she  has  become  godmother 
to  your  child.  The  holy  bishops  will 
tell  you,  any  priest  will  tell  you,  you 
cannot  have  a  woman  for  your  wife  who 
is  godmother  to  your  child.  "Very 
well,"  said  the  king ;  "  if  I  cannot  sleep 
with  her,  I  will  sleep  with  you."  So 
Audovera  was  deposed,  and  went  to  a 
monastery  at  Le  Mans,  taking  her 
daughter  with  her.  Fredegunda  was 
promoted  to  her  place,  and  nine  years 
afterwards,  in  583,  she  had  them  both 
murdered  in  their  retreat.  Fredegunda 


was  Chilperio's  mistress  for  many  years  ; 
but  not  until  he  had  married  other 
wives,  and  not  until  she  had  committed 
other  crimes,  did  she  become  his  wife  ; 
and  eventually  she  had  him  murdered 
too.  Buoelinus  calls  Audovera  "  Martyr," 
and  Wion  calls  her  "Saint."  Am6dea 
Thierry,  in  his  Bicils  Merovingiens,  gives 
the  history  of  Frcdegunda's  plot. 

The  little  princess,  who  had  been  the 
tool  used  to  work  her  mother's  mis- 
fortune, was  happy  in  being  put  to  death 
with  her  in  her  innocence.  Basine,  an 
older  daughter  of  Audovera,  was  cruelly 
treated  by  Fredegunda,  and  after  passing 
through  depths  of  misery  and  degrada- 
tion, was  placed,  against  her  will,  in  the 
monastery  of  Sainte  Croix,  built  by  St. 
Radegund  (1)  at  Poitiers,  where  St. 
Agnes  (o)  was  abbess.  She  proved  a 
very  bad  nun,  and  gave  a  great  deal  of 
trouble.  Of  the  three  sons  of  Chilperic 
by  Audovera,  Clovis  and  Merovee  who 
became  the  second  husband  of  Brune- 
hault,  fell  victims  to  the  malice  of 
Fredegunda. 

St.  Audrey,  Ethelreda.  There  is 
also  a  St.  Audrey  or  Aldricus  (Oot.  10), 
Bishop  of  Sens,  9th  century. 

St.  Audru,  Austbude. 

St.  Aufidia,  May  6,  M.  at  MU*d 
with  St.  Judith  and  several  others. 
P6tin,  Did.  Hag. 

St.  Augia  (1),  May  14,  M.  at  Apt, 
in  Provence,  probably  under  one  of  the 
heathen  Emperors.  Claimed  as  a  member 
of  the  family  of  Salebron,  or  Sabron; 
but  they  settled  in  France  not  earlier 
than  the  11  til  century.  AA.SS. 

St.  Augia  (2),  Sept.  25  (Agia,  Aige, 
Austregild).  Sister  of  St.  Aunarius* 
Mother  of  St.  Loup. 

St.  Augusta  (1),  July  28,  V.  M. 
AA.S8. 

St  Augusta  (2),  Nov.  24,  M.  Said 
to  be  the  wife  of  the  Emperor  Maximian, 
and  .martyred  with  St.  Catherine* 
Grmco-Slav.  Cal. 

St.  Augusta  (3),  March  27.  Patron 
and  native  of  Serravalle,  and  worshipped 
there  from  time  immemorial.  Repre- 
sented on  a  funeral  pile  holding  a  sword. 
Frightful  atrocities  were  committed  by 
barbarians,  who  ravaged  Italy  from 
about  400  until  the  time  of  Charlemagne. 


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Somewhere  during  that  time  lived  Man- 
drucco,  father  of  Augusta,  and  ruler  of 
part  of  the  territory  of  Priuli.  He  fixed 
his  residence  at  Serravalle,  and  had  a 
palace  and  fortress  on  a  rock,  since  called 
by  the  pious  natives  St.  Augusta.  Man- 
drucco  would  have  been  great  had  he 
not  tarnished  his  fame  by  the  murder  of 
his  daughter.  Incensed  at  her  conver- 
sion to  Christianity,  he  subjected  her  to 
sundry  tortures.  She  was  suspended 
over  a  fire  between  two  trees.  The  fire 
failed  to  injure  her.  He  then  tried  in 
Tain  to  have  her  broken  on  a  wheel ;  and, 
finally,  had  her  beheaded.  A.  Minucci, 
Vita  di  Santa  Augusta  Vergine  e  Martire, 
Venice,  1754.  AA.SS. 

St.  Augusticia,  or  Auoustina,  May 
8,  M.  at  Constantinople,  with  St.  Aca- 
-cius.    See  Agatha.  AA.SS. 

St.  Augustina,  Augusticia. 

St  Aularia,  Eulalia  of  Barcelona. 

St.  Aulaye,  Eulalia  of  Barcelona. 

St.  Aulazie,  Eulalia  of  Barcelona. 

St.  Aunes.  St.  Agnes  is  so  called 
in  Languedoc. 

St.  Aupaies,  AlpaIs  of  Cudot. 

St.  Aura,  Aurea  of  Paris. 

St.  Aurea  (1),  or  Cheyse  (Golden), 
Aug.  24,  V.  M.  3rd  century.  Repre- 
sented, in  Callot's  Images,  being  thrown 
into  the  sea  with  a  great  stone  tied  to 
her  neck.  A  lady  of  high  rank  and 
imperial  descent,  tortured  and  drowned 
at  Ostia,  in  the  reign  of  Claudius.  Her 
body  was  washed  ashore,  and  buried  by 
St  Nonnus.  Many  other  martyrs  are 
commemorated  with  her,  amongst  them 
her  slave  Sabinian.  B.M.  Stilting 
thinks  she  is  the  same  as  Aurea  (3). 
AA.SS. 

St.  Aurea  (2),  July  14,  M.  at  Cor- 
dova, under  Nero.  The  town  of  Soria, 
or  Santoria,  on  the  Douro,  is  named 
after  this  saint,  or  St.  Aurelia  (2),  or 
St.  Auria. 

St.  Aurea  (3),  Sept.  5,  M.  about 
252.  Patron  of  Ostia.  Aurea  appears 
to  have  been  one  of  those  women  who, 
during  the  persecutions,  used  to  visit  the 
Christians  in  prison,  and  in  every  pos- 
sible way  minister  to  the  needs  of  the 
■suffering  followers  of  Christ.  She  ac- 
companied St  Maximus,  a  Christian 
priest,  and  his  deacon  Archelaus  when 


they  went  to  visit  the  prefect  Censurinus, 
who  was  imprisoned  at  Ostia.  While 
they  were  all  praying  together  and  sing- 
ing hymns,  the  fetters  of  the  prisoner 
were  suddenly  unloosed.  Seeing  this 
miracle,  the  guards  were  converted. 
Seventeen  of  them  were  baptized  by  St. 
Maximus.  St.  Aurea  was  godmother. 
Soon  afterwards  St.  Cyriacus,  the  bishop, 
confirmed  them  in  the  Faith.  The  new 
converts  led  a  holy  life,  after  the  rule  of 
the  early  Church,  and  many  miracles 
were  done  by  them.  When  the  Emperor 
heard  that  they  had  raised  the  dead  to 
life,  he  said  they  were  using  magic  arts, 
and  had  them  all  apprehended  and  com- 
manded to  sacrifice  to  the  gods.  Cruel 
tortures  were  used  to  compel  them  to  do 
so ;  and  at  last  they  were  led  to  the  arch 
that  stood  in  front  of  the  theatre,  and 
there  beheaded.  The  Christians  buried 
them,  and  raised  a  monument  at  Ostia  to 
their  memory.  This  story  agrees  with 
secular  history  wherever  the  comparison 
can  be  made.  Stilting  thinks  this  is  the 
true  story  of  the  St.  Aurea  who  in  other 
fictitious  Acts  is  said  to  have  been  thrown 
into  the  sea.  AA.SS. 

St.  Aurea  (4),  or  Aureus,  May  20, 
M.  at  Rome  or  Ostia.  Commemorated 
with  SS.  Basila  and  Nusca. 

St.  Aurea  (5),  July  22,  M.  at  An- 
tioch. 

St.  Aurea  (6),  Oct.  31,  V.  M.  (Ad- 
visa,  Avia;  in  French  Aveze,  Avoie, 
Ev£).  Daughter  of  St.  Geresina,  Queen 
of  Sicily.  Sister  of  SS.  Babilia,  Vic- 
toria, Julia  (24),  and  Adrian.  Niece  of 
St.  Daria.  Cousin  of  St.  Ursula,  and 
companion  of  her  famous  journey  and 
martyrdom. 

St.  Aurea  (7),  or  Aura,  Oct.  4.  f  666. 
Patron  of  Paris.  Represented  (1)  with 
the  corpse  of  the  cellarer  whom  she 
raised  to  life ;  (2)  holding  a  nail,  in 
allusion  to  her  penance.  Born  in  Syria. 
Her  parents  were  Maurinus  and  Quiretia, 
Christians.  After  their  death  she  gave 
herself  up  to  religious  austerities  for  a 
time  in  her  own  country,  until,  finding 
too  many  ties  to  the  world  among  her 
friends  and  acquaintances,  she  took  ship 
without  informing  them  of  her  design, 
and  arrived  in  France  during  the  reign 
of  Dagobert,  the  seventh  king  of  the 


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SS.  AURELIA  AND  NEOMISIA 


03 


French.  When  she  found  that  she  had 
come  to  a  country  where  there  were 
many  houses  of  religious  retirement  and 
hundreds  of  holy  virgins  serving  God  in 
them,  she  was  filled  with  thankfulness. 
She  went  to  Paris,  where  many  holy  men, 
secular  as  well  as  ecclesiastic,  shed  lustre 
on  the  court  hy  their  wisdom  and  virtue. 
Among  these  were  St.  Arnoul  or  Arnulf, 
mayor  of  the  palace ;  St.  Rudo,  treasurer 
of  France ;  St.  Owen,  a  great  and  valiant 
commander  under  Dagobert ;  St.  Eloi 
(Eligius),  a  goldsmith  of  Limousin,  who 
was  called,  for  his  charity,  "  The  Father 
of  the  Poor."  To  him  the  king  had 
given  a  fine  large  house  in  Paris,  which 
he  transformed  into  a  Benedictine 
nunnery,  and  built  in  it  a  church  dedi- 
cated in  the  names  of  SS.  Martial  and 
Valeria,  patrons  of  his  native  province. 
As  the  virtues  and  piety  of  St  Aurea 
could  no  more  be  hidden  than  the  light 
of  the  sun,  St.  Eloi  soon  found  her  out, 
and  made  her  abbess  of  his  new  convent, 
though  she  would  have  chosen  to  obey 
rather  than  to  command.  Here  she 
ruled  over  three  hundred  nuns.  One 
day,  in  the  chapel  of  the  nunnery,  a  cer- 
tain deacon  read  the  Gospel  so  badly 
that  the  good  abbess  lost  all  patience, 
seized  the  book  out  of  his  hand,  and  read 
it  herself.  Afterwards  she  acknowledged 
with  deep  regret  the  irreverence  of  her 
conduct,  and  imposed  upon  herself,  as 
a  penance,  to  recite  the  whole  of  the 
hundred  and  fifty  psalms  daily,  seated  in 
a  chair  with  nails  in  it  specially  con- 
structed for  discomfort.  This  penance 
she  accomplished  with  great  devotion, 
having  resigned,  for  the  time,  her  office 
of  abbess.  A  nun  named  Deda,  who  had 
the  whole  charge  of  the  revenue  and  ex- 
penditure of  the  community,  died  while 
Aurea  was  absent  at  a  farm  which  formed 
part  of  the  possessions  of  the  convent. 
No  one  else  understood  the  business,  and 
great  trouble  and  loss  were  threatened 
to  the  nuns.  Three  days  after  Deda's 
death  Aurea  came  home  and  raised  her 
to  life.  Deda  gave  a  satisfactory  account 
of  her  stewardship,  and  set  the  affairs  of 
the  house  in  order.  Some  time  afterwards 
she  departed  in  peace.  During  the  pes- 
tilence that  ravaged  France  in  666,  more 
than  half  of  the  nuns  died.    St.  Eloi, 


Bishop  of  Noyon,  Tournay,  and  Ver- 
mandois,  who  had  died  the  year  before, 
appeared  robed  in  white,  to  a  young  man, 
and  bade  him  go  and  tell  the  abbess 
Aurea  to  come  to  him.  She  then  died, 
aged  sixty-eight,  having  been  abbess 
thirty-three  years.  B.M.  LJgende  Borie. 
AA.SS.  Butler.  Life  of  St.  Eloi,  Dec. 
1,  on  the  authority  of  St.  Owen. 

St.  Aurea  (8),  July  19,  V.M.  856.. 
Sister  of  Adolphus  and  John,  the  first 
martyrs  in  the  persecution  at  Cordova,, 
under  Abderrahman.  Several  years  after 
their  glorious  death,  Aurea,  like  St.. 
Peter,  denied  her  Lord  in  the  moment  of 
danger,  but  repented,  and  publicly  pro- 
fessed her  regret.  She  was  slain  with  a 
sword  and  hung  on  a  gibbet  with  her 
head  down.  B.M.  AA.SS.,  from  St. 
Eulogius's  contemporary  account  of  this 
persecution.    Cahier,  CaracUristiquea. 

St.  Aureca,  Jan.  2,  M. 

St.  Aurelia  (1),  Deo.  2,  V.  Towards 
the  end  of  the  6th  century,  St.  Colum- 
banus,  St.  Gall,  and  some  other  Irish 
Scots  went  on  a  mission  to  revive  Chris- 
tianity in  parts  of  the  continent  where 
the  people  had  relapsed  into  paganism. 
Amongst  the  ruins  of  a  little  city  called 
Brigantium,  now  Bregentz,  about  610, 
they  found  an  oratory  dedicated  to  St. 
Aurelia,  near  which  they  built  themselves 
cells.  St.  Grail  preached  to  the  people 
and  destroyed  their  idols,  and  St.  Colum- 
banus,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people 
who  returned  to  the  true  Faith,  placed 
the  relics  of  St.  Aurelia  under  the  altar 
on  which  he  said  Mass.  B.M.  This 
Aurelia  is  probably  the  same  as  Valeria 
(12). 

St  Aurelia  (2),  Oct.  12  or  13,  M. 
with  St.  Lupus,  under  the  Saracens,  at 
Cordova.  The  town  of  Soria,  or  San- 
toria,  is  named  after  this  saint,  or  St. 
Aurea  (2),  or  St.  Auria.  AA.S8. 

SS.  Aurelia  (3)  and  Neomisia, 
Sept.  25,  VV.  at  Anagni,  in  Italy.  Suy- 
sken  says  probably  in  the  beginning  of 
the  11th  century.  Mas  Latrie  says  per- 
haps in  the  9th  century.  They  were 
born  in  Asia.  On  the  death  of  their 
parents,  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  their 
relations,  they  made  a  vow  of  virginity, 
and  gave  their  inheritance  to  the  poor. 
They  visited  the  holy  places  of  Syria 


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ST.  AURELIA 


and  Palestine,  went  to  the  tombs  of  the 
Apostles  at  Borne,  and  received  the 
Pope's  benediction.  In  the  neighbour* 
hood  of  Capua  they  were  taken  prisoners 
by  the  Saracens,  who  demanded  that  they 
should  renounce  their  religion.  As  they 
refused,  they  were  beaten  with  great 
cruelty.  But  a  frightful  thunderstorm 
caused  the  barbarians  to  flee  and  leave 
their  victims.  The  saints  then  went  to 
Macerata,  two  miles  from  Anagni,  where 
they  were  well  received  by  a  pious  man, 
and,  while  they  were  spending  the  night 
hours  in  prayer,  they  died.  The  bells  of 
Anagni  rang  and  other  miracles  .mani- 
fested the  sanctity  of  the  departed.  B.M. 
Suysken,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Aurelia  (4),  Oct.  15,  V.  1 1027. 
Princess  of  France.  Recluse.  Patron 
of  Batisbon.  Specially  honoured  at 
Strasburg.  She  is  said,  but  not  with 
certainty,  to  have  been  daughter  to  Hugh 
Capet.  Bucelinus  says  she  was  probably 
daughter  of  Lothaire,  nephew  of  Louis 
•d'Outremer.  She  was  very  beautiful  and 
was  promised  to  Elwein,  a  young  prince 
related  to  the  king.  Preferring  a  soli- 
tary religious  life,  she  fled  in  disguise  to 
Germany,  and  betook  herself  to  St.  Wolf- 
gang, who  recognized  her.  He  built  her 
-a  hermitage,  where  she  lived  unknown 
for  fifty-two  years.  Her  cell  was  after- 
wards converted  into  a  chapel,  and  dedi- 
cated in  the  name  of  St.  Andrew.  She 
has  been  supposed  to  be  sister  of  St. 
Edigna,  who,  however,  is  generally 
thought  to  have  lived  in  the  next  century. 
Martin,  from  B.  Gonon's  Peres  d' Occident. 
Baderus,  Bavaria  Sancta.  Du  Saussaye. 
Mart.  Gallicanum. 

St.  Aurelia  (5),  Oct.  15,  V.  (B.M.). 
Tradition  says  she  was  a  native  of  Stras- 
burg and  companion  of  St.  Ursula.  She 
•died  of  fever  outside  her  native  city.  A 
certain  King  Philip  tried  to  open  her 
sarcophagus,  was  seized  with  madness, 
ute  his  own  hands  and  feet,  and  so  died. 
AAJ38. 

B.  Auria,  or  Oria,  March  11,  V. 
•f  about  1100.  Born  at  Villa  Villayo, 
near  Mansilla,  six  leagues  from  St.  Emi- 
liano.  Daughter  of  Garcia  Nunnio  and 
Amunna.  Auria  was  given  to  piety, 
charity,  and  asceticism  from  her  earliest 
years.  She  took  the  veil  when  young,  and 


went  to  live  with  some  women  of  kindred 
tastes,  in  a  retreat  adjoining  the  Bene- 
dictine monastery  of  St.  Emiliano  de  Suso, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  time,  which 
permitted  a  community  of  consecrated 
virgins  to  live  near  a  house  for  monks. 
She  was  favoured  with  celestial  visions, 
and  the  fame  of  her  sanctity  spread  over 
all  the  country.  The  abbot  and  two 
monks  attended  her  death-bed  .  her 
mother  was  also  present,  and  died  a  few 
days  after  her.  A.  sepulohre  was  hewn 
for  her  in  the  rock,  and  there  she  and  her 
mother  were  buried.  Their  tomb,  some- 
what defaced  by  damp,  was  to  be  seen 
some  hundreds  of  years  afterwards,  in 
the  church  of  St.  Emiliano  de  Suso. 
Sandovellius  adds  that  the  town  of  Soria 
on  the  Douro  (Durium),  near  the  ruins 
of  Numantia,  is  a  contraction  of  Saint* 
Oria,  and  is  so  called  from  this  saint. 
Henschenius  and  Papebroch  believe  it  to 
be  older,  and  think  it  more  likely  that 
the  name  is  derived  from  St.  Aurba  (2), 
martyr  at  Cordova  under  Nero,  or  St. 
Aurelia  (2),  martyr  at  Cordova  under 
the  Saracens.  AA.SS.,  from  Sando- 
vellius, Ancient  Monuments. 

St.  Auriga,  Jan.  2,  M.  in  Ethiopia, 
with  SS.  Claudia  and  Butila.  AA.SS., 
from  St  Jerome's  Martyrology. 

St.  Ausonia,  one  of  the  martyrs  of 
Lyons,  who  died  in  prison.  See  Blan- 
dina. 

St.  Aussille,  Auxilia. 

St.  Austell,  or  Awstle,  whose  feast 
is  on  Trinity  Sunday,  is  supposed  to  be 
the  same  as  Hawsttl,  the  twenty-fifth 
daughter  of  Bryohan.  Arnold  Forster. 
See  St.  Almheda. 

St.  Austreberta  (Anstrebert,  Eus- 
treberga),  Feb.  0, 10, 16,  Oct.  19  (trans- 
lation), V.  Abbess,  f  703.  Patron  of 
Montreuil,  in  Picardy.  Bepresented  (1 ) 
plunging  her  arm  into  an  oven,  in  allu- 
sion to  the  legend  that  as  her  broom 
was  burnt  and  she  had  to  sweep  the  oven 
just  before  putting  in  the  bread,  she  went 
in  and  dusted  it  with  her  sleeves ;  (2) 
with  an  ass,  perhaps  to  denote  the 
humility  with  which,  though  of  high 
rank,  she  performed  the  meanest  offices 
of  the  convent. 

Daughter  of  Vaufroi,  mayor  of  the 
palace  under  Childeric,  or  Dagobert  II. 


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Her  mother  was  St.  Fbamechilde,  or 
Fbameuse.  Austreberta  was  born  at 
Therouane,  in  Belgium.  It  is  asserted 
that,  at  the  moment  of  her  birth,  a  super- 
natural light  shone  in  the  room,  a  sweet 
odour  filled  the  neighbourhood,  and  a 
white  dove,  which  had  been  seen  to  fly 
all  about  the  town,  finally  settled  on  the 
head  of  the  new-born  child.  Her  vow 
of  celibacy  was  confirmed  by  the  appari- 
tion 3t  a  veil  descending  on  her  head  as 
she  looked  at  herself  in  a  well.  Her 
father  having  promised  her  in  marriage 
to  a  young  nobleman,  she  fled  and  hid 
herself.  Finding  the  roads  flooded  and 
bridges  washed  away  by  the  river  Gange, 
she  walked  on  the  water.  She  received 
the  religious  veil  from  St.  Omer,  Bishop 
of  Therouane,  who  then  restored  her  to 
her  parents.  She  lived  the  life  of  a  nun 
in  their  house,  and  after  a  time  betook 
herself,  with  their  approval,  to  the  con- 
vent of  Port  on  the  Somme,  where  Ber- 
goflede  was  abbess.  Austreberta  was 
almost  immediately  elected  prioress.  She 
was  afterwards  abbess  of  a  new  convent 
in  Normandy:  its  name  is  unknown;  it 
was  built  by  Amelbert  for  his  daughter. 
Some  of  the  nuns,  having  tried  and  failed 
to  poison  St.  Austreberta,  accused  her  of 
cruelty  to  the  said  daughter  of  Amel- 
bert, of  wasting  the  goods  of  the  com- 
munity, and  of  other  offences.  He  came 
and  reproached  Austreberta  bitterly.  In 
his  ungovernable  rage  he  drew  his  sword. 
She  presented  her  neck,  and  thus  caused 
Amelbert  to  recover  from  his  fury  and 
honour  her  saintly  courage  and  humility. 
She  is  said  to  have  restored  to  life  a 
nun  who  hadg  been  killed  through  her 
own  disobedience.  Being  unable  to 
manage  these  refractory  nuns,  she  com- 
plied with  the  request  of  St.  Filibert, 
Abbot  of  Jumieges,  to  undertake  the  care 
of  the  new  convent  he  had  built  at 
Pavilly,  in  the  district  of  Caux,  in  Nor- 
mandy. It  was  afterwards  destroyed  in 
an  invasion  of  the  Normans,  and  a  hospice 
for  Benedictine  monks  was  built  on  the 
spot  in  later  times.  BM.  Baillet  says 
her  Life,  by  a  writer  almost  contem- 
porary, is  fairly  reliable.  Martin,  from 
Surius.    Butler.  Bollandus. 

St.  Austregild,  Agia,  mother  of  St. 
Loup. 


St.  Austrude,  Oct  17  (Anstbudb, 
Ansthuse,  Astrude,  Audru,  Ostbu),  V. 
Abbess  of  Laon.  "f  088  or  707.  Daughter 
of  B.  Blandin  or  Bason  and  St.  Sala« 
bekoa.  Born  in  the  diocese  of  Toul,  in 
Lorraine,  about  034.  She  was  conse- 
crated to  God  before  her  birth  by  her 
mother.  When  Austrude  was  three 
years  old,  St.  Salaberga,  with  her  hus- 
band^ consent,  left  her  home  and  became 
a  nun.  At  the  age  of  twelve  St*  Aug*- 
trude  was  asked  in  marriage  by  Laudran, 
a  rich  young  nobleman.  Her  father  left 
the  decision  of  the  matter  to  her,  and 
she  said  she  had  already  chosen  an  im- 
mortal Husband.  Accordingly,  she  at 
once  took  the  veil  in  the  double  monas- 
tery of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  at  Laon. 
It  was  built  and  governed  by  her  mother. 
She  gave  such  proofs  of  piety  and  capa- 
bility, that  on  Salaberga's  death  she  was 
chosen  to  succeed  her  as  abbess,  at  the 
early  age  of  twenty.  She  declined  the 
office  on  the  plea  of  her  youth  and  inex- 
perience, but  as  the  whole  community 
demanded  her  appointment,  she  was 
obliged  to  accept  the  post  in  obedience 
to  the  King  of  France  and  the  Bishop 
of  Laon.  The  murder  of  her  brother, 
B.  Baldwin,  was  a  great  grief  to  her. 
The  same  enemies  who  had  plotted  his 
assassination  accused  St  Austrude  to 
King  Thierry  III.,  of  favouring  the  party 
of  the  unfortunate  Dagobort  II.,  son  of 
St.  Sigebert,  who  had  been  killed  in  080, 
in  the  war  against  Thierry.  Ebroin, 
mayor  of  the  palace,  was  muoh  incensed 
against  her,  and  was  only  convinced  of 
her  innocence  by  the  apparition  of  a 
globe  of  fire  above  the  abbey,  where- 
upon he  became  her  friend  and  protector. 
Soon  afterwards  she  had  a  narrow  escape 
from  assassination.  Her  intended  mur- 
derer, being  touched  by  finding  her 
engaged  in  prayer,  confessed  his  sin,  and 
obtained  her  forgiveness.  In  a  civil 
broil,  her  abbey  was  in  great  danger  of 
being  pillaged,  for  Ebrohard  burned  a 
great  part  of  the  town  of  Laon,  and  for- 
cibly possessed  himself  of  the  keys  of 
the  abbey ;  but  in  the  moment  of  greatest 
peril,  its  inhabitants  learned  that  they 
were  saved  by  the  death  of  Ebrohard. 
Austrude's  troubles  were,  however,  not 
ended,  for  her  own  bishop,  Madelgar  or 


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06 


ST.  AUTORICIA 


Manger,  wanted  to  appropriate  to  himself 
her  abbey,  although  it  had  been  built 
by  her  family  entirely  at  their  own 
expense.  She  had  recourse  to  Pepin,  the 
new  mayor  of  the  palace,  who  took  her 
part.   Baillet.    Butler.  AA.SS. 

St.  Autoricia,  Dec.  16,  V.  M.  Ho- 
noured with  St.  Tkrtulla  at  Algiers. 
Guerin,  from  the  French  Mart 

St.  Auxilia,  or  Aussille,  Sept.  4,  V. 
M.  Worshipped  at  Thil  and  Precy,  in 
Burgundy.  AA.SS.,  from  Castellanus. 
Petin,  Diet.  Hag.  Chatelain,  Martyrologie 
Universel. 

Auxiliary  Saints.  Represented  as  a 
group  of  fourteen,  each  with  an  emblem. 
Among  the  fourteen  are  three  women, 
Barbara  (1),  Catherine  (1),  and 
Margaret  (1).  I  have  seen  a  print 
in  which  St.  Agnes  (2)  also  figured. 
There  is  no  authority  for  supposing  the 
Auxiliary  Saints  to  be  more  powerful  or 
more  benevolent  than  other  saints.  The 
custom  of  resorting  specially  to  their 
patronage  is  supposed  to  have  begun  in 
Germany,  where  they  are  called  Hul- 
freichende.  The  men's  names  are :  Bla- 
sius,  bishop  of  Sebaste,  M.  George,  the 
great  Martyr.  Giles,  abbot.  Denis,  M. 
Erasmus,  bishop,  M.  Vitus,  M.  Cyri- 
acus,  deacon,  M.  Pantaleon,  physician, 
M.  Eustace,  M.  Acacius,  or  Agath- 
angelos,  bishop  of  Antioch.  Christopher, 
giant,  M.  To  these,  Magnus,  abbot,  is 
sometimes  added.  Wetzer  and  Welte, 
Diet.  Thfologique,  article  by  Stemmer. 

B.  Ava,  or  Avia,  April  29,  V.  9th 
century.  She  was  blind,  and  gave  large 
gifts  to  many  churches  and  shrines  where 
she  prayed  to  receive  her  sight.  She 
was  told  by  an  angel  that  it  should  be 
given  to  her  if  she  would  pray  at  the 
sepulchre  and  relics  of  St.  Rainfrede, 
at  Dennain,  or  Dinant  sur  l'Escaut,  in 
Hainault.  She  therefore  bestowed  all 
her  property  on  the  church  there,  and 
took  the  veil  in  the  convent  where  that 
saint  had  been  first  abbess.  Ava  is 
sometimes  said  to  be  one  of  the  nine 
sisters  of  St.  Rainfrede.  Bucelin  says 
she  was  second  abbess  of  Dinan,  near 
Valenciennes ;  daughter  of  Adelbert, 
Count  of  Austrofandia,  and  Regina,  niece 
of  King  Pepin.  AA.SS. 

St.  Avace,  Avatia. 


St  Avangour,  Feb.  25.  St.  Wal- 
burga  is  worshipped  under  this  name  in 
Touraine. 

St.  Avatia,  or  Avace,  June  20.  She 
lived  in  the  valley  of  Agordia,  or  Agor- 
dino,  where  she  is  worshipped  in  a 
church  dedicated  in  her  honour;  it  is 
between  Belluno  and  Feltri,  in  Venetia. 
She  received  St.  Luxan,  bishop  of  Brixen, 
and  ministered  to  him  when  he  was 
driven  out  of  his  see.  This  is  men- 
tioned in  Ferrarius*  Catalogue  of  Italian 
Saints.    Papebroch,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Avaugourg,  or  Avongourg.  St. 
Walburga  is  so  called  in  some  parts  of 
Poitou  and  Touraine. 

St.  Ave.  French  for  Avia. 

St.  Avellia,  Avettia. 

St.  Avenia,  Oct.  22.  9th  century. 
Sister  or  wife  of  St.  Benedict,  abbot. 
They  were  natives  of  Patras,  in  the 
Morea,  and  left  their  country  with  nine 
other  religious  persons  bound  by  a  com- 
mon vow.  In  the  time  of  Charlemagne 
they  settled  at  •  Macerao,  in  Bretagne. 
Benedict  lived  to  a  great  age,  and  was 
buried  in  his  own  oratory,  bofore  the 
middle  of  the  9th  century.  Victor  de 
Buck,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Aventiana,  Valentiana. 

St.  Avetria,  Avettia. 

St.  Avettia,  May  28,  M.  at  Rome. 
Her  name,  sometimes  written  Avellia 
and  Avetria,  appears  in  a  list  of  martyrs 
this  day  in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome* 
Henschenius,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Aveze,  Avia  (2). 

St.  Avia  (1),  March  9.  The  holy 
grandmother.  M.  by  the  sword,  with 
her  husband,  their  son  and  daughter-in- 
law,  or  daughter  and  son-in-law,  and 
two  grandchildren.  Commemorated  by 
the  Greek  Church.  AA.SS. 

St.  Avia  (2),  Oct.  21  (Advisa,  Aurea, 
Av£,  Aveze,  Avoie,  Eve),  M.  of  vir- 
ginity. Date  uncertain.  She  was  killed 
by  barbarians.  Local  tradition  said  that 
one  of  the  ships  containing  the  com- 
panions of  St.  Ursula  was  wrecked  at 
Boulogne,  in  Picardy ;  St.  Avia  survived 
the  wreck,  and  lived  as  a  recluse  in  a 
wood  near  Diverna,  four  leagues  from 
Boulogne.  Other  accounts  say  she  was 
a  hermit  there  at  a  rather  later  date. 
Perhaps  the  same  as  Aurea  (C).  AA.SS. 


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ST.  BAHUTA 


97 


B.  Avia  (3),  Ava. 
St.  Avis,  Hedwio. 
St.  Avida,  May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 
Stadler. 

St  Avina,  May  2,  V.  M.  Stadler. 
St  Avita  (1),  Aug.  21,  M.  in  Italy. 
AA£S. 

St  Avita  (2),  cousin  and  disciple  of 
St.  Melania  (2).  Palladius  (cap.  136) 
testifies  that  he  saw  the  Blessed  Avita, 
wife  of  Aprinianus,  and  their  daughter 
Eunomia,  and  that  they  were  converted 
from  a  life  of  luxury  and  pleasure,  and 
became  worthy  to  sleep  in  Christ  free 
from  sin. 

St  Avoie  (1),  May  2.  Honoured 
in  Bretagne  and  at  Paris.  Chastelain 
says  she  is,  perhaps,  same  as  Advisa. 
Compare  Aurea  (6 ). 

St  Avoie  (2 ).  Hedwio. 

St  Avrince,  Aprincia. 

Awegnente  Ubaldini,  Clara 
Ubaldini. 

St  Awstle,  Austell. 

St  Axiosa.  See  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity. 

St  Axitiana,  June  29.  Penitent. 
Wife  of  Altalius,  a  Roman.  She  was 
converted  from  a  sinful  life  by  the 
preaching  of  St.  Peter  the  Apostle,  and 
honoured  in  the  Abyssinian  Church. 
Papebroch,  in  AA.SS.,  Prwter. 

St  Aya,  April  18  (Aia,  Aie,  Aye). 
•f  709.  Invoked  in  law-suits.  Wife 
of  St.  Hidulph.  She  has  been  styled 
Duchess  of  Lorraine,  Countess  of  Hai- 
nault,  of  Lobbes,  of  Cambrai,  and  of 
Ardennes;  but  these  principalities  did 
not  exist  in  her  time.  In  665  St. 
Hidulph  became  a  monk  at  Lobbes,  and 
Aya,  a  nun  under  St.  Waltrude,  at 
Castrilocus,  afterwards  Mons\  She  pre- 
sented to  this  monastery  her  lands  of 


Guesmes,  Nimy,  Braine-le-Willottc  fnow 
Braine-le-Comte),  and  Maisieres.  About 
eighty  years  after  her  death  some  of 
her  relations  applied  to  the  authorities 
of  the  land  for  a  restitution  of  the  family 
estates.  The  title-deeds  had  been  lost. 
By  desire  of  the  nuns,  the  litigants  and 
other  persons  assembled  with  the  court 
at  the  tomb  of  the  saint  One  of  the 
nuns  said,  in  a  loud  voice,  "  Great  Saint, 
they  wish  to  take  from  us  Guesmes, 
Nimy,  Maisieres,  and  Braine,  which  you 
gave  to  us.  Speak  in  favour  of  your 
daughters,  and  confirm  the  gifts  you 
made  in  your  life."  A  clear  and  dis- 
tinct voice  came  from  the  tomb,  and  was 
heard  by  everybody  present,  saying,  u  I 
ratify  all  these  gifts  which  I  made  to 
the  Church."  Coret,  Le  Triomphe  de 
Ste.  Aye,  Mons,  1674.  Biographie  Beige. 
i.  575. 

St  Ayesia,  Aesia. 

St  Aza  (1),  Dec.  13.  Honoured  with 
St.  Anastasia.    Grseco-Slav.  Calendar. 

St  Aza  (2),  April  19.  Daughter  of 
St.  Lazarus,  a  king  in  that  commodious 
region  u  the  East."  They  came  from 
their  own  country  to  Borne  to  venerate 
the  tombs  of  the  Apostles.  Then, 
having  visited  some  of  the  most  famous 
places  of  religious  resort  in  France,  they 
settled  down  as  hermits  near  the  mon- 
astery of  Moyen-Moutier,  in  Lorraine, 
where  they  died.  Their  relics  worked 
miracles,  and  were  brought  to  light  in 
the  11th  century.    GuSrin.  P.B. 

St  Azarie,  patron  of  a  church  at 
Glane.    Mas  Latrie,  Tresor. 

St  Azelie,  Ada. 

St.  Azelle,  Asella. 

St.  Azenor,  Dec.  7.  Princess  of  Leon, 
in  Bretagne.  6th  or  7th  century.  Mas. 
Latrie,  Tresor. 


St  Babet,  Elizabeth  or  Isabel. 
Cahier. 

St  Babila,  or  Babilia,  or  Babylla, 
daughter  of  St.  Gerasine.    See  Ursula. 

St  Babilia.  Sometimes  means  Bal- 
bina. 

St.  Babion,  patron  of  a  church  in 
Saintonge.    Mas  Latrie,  Trfoor. 


B 

St.  Badechild,  Bathilde. 

Bagan  and  Eugenia  (4),  Jan.  22, 
W.  Neale,  from  the  Armcnto- Georgian 
Calendar. 

St  Bahuta,  Nov.  20,  Widow,  M. 
c.  343.  A  great  number  of  Christians 
suffered  martyrdom  with  St.  Narses, 
Bishop  of  Sciaharcadat,  in  Beth-Germa, 

H 


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98 


ST.  BAICHE 


in  Persia.  Among  them  were  Bahuta, 
widow,  Thecla,  Danacha,  Tatona, 
Mama,  Mazachia,  and  Anna,  virgins  of 
Beth-Seleucia ;  Abiata,  Hates,  and 
Mamlacha,  virgins  of  Beth-Germa. 
Petite  Bollandistes. 

St.  Baiche,  Nov.  20.  A  Persian 
nun.  Neale,  quoting  the  Armenio- 
Georgian  Calendar, 

St.  Balbina  (l),  March  31,  V.  M. 
Patron  against  scrofula,  "f  130.  Kepre- 
sented  holding  chains.  Daughter  of  St. 
Quirinus,  M.,  a  Boman  tribune,  who  was 
persuaded  by  St.  Hermes,  prefect  of  the 
city,  and  at  that  time  a  prisoner  for  the 
sake  of  his  Christian  faith,  to  visit  St. 
Alexander,  the  Pope,  who  was  also  in 
prison.  Quirinus  said  to  Alexander,  "  I 
have  a  grown-up  daughter,  and  I  wish 
to  have  her  married.  She  is  very  pretty, 
but  she  is  disfigured  by  lumps  and  sores 
on  her  neck.  If  you  can  cure  her,  I 
and  all  my  household  will  believe  in 
your  God  and  be  baptized."  Alexander 
said,  "  If  you  will  take  the  fetters  off  my 
nock  and  put  them  on  hers,  she  will  be 
cured."  Quirinus  did  so,  and  Alexander 
blessed  them  both.  A  boy  then  appeared 
to  Balbina,  bearing  a  torch  and  telling 
her  she  was  cured,  and  she  was  to  have 
no  earthly  husband,  but  to  be  the  bride 
of  Christ.  When  he  had  said  this,  he 
disappeared,  and  Balbina  was  healed  of 
her  sores  and  was  baptized  with  Quiri- 
nus, Exuperia  her  mother,  and  all  their 
household.  As  Balbina  often  kissed  the 
fetters  that  had  cured  her,  Alexander 
said,  "  Do  not  kiss  these  bonds,  but  seek 
for  the  chains  of  my  master,  St.  Peter, 
and  kiss  them."  Then  Balbina  sought 
them  with  great  diligence,  and  at  last 
found  them.  St.  Theodora,  sister  of 
the  Prefect  Hermes,  entreated  Balbina 
to  give  her  the  chains,  which  she  did. 
At  that  time  Aurelian,  being  enraged 
against  the  Christians,  sent  soldiers  to 
take  all  the  prisoners  who  had  been 
baptized,  and  put  them  in  an  old  ship,  in 
which  they  were  sent  out  to  sea,  tied 
together  by  their  hands*  with  stones 
round  their  necks,  and  the  ship  was 
sunk.  St.  Balbina  was  among  them. 
Other  accounts  do  not  mention  her 
martyrdom,  but  say  she  was  buried  with 
her  father  in  the  Via  Appia,  in  the 


cemetery  of  Pretextatus,  which  is  some- 
times called  by  her  name  on  account  of 
the  church  built  there  in  her  honour  by 
St.  Mark,  Pope  (336).    B.M.  AA.SS. 

B.  Balbina  (2),  March  11.  O.SJT. 
13th  century.  Niece  of  St.  Clara  (2). 
Sister  of  B.  Amata,  who  was  one  of  St. 
Clara's  first  nuns.  Their  father  was 
Martini  de  Corano.  Balbina  joined  the 
new  community  in  its  second  year,  and 
was  eventually  first  abbess  of  the  second 
convent  of  the  Order  of  St.  Clara  at 
Spello.  Balbina  and  Amata  are  men- 
tioned in  the  Franciscan  Martijrology. 
Jacobilli,  Be  Sanctis  Umbride.  AAJSS., 
Pneter.  Mrs.  Oliphant,  Francis  of 
Assist. 

St.  Balda,  Dec.  9,  V.  Third  Abbess 
of  Jouarre,  in  the  diocese  of  Meaux. 
After  having  been  a  nun  for  some  years 
under  her  nieces,  St.  Theodechild  and 
St.  Ailbert,  who  were  successively 
Abbesses  of  Jouarre,  she  succeeded  Ail- 
bert in  that  ofiice  about  680,  and  died  at 
a  great  age  in  the  odour  of  sanctity. 
Ferrarius,  Caialogus  Sanctorum.  Buce- 
linus.  Lechner. 

St.  Baldechild,  Bathilde. 

St.  Baldegund,  Feb.  10  (Baude- 
oonde,  Waldeound).  Between  the 
middle  of  Gth  and  middle  of  8th  cen- 
turies. A  Benedictine  abbess  in  France, 
mentioned  in  several  old  martyrologies. 
AA.SS.    Boll.    Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 

St.  Balsamia,  Oct.  25,  Nov.  lt> 
(Balzamie,  Bausame,  Bauzanne,  Nor- 
rice).  5th  century.  Balsamia  was  the 
mother  of  St.  Celsinus,  or  Soussin,  whose 
festival  is  held  on  Oct.  25  at  Bheims, 
Nov.  10  at  Laon.  She  was  the  nurse  of 
St.  Remigius,  or  Reini,  and  is  therefore 
generally  called  Sainte  Norrice,  and  by 
this  name  the  collegiate  church  at 
Bheims  was  dedicated  in  her  honour. 
In  the  Breviary  of  Rheims  her  worship 
is  prescribed  for  Nov.  10.  AA.SS. 
Chastelain,  Voc.  Hag.  Petits  Bollandistes. 

St.  Baltilda,  Bathilde. 

B.  Baptista  Varani,  or  Camilla 
(4),  May  31.  O.S.F.  t  1527.  Her 
family  were  princes  of  Camerino,  in 
Umbria.  Her  father,  Julius  Caesar 
Varano,  or  Verano,  served  with  distinc- 
tion, first  in  the  wars  of  Venice,  and 
afterwards  under  Matthias  Corvinus, 


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ST.  BARBARA 


09 


King  of  Hungary,  and  was  at  one  time 
Viceroy  of  Naples  for  King  Ferdinand. 
Her  mother  was  Joanna  Malatesta  of 
Bimini.  They  had  four  sons  and  one 
daughter,  called  at  first  Camilla.  She 
was  born  in  troubled  times.  Two  of  her 
father's  brothers,  with  their  sons,  had 
been  put  to  death  for  being  implicated 
in  a  conspiracy.  In  1481  Camilla  took 
the  veil  at  Urbino,  and  with  it  the  name 
of  Baptista.  After  a  few  years  she 
returned  to  Camerino,  and  was  made 
abbess  of  the  nuns  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Clara  there.  She  wrought  miracles, 
and  was  revered  as  a  saint  by  the  people 
of  Camerino  during  her  life.  She  was 
a  mystic,  and  received  many  marks  of 
divine  favour.  She  was  carried  in  the 
spirit  by  two  angels  to  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  and  remained  there  two  months. 
Christ  placed  three  lilies  on  her  breast. 
She  had  revelations  of  the  mental  suffer- 
ings of  Christ,  and  wrote  an  account  of 
them. 

In  1502  the  Camerentines  gave  them- 
selves up  to  Pope  Alexander  VI.  His 
son,  Caesar  Borgia,  cruelly  slaughtered 
Baptista's  father,  who  had  ruled  virtu- 
ously for  nearly  half  a  century,  and 
three  of  his  sons ;  the  youngest  survived, 
his  father  having  sent  him  with  the 
treasure  to  Venice  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war.  He  was  eventually  reinstated 
is  his  possessions,  and,  after  the  death  of 
Alexander,  the  two  following  Popes  con- 
firmed him  in  the  principality  or  duke- 
dom of  Camerino.  In  1527,  on  the  death 
of  Baptista,  this  brother,  John  Mary, 
made  a  magnificent  funeral  in  her 
honour,  and  the  people  began  at  once 
to  venerate  her  as  a  great  saint. 

Papebroch,  in  AA.SS.,  from  her  auto- 
biography, written  by  order  of  her  con- 
fessor. Her  life  has  been  written  in 
Italian  by  Cimarella,  and  also  by  Passino. 

St.  Barbada,  Paula  Babbata. 

St.  Barbalaba,  or  Bakbalabia,  M. 
at  Antioch.  AA.SS. 

St.  Barbara  (l),  Dec.  4,  10,  V.  M. 
(Babbe,  Babbill,  Basia,  or  Vabvaba). 
235  or  30G.  Called  by  John  Knox  "  the 
gunnaris  goddess."  She  is  one  of  the 
fourteen  Auxiliary  Saints.  Supposed 
to  be  the  Christian  adaptation  of  the  god- 
dess of  war.    Represented  (1)  with  a 


miniature  tower  in  her  hand ;  (2)  with  a 
tower  behind  her,  a  crown  on  her  head, 
and  holding  a  palm  or  a  sword ;  at  her 
left  side  a  chalice,  with  the  sun  in  it  as 
the  sacred  wafer,  as  if  she  were  credited 
with  giving  the  last  sacraments  to  those 
who  die  suddenly  in  piety.  In  German 
and  Flemish  pictures  she  holds  an 
ostrich's  or  a  peacock's  feather,  in  allu- 
sion to  the  phoenix  at  Heliopolis,  where 
she  was  born.  The  flesh  of  the  phoenix 
was  said  by  the  ancients  to  be  incor- 
ruptible, so  the  bird  became  the  symbol 
of  apotheosis  and  of  a  happy  immortality 
or  long  life. 

Barbara,  Catherine,  Euphemia,  and 
Margaret  are  the  four  great  patrons  of 
the  Eastern  Church.  Barbara  was  patron 
of  armourers,  gunsmiths,  artillery-men, 
brewers,  tilers,  thatchers,  carpenters, 
masons,  architects,  sappers  and  miners, 
bell-ringers,  hatters;  of  all  dangerous 
trades  involving  liability  to  sudden 
death  ;  also  of  the  goldsmiths  at  Borne ; 
of  firearms  and  fortiBcations ;  against 
storms,  thunderbolts,  sudden  death,  and 
final  impenitence ;  of  Hungary ;  of  the 
cities  of  Mantua,  Ferrara,  and  Guastalla ; 
of  Culemburg  and  Pedena  in  Istria. 

The  legend  of  St  Barbara  is  that  she 
was  the  daughter  of  Dioscurns,  a  rich 
nobleman,  who,  fearing  she  should  be 
taken  from  him  by  marriage  on  account 
of  her  great  beauty,  built  a  tower  in 
which  to  keep  her.  Here  she  lived  and 
watched  the  stars  until  she  became  con- 
vinced that  they  could  not  have  been 
made  by  her  father's  gods.  Having 
heard  of  a  new  and  purer  religion,  she 
contrived  to  receive  instruction  and  bap- 
tism from  a  Christian  priest  disguised  as 
a  physician.  Her  father  began  to  build 
her  a  bathing-place  in  the  garden,  but 
before  it  was  finished,  he  had  to  go  on  a 
long  journey.  During  his  absenoe,  she 
went  to  look  at  the  building,  and  finding 
that  Dioscurus  had  ordered  two  windows 
to  be  made  in  it,  she  persuaded  the  work- 
men, notwithstanding  their  fear  of  dis- 
obeying their  master,  to  make  three 
windows  in  honour  of  the  Trinity.  See- 
ing a  marble  pillar  beside  the  fountain, 
she  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  it, 
which  remained  there  as  if  engraved 
upon  the  marble.   After  her  martyrdom 


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B.  BARBARA 


many  came  to  pray  at  the  spot,  and,  look- 
ing on  the  cross,  were  healed  of  their 
infirmitiea  On  the  return  of  Dioscurus 
from  his  journey,  he  asked  why  there 
were  three  windows  in  the  chamber. 
Barbara  explained  to  him  the  mystio 
significance  of  the  number  three,  and 
avowed  herself  a  Christian.  He  was  so 
enraged  as  to  be  on  the  point  of  stabbing 
her ;  but  bethinking  him  that  he  might 
thereby  get  himself  into  trouble,  he 
denounced  her  to  the  governor  of  the 
place,  who  tried  in  vain  to  persuade  her 
to  abjure  her  religion,  and  then  ordered 
her  to  be  tortured.  Her  wounds  were 
miraculously  healed.  Whereupon  the 
governor  said  that  as  the  gods  showed 
her  such  compassion,  she  must  not  be 
ungrateful,  but  sacrifice  to  them.  As 
she  remained  firm,  notwithstanding  re- 
peated and  varied  tortures,  she  was  con- 
demned to  be  led  through  the  city  without 
any  clothing.  She  prayed  that  she  might 
be  hidden  from  the  eyes  of  unbelievers, 
and  she  was  covered  from  head  to  foot 
with  a  brightness  like  a  vesture.  The 
governor  then  ordered  her  to  be  be- 
headed. She  was  taken  to  a  hill  where 
malefactors  were  put  to  death.  Her 
father,  being  at  his  own  request  her 
executioner,  cut  off  her  head.  He  re- 
turned immediately  to  the  city,  boasting 
of  the  service  he  had  done  to  the  gods, 
and  saying  that  he  deserved  to  be 
honoured  by  the  Emperor,  and  to  have 
his  name  perpetuated.  While  he  was 
speaking,  a  thunderbolt  fell  from  heaven 
and  destroyed  him  utterly,  so  that  nothing 
remained  of  his  body ;  as  Barbara's  soul 
went  up,  his  went  down ;  and  while  she 
was  glorified  among  the  martyrs,  he  was 
torn  by  demons. 

Si  Barbara  has  long  been  honoured 
in  the  Latin,  Greek,  Russian,  and  Syriac 
Churches,  but  her  history  is  obscured  by 
a  variety  of  false  Acts.  Baronius  follows 
those  that  say  she  was  a  disciple  of 
Origen,  and  was  martyred  at  Nicomedia 
in  the  time  of  Maximums  I.,  who  raised 
the  sixth  general  persecution  after  the 
murder  of  Alexander  Severus,  235. 
Assemani,  however,  on  the  authority  of 
other  Acts,  says  that  she  was  martyred 
at  Heliopolis,  in  Egypt,  in  the  reign  of 
Galerius,  about  the  year  300.  The 


Greek  Synaxary  and  the  Emperor  Basil's 
Menology  support  this  opinion.  A  very 
old  monastery  at  Edessa  was  dedicated 
in  her  name.  B.M.,  Dec.  4.  Usuard 
and  MolanuB,  Dec.  16.  Ado  of  Treves. 
Villegas.  Metaphrastes.  Butler.  Mrs. 
Jameson.    Cahier,  GaractMstiques. 

Among  the  objects  furnished  for  the 
processions  of  Corpus  Christi  by  and  in 
the  borough  of  Dundee,  were  "Sane 
Barbill  castel,  a  credit  and  ihre  barnis 
maid  of  claith,  Abraamis  hat,  and  ihre 
hedis  of  hayrP  Scottish  Bevietc,  No.  12, 
quoting  Maxwell's  History  of  Old  Dun* 
dee. 

B.  Barbara  (2),  Sept.  l.  f  1472- 
Daughter  of  Albert  the  Pious,  Duke  of 
Bavaria,  and  Duchess  Anna,  daughter  of 
Duke  Erick  of  Brunswick.  Duke  Albert 
refused  the  crown  of  Bohemia,  lest,  be- 
coming engrossed  with  its  cares  and 
pomps,  he  should  lose  the  heavenly 
crown.  In  the  same  spirit  his  daughter 
despised  all  worldly  state,  and  refused 
the  crown  of  France.  From  the  age  of 
five  she  was  brought  up  in  the  nunnery 
of  St.  Clara  am  Anger,  at  Munich.  After 
her  parents'  death,  and  before  she  had 
taken  any  vows,  ambassadors  arrived 
from  the  young  King  of  France,  to  ask 
her  to  be  his  wife.  Her  brother,  Albert 
II.,  the  Wise,  told  her  of  the  offer,  and 
asked  for  her  decision.  She  said  she 
would  take  three  days  to  consider.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  she  gave  her  answer,, 
namely,  that  where  her  parents  had 
placed  her,  there  she  would  serve  God 
for  the  rest  of  her  life.  Albert  agreed, 
and  had  the  gate  of  the  convent  guarded, 
lest  the  French  should  attempt  to  carry 
her  off.  Barbara  had  in  her  possession 
three  presents  from  her  parents,  which 
she  valued  very  much :  a  plant  of  rose- 
mary ;  a  cage  containing  a  great  number 
of  birds  of  various  kinds,  which  sang 
with  her  when  she  sang  hymns  and 
psalms;  and  a  gold  chain,  which,  with 
permission  of  her  superiors,  she  always 
wore.  She  was  just  seventeen  when  all 
at  once  the  bush  died,  the  birds  died,  and 
the  chain  broke.  She  saw  in  this  coinci- 
dence a  warning  of  approaching  death, 
for  which  she  devoutly  prepared,  and 
gave  up  her  innocent  soul.  She  had 
twenty  companions  about  her  own  agcy 


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B.  BASILA 


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all  of  whom  used  to  join  in  singing 
prayers  and  praises  in  the  choir.  Four- 
teen day6  after  Barbara's  death  one  of 
these  maidens  died ;  in  fourteen  days 
more  another  died ;  and  so  on,  at  regular 
intervals,  until  all  the  twenty  were  gone 
to  sing  with  her  in  heaven.  Stadler  und 
Heim,  from  Bader. 

B.  Barbara  (3),  or  Barbe,  April  18. 
Oarmelite.  Called  in  religion  Mary  op 
the  Incarnation.  15(55-1618.  She  was 
born  in  Paris,  and  was  daughter  of 
Nicholas  Avrillot,  seigneur  de  Champlft- 
treux,  maf  tre  des  comptes.  She  married 
Pierre  Acarie,  and  had  six  children.  He 
died  1613,  and  she  became  a  lay  sister 
in  the  Order  of  Beformed  or  Barefooted 
Oarmelites  at  Amiens.  Her  daughter, 
Margaret  Acarie,  was  a  very  devout 
Oarmelite  nun.  (See  Theresa  (7).)  In 
France  Barbara  was  regarded  as  rounder 
of  the  order,  because  it  was  through  her 
-exertions  and  representations  that  it  was 
introduced  into  that  country.  The  nuns 
■at  Amiens  pressed  her  in  vain  to  become 
their  abbess.  She  died  a  nun,  at  Pon- 
toise,  in  a  community  of  Beformed 
Carmelites,  of  which  the  Ven.  Anna  op 
-St.  Bartholomew  was  the  first  prioress. 
Miracles  were  ascribed  to  Barbara.  The 
queen-mother,  Marie  de'  Medici,  erected 
a  magnificent  tomb  in  her  honour,  and 
headed  the  efforts  made  to  procure  her 
canonization.  In  1792  she  was  declared 
"  Blessed  "  by  Pius  VI.  In  the  Martyro- 
logy  of  the  Order  of  Barefooted  Car- 
melitesy  she  appears  as  "  Blessed  Mary  of 
the  Incarnation."  She  seems,  however, 
to  be  generally  remembered  as  Barbe 
Avrillot,  probably  because  many  nuns 
have  taken  the  name  of  Mary  of  the 
Incarnation,  amongst  them  two  saintly 
JFrench  women,  contemporary  with  Bar- 
bara; they  were  Amaurie  Trochet  and 
Marie  Guyard.  Neither  of  them  is 
honoured  with  worship  or  with  a  place 
in^  the  calendars.  A.B.M.  Michaud, 
Biographie  Univer telle.  Biografia  Ecclesi- 
Jistica.  Barbara's  Life  has  been  written 
l>y  Duval,  Maurice,  and  others. 

St  Barbata  (l),  Wilgefortis. 

St  Barbata  (2),  Paula  Barbata. 

St  Barbe,  Barbara. 

St  Barbea,  Jan.  29,  Sept.  5  (Bebea, 
Bevea,  Fivea,  Thibea).    1st  or  2nd 


century.  M.  at  Edessa  in  Syria,  with 
her  brother  St.  Sarbelius  or  Sabbellus, 
a  heathen  priest  in  the  time  of  Trajan 
(97-117)  or  that  of  Hadrian  (117-138). 
They  were  converted  by  St.  Barsimaaus, 
Bishop  of  Edessa,  and  afterwards 
brought  many  Greeks  to  Christianity. 
Sarbelius  was  sawn  asunder.  Barbea, 
after  having  the  flesh  scourged  off  her 
bones,  was  despatched  by  a  spear-wound 
in  the  back  of  her  head.  R.M.,  Jan.  29. 
AA.SS.,  Jan.  29,  Sept.  4.  In  the 
Menology  of  Basil,  Sept.  5,  they  are 
called  Thuthael  aud  Bebea ;  in  Slavo- 
nian calendars,  Sept.  5,  Thiphael  and 
Thibea,  or  Fifael  and  Fivea. 

St  Barbill,*  Barbara  (1). 

St.  Baripsabe,  Sept.  10.  In  some 
Eastern  calendars  Baripsabe's  name  is 
added  to  those  of  SS.  Menodora,  Metro- 
bora,  and  Nymphodora.  Greeco-Slavonic 
Calendar. 

Bans,  Paris,  or  Barka,  March  26, 
M.  with  Anna  (7). 

St  Baromia,  Beata  (l). 

St.  Barran,  Aug.  9,  an  Irish  V. 
Kelly's  Calendar,  from  "  Martyrology  of 
Tallagh." 

B.  Bartolommea  (l),  May  19,  V. 
of  Siena,  f  1348.  She  changed  her 
name  to  Elizabeth  on  entering  the 
Third  Order  of  Servites  or  Servants  of 
Mary,  founded  by  St.  Juliana  Falconieri. 
Bartolommea  was  a  beloved  disciple  of 
the  Blessed  Francis  of  Sienna,  of  the 
same  order.  Her  relics  were  kept  in 
the  church  of  the  Servants  of  Mary  at 
Siena,  and  worked  miracles,  her  head 
being  particularly  beneficial  to  de- 
moniacs. Papebroch,  in  AA.SS.  Mas 
Latrie,  Tresor. 

St.  Baruaba.  See  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity. 

St.  Basa  (1),  Sept.  21,  M.  at  Tyre. 
Greek  Synaxary,  quoted  by  the  AA.SS. 

SS.  Basa  (2),  Bassa  (l),  Aug.  21. 

St.  Basia  (1),  or  Basilia,  May  19,  M. 
at  Getulia,  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St  Basia  (2),  Barbara. 

St.  Basila,  or  Basilissa,  Sept.  22,  M. 
with  SS.  Aurea  (10)  and  Nusca.^  They 
are  worshipped  at  Ostia  and  in  Via 
Salaria.  Basila's  body  is  kept  in  the 
church  of  St.  Paul  at  Borne.  Perhaps 
the  same  as  St.  Bassilla,  M.  304,  who 


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102 


ST.  BASILIA 


is  honoured  the  same  day.  Papebroch, 
in  AA.SS. 

St.  Basilia,  Basia,  etc.  Seven 
martyrs  who  suffered  at  different  times 
and  places  occur  on  different  days  in  the 
calendars  ;  one  of  them  was  pnt  to  death 
at  Alexandria  with  Leonides,  the  father 
of  Origen,  April  22,  c.  204.  AA.SS. 

St.  Basilica  (1),  or  Basilissa  (7), 
Nov.  18,  M.    Sister  of  Oricula. 

St.  Basilica  (2),  Placidia  (i). 

St.  Basilica  (3),  same  as  Basilissa 
(8),  Abbess  of  Horres. 

St.  Basilissa  (1),  April  15.  Mar- 
tyred with  St.  Anastasia  at  Rome,  in 
the  time  of  Nero.  Represented  burying 
the  martyrs.  They  were  women  of  rank, 
and  disciples  of  the  Apostles.  Their 
tongues  were  cut  out,  and  their  feet  cut 
off,  and  they  were  slain  by  the  sword. 
B.M.    Callot.  Husenbeth. 

St.  Basilissa  (2),  Basilla,  or  Bas- 
sila,  March  22,  2G,  M.  under  Decius.  c. 
252.  A  rich  woman,  who  gave  money, 
for  the  Christians,  to  St.  Callinica ;  both 
were  put  to  death  when  discovered. 
B.M.,  March  22. 

St.  Basilissa  (3),  Sept.  3,  V.  Mar- 
tyred at  Nicomedia,  under  Diocletian. 
When  she  was  nine  years  old  she  was 
denounced  as  a  Christian  to  Alexander 
the  governor,  and  was  by  his  order 
scourged,  then  her  ankles  were  pierced 
and  she  was  hung  up  with  her  head 
down,  and  tormented  with  the  smoke  of 
pitch  and  sulphur,  next  she  was  cast 
into  the  fire,  and  being  taken  out  unhurt, 
two  lions  were  let  loose  against  her, 
but  they  would  not  touch  her.  When 
Alexander  saw  those  miracles  and  the 
courage  and  determination  of  the  child, 
he  believed  in  Christ,  and  begged  her  to 
pray  for  him.  He  reformed  his  life,  and 
died  in  peace.  Set  at  liberty,  Basilissa 
went  out  of  the  city,  and  being  thirsty 
she  prayed  and  a  fountain  of  water 
sprang  up  from  the  earth ;  she  drank, 
and  gave  thanks;  then  standing  on  a 
stone  and  praying,  she  gave  up  her  soul 
to  God,  and  the  faithful  are  cured  of 
all  diseases  at  the  fountain  to  this  day. 
AA.SS.    Menology  of  Basil. 

St.  Basilissa  (4),  or  Bassila,  April 
16,  V.  Martyr  of  Corinth,  drowned. 
See  Chariessa. 


St.  Basilissa  (5),  March  12,  M. 
Daughter  of  Cone  or  Cione,  wife,  either 
of  Eustasius,  a  priest,  or  of  Felicon.  Put 
to  death  with  them  and  several  others  in 
Asia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Basilissa  (0),  Jan.  9,  M.  3rd 
century.  Also  called  St.  Castellana, 
and  in  Mart.  Salisbury  St.  Castell. 
Wife  of  St.  Julian  the  Hospitaller,  and 
commemorated  with  him  in  the  Boman 
Martyrology. 

Basilissa  and  Julian  are  represented 
(1)  with  lilies,  roses,  and  crowns;  (2) 
holding  one  lily  between  them ;  (3)  look- 
ing together  into  the  book  of  life,  where 
their  names  are  written. 

He  is  a  patron  of  travellers,  ferrymen, 
boatmen,  and  travelling  minstrels  who 
wander  from  door  to  door. 

The  legend  of  SS.  Julian  and  Basilissa 
is  as  follows  : — 

He  was  a  noble  count,  fond  of  the 
pleasures  of  the  world,  of  the  chase  in 
the  green  wood  by  day,  and  the  revel  in 
his  castle  by  night.  One  day  when  he 
was  hunting  a  deer,  it  turned  round  and 
spoke,  foretelling  that  he  should  cause 
the  death  of  his  father  and  mother.  The 
horrified  count  resolved  never  to  return 
to  his  home  where  so  terrible  a  fate 
awaited  him,  so  he  turned  his  horso 
and  fled  from  the  country.  He  travelled 
through  many  lands,  and  at  last  entered 
the  service  of  a  certain  king,  found  favour 
with  him,  was  promoted  to  great  honour, 
and  married  a  rich,  noble,  and  beautiful 
widow  named  Basilissa,  with  whom  he 
lived  very  happily  for  some  years,  and 
almost  forgot  the  doom  that  had  driven 
him  into  exile.  Meantimo  his  father  and 
mother,  having  sought  and  sent  messengers 
in  vain  in  search  of  their  only  son,  set- 
out  themselves  to  look  for  him.  When 
they  had  travelled  a  long  time — some- 
times finding  traces  of  him,  and  some- 
times nearly  losing  hope — they  came 
one  night  to  a  castle  and  asked  for  a 
night's  shelter  there.  The  lady  of  the 
house  received  the  pilgrims  hospitably 
for  Christ's  sake.  When  she  had  heard 
who  they  were  and  whom  they  sought, 
she  was  very  glad,  and  said,  "Blessed 
be  God,  who  has  brought  you  to  your 
son's  house!  Julian  is  with  the  king 
to-night,  but  he  will  return  to-morrow. 


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103 


I  am  Ba8ilissa,  his  wife.  Beet  with  us, 
and  all  that  we  have  is  yours."  Then 
she  waited  upon  them  dutifully,  gave 
them  supper,  and  put  them  to  sleep  in 
her  own  hed.  Next  morning,  before 
daylight,  she  went  to  church,  to  give 
thanks  for  the  arrival  of  her  husband's 
parents.  During  her  absence  Julian 
returned,  and  went  straightway  to  Basi- 
lissa'8  room.  In  the  twilight  he  saw 
two  persons  asleep  there.  Without  a 
moment's  consideration,  he  drew  his 
sword  and  killed  them  both.  As  he 
rushed  madly  from  the  house,  he  met 
Basilissa  returning  from  church,  radiant 
with  happiness,  and  eager  to  tell  him 
of  the  arrival  of  his  father  and  mother. 
Then  Julian  knew  what  he  had  done, 
and  understood  that  the  fate  from  which 
he  had  fled  had  overtaken  him.  He 
told  Basilissa  he  must  leave  her,  for 
lie  could  not  stay  in  his  home  nor  rest 
in  peace  until  he  had  done  penance 
and  obtained  pardon  for  this  dreadful 
crime.  Basilissa  said  she  would  go 
with  him.  They  left  their  castle,  and 
wandered  on  foot  until  they  came  to 
the  bank  of  a  river  where  persons  were 
often  drowned  in  attempting  to  cross 
the  water.  There  Julian  built  a  cell 
for  himself,  and  a  hospital  for  the  poor. 
He  ferried  travellers  across  the  stream 
by  day  or  night,  in  summer  or  winter, 
while  Basilissa  tended  the  poor  and  the 
sick  in  the  hospital.  One  night  in 
winter,  when  the  river  was  swollen  with 
rain  and  torrents  from  the  mountains, 
and  was  raging  past  his  door,  he  heard 
a  voice  calling  him  from  the  opposite 
bank.  He  went  across,  and  found  a 
young  leper,  who  appeared  to  be  dying 
of  cold  and  fatigue.  He  brought  him 
over  the  ferry,  placed  him  in  his  own 
bed,  and  watched  by  him  with  Basilissa 
until  morning.  At  daybreak  the  leper 
arose;  his  face  shone  like  that  of  an 
angel,  and  saying  to  Julian,  "  Thy 
penance  is  accepted,  and  thy  rest  is 
near,"  he  vanished  out  of  their  sight. 
Shortly  afterwards  they  both  died. 

There  are  thirty-six  Saints  Julian  in 
the  Raman  Martyrology ;  seven  of  them 
are  commemorated  in  January.  There  are 
also  many  Saints  Basilissa,  and  some  who 
are  called  indifferently  Basililissa,  Ba- 


sila,  Ba8silla',  Bassa,  etc. ;  hence  there 
is  some  confusion,  and  it  is  not  always 
easy  to  disentangle  them.  St.  Julian 
and  his  wife  are  believed  to  have  lived 
at  Antinoe,  in  Egypt.  They  spent  their 
lives  and  substance  in  charity,  and  made 
their  house  a  hospital,  serving  Jesns 
Christ  in  His  poor  and  sick,  sometimes 
entertaining  as  many  as  a  thousand. 
Julian  attended  to  the  men  in  one  part 
of  the  house,  while  Basilissa  took  care 
of  the  women  in  another.  On  account  of 
the  trials  she  endured  for  the  love  of 
God,  and  because  she  sustained  the 
courage  of  so  many  who  were  persecuted 
under  Diocletian,  Basilissa  has  a  place 
among  the  martyrs,  although  she  died  a 
natural  death.  Julian  survived  her  about 
a  year,  and  was  put  to  death  in  the  same 
persecution.  On  his  way  to  martyrdom, 
as  he  passed  a  school,  the  boys  came  out 
into  the  street  to  see  the  martyr  go  by. 
Celsus,  the  son  of  the  governor,  was  one 
of  them.  He  called  out  that  he  saw  the 
angels  accompanying  Julian,  and  giving 
him  a  crown;  then,  throwing  away  his 
books  and  exclaiming,  "  I  believe  in  the 
God  of  the  Christians,"  he  fell  at  the 
feet  of  Julian.  The  governor  ordered 
the  boy  to  be  kept  all  night  in  a  horrible 
dungeon  with  Julian.  During  the  night 
Antony,  a  priest  who  had  the  care  of 
seven  little  orphan  boys,  summoned  by 
an  angel,  went  with  his  boys  to  the 
prison,  and  baptized  Celsus  and  some  of 
the  guards,  who  were  converted.  The 
governor,  supposing  his  little  son  must 
have  had  quite  enough  of  Christianity 
in  one  night  in  prison,  sent  him  now  to 
his  mother.  He  told  her  all  that  had 
happened,  and  she  also  believed,  and  was 
baptized  by  Antony.  They  were  all  put 
to  death,  the  seven  boys  by  fire.  AA.SS. 
Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred  and  Legendary 
Art,  ii.  Martyrum  Acta.  Butler.  Mar- 
tin. Baillet  says  they  are  commemorated 
on  several  different  days  in  different 
places,  which  partly  accounts  for  the 
great  number  of  Basillas  and  Basi- 

LISSA8. 

St.  Basilissa  (7),  or  Basilica  (2), 
M.    c.  400  or  408.    Sister  of  St.  Ori- 

CULA. 

St.  Basilissa  (8),  or  Basilica  (3), 
Dec.  o,May  20.   t  78°-  °-S  B-  Disciple 


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104 


ST.  BASILLA 


and  successor  of  St.  Anastasia,  Abbess  of 
Horres,  near  Treves.  Bncelinns,  Men.  Ben. 

St.  Basilla  (1),  May  20,  Sept.  22 
(Basilia,  Basilissa,  Ba8silla,  etc.),  V. 
M.  c.  304.  Of  royal  lineage,  and  be- 
trothed to  a  man  of  equal  rank,  to  whom 
the  Golden  Legend  gives  the  name  of 
Pompey.  As  he  was  a  heathen,  she 
would  not  be  married  to  him.  He  ap- 
pealed to  the  Emperor  Gallienus,  who 
said  she  must  be  married  forthwith  or 
she  should  be  pierced  with  a  sword. 
She  said  she  already  had  the  King  of 
kings  for  her  husband,  and  could  not 
have  another.  She  was  put  to  death,  and 
was  buried  in  the  ancient  Via  Salaria, 
in  a  cemetery  that  belonged  to  her,  and 
which  has  sometimes  been  called  by  her 
name,  and  sometimes  by  the  names  of 
other  martyrs  buried  there.  Her  body 
was  removed  to  the  church  of  St.  Pras- 
8ede,  in  the  9th  century.  She  is  com- 
memorated in  the  ancient  Raman  Calendar, 
compiled  in  the  middle  of  the  4th  cen- 
tury, and  that  of  St.  Jerome  shows  that 
she  was  worshipped  at  her  own  cemetery 
on  Sept.  22.  She  is  also  honoured  on 
Sept.  11,  with  St.  Eugenia  and  SS.  Protus 
and  Hyacinthus.  jB.Af.,  May  20.  Pape- 
broch,  in  Sept  22.  Baillet,  Vies. 

IAgende  Dorte.  Canisius. 

St.  Basilla  (2\  or  Basilissa,  May 
17,  M.  at  Alexandria  with  SS.  Adrion 
and  Victor.  B.M. 

St.  Basilla  (3),  Aug.  29  (Basila, 
Basilissa),  M.  at  Smyrna,  or  Syrmium, 
or  Sirmich.    B.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Basilla  (4),  Dec.  24  or  25.  Fer- 
rarius  calls  her  mother  of  St.  Eugenia, 
but  the  legend  gives  Claudia  as  the  name 
of  Eugenia's  mother. 

St  Basiola,  *r  Basjela,  June  13, 
M.  Wife  of  St.  George,  tortured  and 
martyred  with  many  others  in  Abyssinia, 
encouraging  her  husband  and  the  rest 
to  the  last.  AA.8S. 

St.  Basjela,  Basiola. 

Bassa,  Basia,  Basila,  Basilla, 
Basllia,  Basilica,  Basilca,  Bassila, 
ba88ilica,  ba88ilia,  bassilla,  ba8ili88a, 
Ba88iu8sa,  are  sometimes  written  one 
for  the  other.  Many  saints  and  martyrs 
bore  these  names.  Three  Bassas  appear 
in  the  B.M.,  March  0,  Aug.  10,  and 
Aug.  21. 


Bassa,  or  Bassila,  or  Bassilla  was  a 
Latin  name  derived  from  Bas6us.  Basilia 
and  Basilissa  are  feminine  forms  of  the 
Greek  name  Basil,  a  king,  and  were  very 
popular  in  the  Roman  empire  at  the  time 
when  the  great  persecutions  occurred. 
Basilica  and  Basilca  appear  to  be  variants 
of  Basilia  or  Basilissa ;  the  8  and  the  I 
seem  to  have  been  doubled  or  left  single 
in  the  calendars,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
copyist.  Basa  may  have  been  a  separate 
name,  but  the  SS.  Basa,  Sept.  21  and 
Aug.  21,  are  identified  with  the  SS. 
Bassa  of  those  dates.  Basta  is  perhaps 
a  clerical  error  for  Bassa. 

St.  Bassa  (1),  or  Basa,  Aug.  21, 
M.  at  Edessa,  in  Syria,  in  the  tenth 
persecution,  end  of  3rd  or  beginning  of 
4th  century,  under  Maximian. 

The  Boman  Martyrology  says  that  she 
encouraged  her  three  sons  in  their  Chris- 
tian profession  and  martyrdom,  and, 
having  sent  them  before  her  to  receive 
the  palm,8he  was  beheaded  and  followed 
them  joyfully. 

The  Menohgy  of  Basil,  and  the  account 
given  by  Pinius  the  Bollandist,  say 
further  that  she  was  the  wife  of  a  heathen 
priest  named  Valerius,  who  accused  her 
and  her  sons  before  the  prefect  as  Chris- 
tians. The  sons,  whose  names  were 
Theognes  or  Theogonius,  Agapius,  and 
Fidelis  or  Pistis,  one  by  one  underwent 
the  most  horrible  tortures,  one  being 
flayed,  another  torn  to  pieces,  while  their 
mother  stood  by  and  encouraged  them 
to  endure  to  the  end.  Having  seen  them 
all  die  triumphantly  rather  than  give  up 
their  religion,  Bassa  endured  indescrib- 
able torments,  but  was  miraculously  pre- 
served from  injury.  At  last  the  baffled 
prefect  had  her  thrown  into  the  sea, 
whereupon  angels  took  her  in  a  boat  to 
the  island  of  Halo,  in  the  Hellespont. 
Her  wonderful  escapes  were  related  to 
Philip,  an  officer  of  the  government  in 
Greece,  with  the  representation  that  a 
woman  who  had  practised  so  many  sor- 
ceries should  not  be  suffered  to  live.  So 
he  sent  and  had  her  beheaded.  Her 
sons  are  honoured  with  her.  Pinius  says 
their  martyrdom  may  have  taken  place 
at  Larissa,  instead  of  Edessa.  B.M. 
AA.SS.    Men.  Basil. 

St.  Bassa  (2),  March  t>,  M.   Wife  of 


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ST.  BATHILDE 


105 


St.  Claudian.  They  were  tortured  and 
imprisoned  with  SS.  Victor  and  Vjc- 
iorinus,  and  all  died  in  prison  in  the 
course  of  three  years,  either  at  Apamea 
or  Nicomedia,  cities  of  Bithynia.  B.M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Bassa  (3),  Aug.  10,  with  SS. 
Paula  and  Agathonica,  VV.  MM.  at 
€arthage.    B.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Bassa  (4),  Basa  (l). 

SS.  Bassa  (5-9).  Besides  the  above, 
five  appear  as  martyrs. 

St.  Bassenes.  See  Faith,  Hope,  and 
-Charity. 

St.  Bassila,  or  Basilissa,  or  Bas- 
8illa,  Feb.  17,  M.  at  Home,  with  many 
others.  AA.SS. 

St  Bassilia,  Feb.  28,  M.  with  many 
others.  AA.SS. 

St  Basta,  Aug.  10,  V.  M.  at  Car- 
thage. Perhaps  the  same  as  Bassa,  com- 
memorated on  this  day  with  Paula  and 
Agathonica. 

St   Bathilde  (l),  Jan.  26,  30. 

680.  (Badechild,  Baldechild,  Bald- 
hild,  Baltilda,  Baudour,  Bauduria, 
Bauthieult,  Bautour,  Betilda,  Var- 
burgis.)  Queen  of  France.  Patron  and 
founder  of  the  abbeys  of  Chelles  and 
Corbie. 

Represented  as  queen  and  nun,  with  a 
ladder,  in  allusion  to  a  vision,  or  as  a  pun 
upon  the  word  Chelles  (echeUe,  a  ladder). 

Wife  of  Clovis  II.  (638-656),  and 
mother  of  Clothaire  III.,  Childeric  II., 
and  Thierry  III. 

Of  Clovis  II.  the  Chronicle  of  St.  Denis 
-says,  "  Be  cestui  roy  Lays  puet  Ven  plus 
dire  de  mal  que  de  mal  que  de  bien."  He 
was  tolerably  devout,  but  had  so  many 
▼ices  that  they  eclipsed  his  virtues :  he 
was  drunken,  gluttonous,  and  dissolute. 
His  wife  was  "  de  lignage  Saisoigne,  Bau- 
thieut  avoit  non,  sainte  dame  et  religieuse 
et  plaine  de  la  paour  nostre  Seignour ;  et 
si  estoit  sage  dame  et  de  grant  biaute',  si  fu 
celle  qu  Ven  dit  sainte  Bautkieut  de  Chelle" 
She  was  a  slave  in  the  house  of  Erkon- 
wald  or  Archibald,  mayor  of  the  palace, 
who  married  her  to  Clovis  as  soon  as  he 
was  grown  up.  According  to  Sismondi, 
she  had  refused  to  become  the  mistress 
of  Erkonwald.  She  is  claimed  by  the 
English  hagiographers  as  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  lady  of  rank,  carried  off  by  pirates, 


and  sold  in  France  to  Erkonwald's  first 
wife,  on  whose  death  Erkonwald  pro- 
posed to  marry  Bathilde,  but  she  fled, 
and  only  returned  to  his  service  when  he 
had  married  again.  Others  say  she  was 
daughter  of  a  king  in  Germany,  and  was 
carried  captive  in  war  by  Clovis.  As  a 
fact,  her  origin  is  unknown.  Mezeray 
observes  on  this  point  that  when  one  has 
risen  to  high  rank, «'  on  n'a  qu9a  choisir  la 
race  dont  on  veut  etre  descendu" 

Slaves  were  publicly  sold  in  the  market 
at  St.  Denis  near  the  abbey.  The  traffic 
was  protected  by  the  abbot.  When  Ba- 
thilde became  queen  she  enacted  laws  to 
mitigate  the  condition  of  slaves,  and  to 
prevent  Christians  being  sold  as  such. 

One  day  Clovis  II.  went  to  the  abbey 
of  St.  Denis  to  see  the  holy  relics.  Not 
content  with  looking  at  them,  he  wished 
to  have  one  to  wear,  and  therefore  broke 
off  a  bone  of  the  arm  of  St.  Denis.  The 
same  hour  the  king  was  struck  with  mad- 
ness. To  appease  the  offended  saint,  he 
gave  him  several  towns,  and  had  the  bone 
covered  with  pure  gold  and  gems,  and 
put  back.  He  recovered  his  memory, 
and  lived  two  years  more,  but  was  never 
the  same  man  again. 

After  his  death,  in  656,  Bathilde  was 
Regent  for  some  years.  She  was  uni- 
versally respected,  but  she  seems  to  have 
confined  her  attention  to  matters  ecclesi- 
astical and  religious,  leaving  secular 
affairs  mainly  in  the  hands  of  the  mayors 
of  the  palace.  She  succeeded,  however, 
in  relieving  the  poor  people  from  some 
of  their  grievances,  especially  a  capitation 
tax,  which  caused  great  misery.  She  is 
a  remarkable  instance  of  a  woman  raised 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  station, 
acting  invariably  with  conscientious  dis- 
cretion, sympathizing  with  those  whose 
sufferings  she  had  once  known,  generous 
and  kind  to  all,  the  friend  of  the  best  and 
greatest  men  of  her  time. 

Batbilde's  great  devotion  to  St.  Eloy, 
goldsmith,  prime  minister,  and  bishop, 
was  probably  inspired  by  his  kindness 
to  Saxon  slaves,  as  well  as  by  his  other 
saintly  qualities.  In  659  she  heard  he 
was  dying.  She  hastened  to  Noyon, 
with  the  little  kings,  the  court,  and  a 
crowd  of  nobles,  who  had  a  great  affection 
for  the  venerable  prelate.    They  hoped 


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100 


ST.  BATHILDE 


to  receive  his  blessing,  but  to  their  great 
grief  be  was  already  dead  wben  tbey 
arrived.  The  queen,  in  the  depth  of  her 
sorrow,  had  only  the  consolation  of  un- 
covering and  reverently  kissing  the  dead 
face.  She  wished  to  bury  him  in  her 
monastery  of  Chelles.  The  nobles  wanted 
to  have  him  laid  in  their  capital.  The 
clergy  and  people  of  Noyon  considered 
him  their  own  saint,  and  refused  to  give 
up  the  sacred  remains.  The  departed 
bishop  declared  for  his  own  flock,  for 
when  the  coffin  was  to  be  taken  away,  it 
was  found  impossible  to  move  it.  As  he 
was  to  be  buried  in  the  monastery  of  St. 
Loup  (afterwards  called  St.  Eloi),  Ba- 
thildo  insisted  on  accompanying  the 
funeral  cortege  on  foot,  and  would  not 
mount  the  horse  provided  for  her. 

Her  three  sons,  like  the  rest  of  the 
faineant  kings,  were  puppets  in  the  hands 
of  the  mayors  of  the  palace,  who  divided 
the  three  kingdoms  among  their  nominal 
masters,  dethroning  or  reinstating  them 
at  will,  and  quarrelling  and  fighting  for 
their  own  interests  all  the  time.  The 
most  distinct  account  I  have  met  with  of 
these  faineant  reigns  is  in  Mezeray's 
History  of  France, 

To  quote  again  the  Chronicle  of  St. 
Denis — 

"D&s  lors  commenca  li  roiaume  de 
France  a  abeisser  et  a  decheoir  et  li  Eoi 
a  fourlignier  du  sens  et  de  la  puissance 
de  leur  ancessours.  Si  estoit  le  roiaumes 
gouvernez  par  Chambellenz  et  par  Con- 
nestables  qui  estoient  apele  Maistre  du 
palais  ne  li  Koi  n'avoient  tant  seulement 
que  le  non,  ne  de  riens  ne  servoient  fors 
de  boire  et  de  mengier.  En  un  chastel 
ou  en  un  manon  demouroient  toute  ranee 
jusques  aus  Kal  de  May.  Lors  issoient 
hors  en  un  chaarz  pour  saluer  le  pueple, 
et  pour  estre  salue  d'eulz,  dons  et  presens 
prenoient,  et  aucuns  en  rendoient,  puiz 
retournoient  a  l'ostel  et  estoient  einssi 
jusqu*  aus  autres  Kal  de  May." 

It  was  during  Bathilde's  regency  that 
Corbie,  a  great  estate  in  Picardy,  reverted 
to  the  Crown.  It  had  been  given  to 
Gontland,  a  Frank,  but  feudal  grants 
were  not  yet  hereditary,  and  on  his  death 
it  became  the  property  of  the  three  little 
imbecile  kings.  For  their  souls,  the  soul 
of  their  mad  father,  her  own  soul,  and 


the  good  of  the  people,  Bathilde  built  at 
Corbie  the  famous  monastery  of  St.  Peter, 
for  monks  under  the  rule  of  St.  Colum- 
banus. 

During  her  husband's  life  she  had 
magnificently  refounded  the  abbey  of 
St.  George  at  Chellos  on  the  Marne, 
about  ten  miles  from  Paris.  It  was  first 
founded  by  St.  Clotilda  (1).  After 
some  years  of  regency,  Bathilde  retired 
from  the  cares  of  government,  and  placed 
herself  under  St.  Bertilla,  whom  she 
had  appointed  Abbess  of  Chelles.  She 
declined  any  distinction  as  queen  or 
foundress,  but  swept  the  cloisters  and 
worked  in  the  kitchen  like  the  humblest 
nun.  On  her  death-bed  she  was  cheered 
with  a  vision  of  a  luminous  ladder,  which 
angels  were  calling  her  to  ascend. 

Her  name  is  in  the  B.M.,  Jan.  26 ;  in 
the  French  Mart.,  Jan.  30.  Sismondi, 
Histoire  des  Frangais.  Le  Glay,  La  Gaule 
Belgique.  Chronicle  of  St.  Denis.  Meze- 
ray,  Life  of  St.  Bertha,  and  other  saints 
of  the  period,  given  by  Bouquet,  Butler, 
Baillet,  and  the  other  collectors  of  Lives 
of  Saints. 

St.  Bathilde  (2),  or  Kadegund  (2),  of 
Chelles.    f  c.  679. 

SS.  Bathusa  and  Verca,  MM. 
c.  370,  in  Gothia,  now  Koumania.  Mas 
Latrie,  Trfoor. 

St.  Battona.  A  name  erroneously 
given  to  St.  Dominica  of  Tropea. 

St.  Baudegonde,  Baldegund. 

St.  Baudour,  Bathilde  (1). 

St.  Bauduria,  Bathilde  (1). 

St.  Baula,  Sept.  27.  Coptic  Calendar. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Bausame,  Balsamia.  AA.SS. 
St.  Bauterina,  Jan.  18,  M.  at  Avitina. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Bauthieult,  Bathilde  (1). 
St.  Bautour,  Bathilde  (1). 
St.  Bauzanne,  Balsamia. 
St.  Baya,  Vey. 

St.  Bazalota,  June  6.  4th  century. 
Nun  in  Abyssinia.  Sister  of  St.  Michael, 
a  venerable  old  priest.  Commemorated 
with  him  and  St.  Euphemia  in  the  Abys- 
sinian Hagiology.  Papebroch,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Bazilia.  See  Sila. 

St.  Beata  (1),  March  8  (Baromia, 
Bera,  Berema,  Beroma,  Birona,  or 
Borema),  M.  in  Africa  with  St.  Cvril, 


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B.  BEATRICE  D'ESTE 


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bishop,  the  holy  women  Herenia  and 
Felicita8,  and  other  martyrs.  B.M. 
AA.SS. 

St  Beata  (2),  Benedicta. 

St  Beatrice  (1),  Jan.  29,  July  29 
(Beatrix,  Viatbix),  V.  M.  303. 

.Represented  holding  a  rope  in  her  left 
hand  and  a  candle  in  her  right.  (Husen- 
beth,  from  MS.  "Hours.") 

A  Roman  maiden.  Sister  of  the 
martyrs  Simplicius  and  Faustinus,  whom 
she  buried  in  the  Via  Portuensi.  She 
was  strangled  by  the  servants  in  her 
own  house,  by  order  of  Lucretius,  to 
whom  she  was  betrothed,  and  who  had 
denounced  her  as  a  Christian,  that  he 
might  seize  on  her  wealth.  She  was 
buried  by  St.  Lucina,  with  whom  she 
had  lived  for  seven  months.  While 
Lucretius  was  feasting  with  his  friends 
and  speaking  in  an  insulting  manner  of 
the  Christian  martyrs,  he  heard  a  voice 
say,  "Hear,  O  Lucretius,  thou  hast 
killed  and  taken  possession,  therefore 
thou  art  given  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy."  He  turned  pale  and  trembled, 
the  devil  entered  into  him  and  vexed 
him  for  three  hours,  and  then  he  died. 
All  the  guests  were  so  terrified  that  they 
became  Christians,  and  told  every  one 
how  St.  Beatrice  had  been  avenged. 
The  Leggendario  says  the  mysterious 
voice  was  that  of  an  infant  whom  a 
woman  was  nursing  as  she  stood  among 
the  crowd.  The  church  of  Bethersden, 
in  Kent,  is  the  only  one  in  England 
dedicated  in  honour  of  St.  Beatrice.  B.M.y 
July  29.    Martyrum  Acta.  Villegas. 

St  Beatrice  (2),  or  Bozena,  Nov. 
13.  12  th  or  early  13th  century.  Bozena 
was  probably  her  Bohemian  name,  that 
of  Beatrice  she  most  likely  adopted  on 
taking  the  veil.  Her  father,  Sezima, 
belonged  to  one  of  the  most  noble  and 
powerful  families  of  Bohemia,  the  Counts 
of  Guttenstein  and  the  Counts  of  Wrtby. 
Her  mother  was  Dobroslava,  of  the  family 
of  the  Cernine.  Her  brother  Hrosnata 
is  one  of  the  famous  saints  and  patrons 
of  Bohemia;  he  built,  in  1196,  a 
monastery  of  the  Praemonstratensian 
Order.  These  saints  are  supposed  to 
have  been  born  at  Tepl.  Beatrice  had  a 
sister  Woyslava,  a  holy  widow,  and  two 
unmarried  sisters,  Bohuslawa  and  Judith, 


who  became  nuns  with  her  in  the 
monastery  of  Chotiessow.  The  dates  of 
her  birth  and  death  are  not  known. 
Hrosnata  died  at  an  advanced  age  in 
1217.  The  Bollandists  promise  a  Life 
of  Beatrice  on  her  day.  The  above  is 
from  their  Life  of  St.  Hromata,  July  4, 
and  H.  J.  Karlik's  Hroznata  und  die 
Pramonstratenser  Abtei  Tepl. 

B.  Beatrice  (8)  d'Este,  May  10,  V. 
1200-1240.  Three  women  of  this  name 
and  family  are  honoured  for  their 
sanctity;  they  all  lived  in  the  13th 
century.  This  one  was  daughter  of  Azo, 
first  Marquis  of  Este,  Lord  of  Ancona, 
Ferrara,  Verona,  etc.  Her  mother  was 
the  Princess  Leonora,  daughter  of 
Thomas  III.,  of  Savoy.  Beatrice  was 
born  in  the  Castle  of  Este.  At  the  age 
of  fourteen  she  became  a  nun  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Margaret,  at  Solarola,  near 
Este.  When  she  had  been  there  a  year 
and  a  half,  finding  the  place  liable  to  be 
disturbed  by  soldiers,  she  removed,  with 
the  approbation  of  the  Bishop  of  Padua, 
to  the  monastery  of  St.  John  the  Baptist 
at  Gemmola,  or  Demola,  in  his  diocese. 
It  had  been  deserted  by  monks.  She 
restored  it  for  herself  and  her  com- 
panions, with  the  help  of  her  brother 
Azo.  B.  Juliana  of  Collalto  was  one 
of  ten  nuns  who  settled  with  her  at 
Gemmola.  Some  money  was  found  on 
the  altar,  and  although  there  was  none 
but  that  in  the  house.,  Beatrice  gave  it 
away  in  alms,  lest  it  should  be  a  begin- 
ning of  avarice  in  the  community.  Six 
years  after  her  death  her  body  and  the 
epitaph  were  translated  to  the  church  of 
St.  Sophia  at  Padua.  For  many  years 
afterwards  it  was  observed  that  when- 
ever anything  important  was  about  to 
happen  in  the  family  of  Este,  she  turned 
round  in  her  place,  and  a  great  noise 
was  heard  in  the  chapel.  Bucelinus, 
Men.  Ben.,  May  10,  and  Life  of  B. 
Juliana  of  Collalto,  Sept.  1.  Bucelinus 
gives  1220  as  her  date,  but  I  think  it  is 
the  date  of  her  taking  the  veil.  Her 
name  does  not  appear  in  the  Boman 
Martyrology,  but  her  niece  and  namesake 
is  called  "Blessed  Beatrice  Estense 
Secunda"  implying  that  the  aunt  is  the 
first.  Muratori,  Antichita  Estense.  Pape- 
broch,  in  AA.SS. 


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108 


B.  BEATRICE  D'ESTE 


B.  Beatrice  (4)  d'Este,  Jan.  18, 
Feb.  28.  f  1262  or  1270.  Niece  of 
Beatrice  (3).  Daughter  of  Azo,  second 
Marquis  of  Ferrara,  Mantua,  Verona, 
and  Ancona.  Her  mother  was  Joanna, 
sister  of  Kobert,  King  of  Apulia.  He 
must  have  been  one  of  the  Norman  dukes 
of  Apulia,  probably  the  last  before  the 
absorption  of  the  dukedom  into  the 
kingdom  of  Naples  in  1265.  Beatrice 
walked  from  her  childhood  in  the  steps 
-of  her  blessed  aunt  of  the  same  name. 
She  had  many  suitors,  among  whom  her 
father  chose  Galeazzo  Manfredi,  Lord  of 
Vicenza  and  Verardino.  Preparations 
were  made  for  a  grand  and  gay  wedding. 
Beatrice  was  sent  off  with  a  train  of 
noble  ladies  and  gentlemen  to  meet  her 
bridegroom.  When  they  arrived  at 
Milan,  a  messenger  met  them  with  the 
sad  news  that  Galeazzo  had  just  died  of 
wounds  received  in  battle.  The  wedding 
party  sadly  took  their  way  back  to 
Ferrara,  but  the  bride  would  not  re-enter 
the  city  or  return  to  the  life  she  had  left. 
She  stopped  at  St.  Lazarus,  near  Ferrara. 
She  changed  her  gay  attire  for  the  dress 
of  the  poor  people,  and  said  she  would 
now  choose  a  husband  of  whom  no 
earthly  accident  could  deprive  her. 
Seven  noble  maidens,  who  had  been  the 
-companions  of  her  brilliant  wedding 
journey,  and  four  of  her  serving-women, 
volunteered  to  remain  with  her.  They 
were  joined  by  so  many  others  that  the 
place  was  too  small,  and  Azo  built  and 
endowed  a  new  Benedictine  monastery 
for  her,  with  the  approbation  of  the  Pope. 
It  was  at  first  dedicated  in  the  name  of 
St.  Stephen  de  Bupta,  but  was  afterwards 
•called  St.  Anthony's.  Beatrice  took  the 
veil  in  1254,  and  lived  there  fifteen  years 
with  great  austerity,  piety,  and  charity. 
•She  died  Jan.  18,  1270,  and  was  imme- 
diately honoured  as  a  saint.  Her 
worship  was  approved  by  Clement  XIV. 
<1769-1775).  Pius  VI.  (1775-1800) 
<xmceded  a  festival,  Jan.  19,  with  office 
and  Mass.  Her  name  is  in  the  Bene- 
dictine Appendix  to  the  Roman  Martyro- 
logy  as  "The  second  Blessed  Beatrice 
of  Este,  Virgin,"  Jan.  18  and  Feb.  28. 
AA.SS.  Boll.,  Jan.,  vol.  ii.,  Addenda, 
And  Jan.  18.  Officia  Propria  Sanctorum 
Mruriee,  etc.,  prayers  and  lessons  for 


Jan.  19.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben.,  Jan. 
18. 

B.  Beatrice  (5)  d'Este,  July  11. 
13th  century.  Queen  of  Hungary.  The 
third  B.  Beatrice  of  Este  was  daughter 
of  Aldobrandino,  Marquis  of  Este,  who 
died  when  she  was  a  child,  and  she  was 
adopted  by  his  brother,  Azo  VII.  She 
was  about  sixteen  when,  in  1234,  she 
became  the  third  wife  of  her  cousin 
Andrew  II.,  King  of  Hungary,  an  old 
man  and  the  father  of  St.  Elizabeth  of 
Thuringia.  His  family  were  much  dis- 
pleased, as  they  did  not  wish  him  to  have 
a  son  by  his  young  wife.  Before  long 
he  died.  His  posthumous  6on  Stephen 
was  brought  up  at  Este,  and  married 
successively  two  Italian  ladies,  by  one 
of  whom  he  had  a  son,  Andrew  III., 
King  of  Hungary,  father  of  another  St. 
Elizabeth  (17).  Beatrice  became  a  nun 
at  Gemmola.  The  Bollandists  say  there 
is  no  authority  for  the  worship  of  this 
one.  She  is  called  "  Blessed  "  by  Wion 
and  a  few  other  writers.  AA.SS. 
Muratori,  Antichita  Estensi,  I.  419,  et 
8eq. ;  Mailath,  Hist,  of  Hungary,  i.  171. 

B.  Beatrice  (6),  March  12, 13.  Pro- 
monstratensian  nun  at  Porta  Angelica, 
on  the  Moselle,  in  the  diocese  of  Treves. 
The  Bollandists  could  not  discover  her 
history.  They  found  she  was  mentioned 
by  Galenius  and  in  the  records  of  the 
order.  Saussaye,  Martyrologium  Galli- 
canum,  March  12.  Nataltbus.  Le 
Paige,  Bibliotheca  Prsemonstratensii  Or- 
dinis,  and  Annotations  to  Baronius. 

B.  Beatrice  (7),  Fob.  28,  July  29. 

J 1263  or  1268.  First  Prioress  of  the 
istercian  monastery  of  Nazareth,  near 
Lira,  in  Brabant.  She  was  born  at 
Tillemont,  on  the  Geta,  in  Brabant. 
Her  parents,  Bartholomew  and  Gertrude, 
were  rich  and  devout.  At  the  age  of 
seven  she  joined  the  Beguines  for  a 
year.  Her  father  afterwards  placed  her 
in  the  monastery  of  Vallis  Florida.  She 
kept  her  spirit  pure  by  torturing  her 
body :  she  tied  ropes  tightly  round  her, 
wore  a  girdle  of  thorns,  and  otherwise 
shone  in  self-torture.  She  was  sorely 
tried  by  the  fear  of  death,  which  she 
strove  in  vain  to  overcome.  Christ 
pierced  her  heart  with  a  fiery  dart,  and 
told  her  that  He  loved  her  especially 


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B.  BEATRICE  DE  SILVA 


among  all  human  creatures.  Long  after 
her  death,  in  a  time  of  disturbance,  the 
nnns  fled  from  Nazareth  to  Lira. 
Baatrice's  body  was  left  walled,  np  at 
Nazareth,  but  was  carried  by  angels  to 
Lira,  in  16 16,  for  safety, — as  was  proved 
by  the  fact  that  several  persons  heard 
music  and  saw  a  light  in  the  middle  of 
the  night.  Gertrude  de  Greve  was 
abbess  at  the  time.  AA.SS.  Boll., 
July  29,  Prseter.  Buoelinus,  Men.  Ben., 
Feb.  28.  Henriquez,  Lilia,  July  29. 
Hugo  Menard,  Mart.  Ben.,  gives  her  day 
as  July  27,  and  places  her  death  in  1268. 
Her  Life  is  said  to  be  in  Mirseos's  Chron. 
Cistercii. 

B.  Beatrice  (8),  Havydis. 

B.  Beatrice  (9)  d'Ornacieux, 
Feb.  13.  "J"  1305.  Carthusian  nun  at 
Parmenie,  in  the  diocese  of  Grenoble. 
Represented  hammering  a  nail  into  her 
left  hand,  in  order  to  share  the  sufferings 
of  Christ.  Her  immemorial  worship 
was  confirmed  by  Pius  IX.  in  1869. 
Analecta  Juris  Pontificii,  series  xi.  264. 
Cahier,  Caraetdristiques. 

B.  Beatrice  (10),  Nov.  6.  Nun  in 
the  Cistercian  monastery  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary  of  Olivet,  near  Mari- 
montium,  in  Hainault.  She  was  ex- 
tremely beautiful.  Her  beauty  was  a 
snare  to  herself  and  to  an  unworthy 
priest  who  ministered  at  the  house. 
She  was  keeper  of  the  oratory,  and  had 
a  considerable  devotion  to  the  B.  V. 
Mary.  When  she  determined  to  elope 
with  the  priest,  she  laid  the  keys  on 
the  altar,  saying,  "I  have  served  you 
faithfully.  Here  I  give  up  my  charge 
and  give  you  back  your  keys.  I  am 
going  where  my  inclinations  call  me." 
She  went  off  with  the  priest,  who  soon 
deserted  her.  She  had  nothing  to  live 
on,  and  was  ashamed  to  return  to  her 
convent,  so  she  led  a  sinful  life  for 
fifteen  years.  At  last,  hankering  after 
the  better  life  she  had  left,  she  went  to 
the  gate  of  her  old  home  and  asked  the 
porteress  if  she  remembered  Sister 
Beatrice,  the  keeper  of  the  oratory. 
"  Yes,"  was  the  reply,  "I  knew  her  and 
know  her  very  well ;  she  is  a  holy 
woman  here  to  this  day."  Beatrice  did 
not  understand,  and  was  going  away, 
but  the  B.  V.  Mary,  to  whom  she  had 


oommended  herself  and  given  up  the 
keys,  said  to  her,  "I  have  done  your 
work  and  saved  your  character  all  these 
years.  Now  come  back  and  do  pen- 
ance." She  did  so,  and  lived  several 
years  in  holy  penitence  and  died  in 
the  odour  of  sanctity.  Henriquez,  Lilia 
CUtercii.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben.,  Nov. 
6.  The  Bollandists  promise  her  Life 
when  their  calendar  comes  down  to  her 
day. 

B.  Beatrice  (11)  Casata,  March  26. 
•f  1490.  The  Casati  were  an  old  family 
of  Milan.  Beatrice  married  Franchino, 
Count  of  Rusca,  or  Basconia.  In  her 
widowhood  she  was  distinguished  for 
piety  and  unworldliness.  She  died 
March  26,  1490.  Her  bones  were 
honourably  translated  from  an  old  to  a 
new  convent  at  Milan,  in  1551.  Hen- 
schenius  could  not  ascertain  whether  this 
was  on  the  ground  of  her  sanctity  or 
only  of  her  rank.  She  was  said  to  have 
wrought  several  miracles  both  before 
and  after  her  death.  She  is  com- 
memorated in  the  Franciscan  Martyrology. 
AA.SS.  Boll.,  July  17,  Prseter.  Gebet- 
Buch,  O.S.F.,  Dec.  19.  Mentioned  in 
the  Life  of  B.  Prudentia,  May  6,  AA.SS. 
Boll. 

B.  Beatrice  (12)  de  Silva,  Sept.  1, 
Oct.  8.  "f  1490.  In  Portuguese  she  is 
called  Bbites.  Founder  of  the  Franciscan 
Order  of  the  Conception  of  our  Lady.. 
Daughter  of  Gomez  de  Silva,  governor  of 
Campo  Mayor  and  Onguela,  and  of  Isabel 
Menez.  Sister  of  James,  first  Count  of 
Portalegre,  and  of  B.  Amadeo,  founder  of 
the  Amadeists.  She  was  related  to  the 
royal  family  of  Portugal.  When  Isabel, 
daughter  of  Edward,  King  of  Portugal 
(1433-1438),  married  John  II.,  King  of 
Castile  (1406-1454),  Beatrice  accom- 
panied her  to  that  kingdom.  This  was 
about  1442.  Her  beauty  procured  her 
a  great  deal  of  attention  at  the  Spanish 
court.  Numerous  duels  were  fought  on 
account  of  her.  She  had  many  offers 
of  marriage,  and  the  king  admired  her 
too  much.  The  queen,  being  jealous, 
imprisoned  her  in  her  own  room,  and; 
left  her  three  days  without  food.  While 
praying  for  life  and  innocency,  she 
received  a  promise  of  protection  from, 
the  B.  V.  Mart,  whom  she  saw  in  a 


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110 


B.  BEATRICE 


bine  cloak  and  white  gown,  as  she  is 
represented  iq  the  pictures  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception.  As  soon  as 
she  was  released,  she  fled  to  Toledo. 
On  the  way  thither  she  was  surprised  to 
hear  herself  addressed  in  her  native 
language  by  two  Franciscan  monks.  At 
iirst  she  supposed  the  queen  had  sent 
them  to  bring  her  back,  but  she  found 
that  one  of  them  was  St.  Anthony  of 
Padua.  When  they  had  promised  that 
she  should  be  the  spiritual  mother  of 
many  holy  women,  they  disappeared. 
She  shut  herself  up  in  a  Dominican  con- 
vent at  Toledo  for  forty  years,  seeing  no 
one  but  Queen  Isabel  the  Catholic,  wife 
of  Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  and  daughter 
of  the  king  and  queen  from  whom 
Beatrice  had  fled  in  her  youth.  She 
designed  a  new  order  in  honour  of  the 
Conception.  The  queen  used  her  in- 
fluence to  have  it  approved  by  the  Pope, 
and  gave  her,  in  1484,  the  palace  of 
Galliana  for  a  convent.  It  took  its 
name  from  the  chapel  of  St.  Faith,  that 
belonged  to  the  palace.  Although  the 
rule  was  Franciscan,  the  first  sisters 
were  twelvo  of  her  fellow-nuns  in  the 
Dominican  house  where  she  had  lived 
-so  long.  The  institute  was  approved  by 
Innocent  VIII.  in  1489.  Cardinal  Xime- 
nes,  O.S.F.,  had  this  order  united  to  the 
Olares,  whose  rule  they  adopted  with 
certain  mitigations.  In  1511  Pope 
Julius  II.  gave  the  Conceptionists  a  par- 
ticular rule,  leaving  them  still  incor- 
porated with  the  Clares.  Beatrice  died 
Sept.  1,  1490,  ten  days  before  the  time 
appointed  for  the  solemn  inauguration 
of  her  order.  She  is  much  honoured  in 
Spain,  and  her  Life  has  been  written  by 
Bivar  and  others.  One  of  the  peculiar 
austerities  of  this  branch  of  the  Order  of 
:St.  Francis  was  that  after  their  profession, 
the  nuns  were  never  again  allowed  to 
speak  to  any  secular  person,  even  their 
nearest  relations.  There  was  a  house 
of  the  order  at  Bome  in  1525,  and  one 
at  Milan  in  1539.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben., 
Oct.  8,  claims  her  as  a  Benedictine. 
Henriquez  places  her  among  the  Cister- 
cians, but  she  was  for  more  than  half 
her  life  a  Dominican  nun,  and  her  own 
order  was  Franciscan. 

Hey  lot,  Hutoire  des  Ordres  Monastiques, 


vii.  40.  Analecta  Juris  Pontificii,  iii. 
549.    Butler,  "  St.  Francis,"  note. 

B.  Beatrice  (13),  Nov.  26.  f  15<>5- 
One  of  4he  first  nuns  of  the  Dominican 
convent  of  St.  Catherine  of  Siena,  at 
Ferrara.  When  the  cemetery  was  being 
made,  she  got  into  a  grave  and  lay  down 
straight  and  still  as  if  she  were  dead. 
The  other  nuns  asked  her  why  she  did  so. 
She  said  because  she  was  destined  to  be 
the  first  person  buried  in  the  new  ceme- 
try,  which  proved  to  be  true.  Pio  says 
she  took  the  habit  at  an  early  age,  led  an 
angelic  life,  and  was  very  young  when 
she  died.  Razzi,  Predicatori.  Pio, 
Hist.  Dam.  Manoel  de  Lima,  Agial. 
Dam. 

B.  Beatrice  (14)  of  St.  Francis, 
Nov.  15,  Sept.  2.  16th  century.  During 
the  life  of  her  husband  she  belonged  to 
the  Third  Order  of  Minorites.  She  re- 
fused a  good  offer  of  a  second  marriage. 
She  built  the  Franciscan  convent  of  Villa 
Longa,  near  Lisbon,  giving  it  the  name 
of  Our  Lady  of  the  Powers.  She  was 
consecrated  a  nun  by  Mark  of  Lisbon, 
Bishop  of  Porto.  She  was  still  living  in 
1566.  The  Bollandists  promise  her  Life, 
Nov.  15.  She  is  mentioned  in  the  Fran- 
ciscan Prayer-book,  Sept.  2. 

Beatrice  (15)  of  the  Incarnation, 
May  5.  "f  1573  or  1574.  Carmelite 
nun  under  St.  Theresa.  Her  name  was 
Beatriz  Ones,  spelt  and  called  in  French 
Ognez.  She  was  of  noble  birth,  a  native 
of  Arroyo,  near  Santa  Gadea,  and  made 
her  profession  in  the  monastery  of  Our 
Lady  of  Mount  Carmel  at  Yalladolid, 
on  Sept.  17,  1570.  The  prioress  and  all 
the  nuns  declared  that  during  the  three 
years  she  lived  with  them  they  never 
saw  in  her  anything  with  which  fault 
could  be  found.  Great  outward  and 
inward  tranquillity  arose  from  her  being 
constantly  in  prayer  and  thanksgiving. 
Once  when  two  men  were  condemned  to 
be  burnt  for  atrocious  crimes,  she  was 
filled  with  compassion  for  their  souls, 
and  prayed  that  she  might  suffer  their 
bodily  penalty,  and  that  their  souls 
might  be  saved.  The  same  night  she 
was  seized  with  agonizing  pain,  that 
continued  as  long  as  she  lived.  "The 
criminals  made  a  good  death,  which 
seems  to  prove,"  says  Theresa,  "that 


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ST.  BEGGA 


111 


God  had  heard  her  prayer."  Beatrice 
showed  great  sweetness,  patience,  and 
perfect  obedience  daring  her  illness. 
4S  It  is  very  common,"  says  St.  Theresa, 
"  for  souls  given  to  prayer  to  wish  for 
sufferings  when  they  have  none,  bat  it  is 
not  common  for  those  who  have  them  to 
bear  them  and  be  glad."  About  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  before  Beatrice  died 
her  face  shone  and  was  so  full  of  joy 
that  all  present  thought  they  were  in 
heaven.  A  very  sweet  scent  arose  from 
her  body  as  it  was  laid  in  the  tomb. 
The  candles  that  were  used  during  tho 
funeral  rites  and  burial  suffered  not  the 
least  diminution  of  wax.  Theresa, 
Foundations,  xii. 

B.  Beatrice  (16)  of  Cantona.  16th' 
century.  Abbess  of  the  nuns  of  the 
Order  of  Christian  Doctrine,  founded 
1568,  by  St.  Charles  Borromeo.  Guene- 
bault,  Diet.  d'Icon. 

St.  Beatte,  Benedicta  (4)  of  Sens. 

St.  Bebea,  Barbea. 

St.  Bee  of  Egremont,  Beoa  (1). 

SS.  Beenan  and  Sara,  Dec.  10, 
MM.  in  Persia.  Their  history  is  pro- 
mised in  the  coming  volumes  of  the 
AA.SS. 

St  Bega  (1),  Oct.  cU,  Sept.  6  (Bee, 
Bees,  Beez,  Bez,  Begagh,  Begga,  Begha, 
Beya,  Brega,  Vaya,  Vee,  Vega,  Veya), 
V.  7th  century.  Patron  of  the  north- 
west of  England,  where  she  first  landed ; 
and  of  Norway.  Probable  patron  of 
places  called  Kilbucho,  Eilbees,  Eilbegie, 
Kilbagie,  etc.,  and  founder  of  a  nunnery 
near  Carlisle,  where  the  priory  of  Cope- 
land  was  afterwards  built. 

The  legend  is  that  St.  Bega,  commonly 
called  St.  Bee  of  Egremont,  was  the 
daughter  of  an  Irish  king,  and  was  the 
most  beautiful  woman  in  her  country. 
She  was  to  be  married  to  the  Eing  of 
Norway,  but  she  had  from  her  infancy 
vowed  herself  to  a  religious,  ascetic  life, 
and  in  token  of  her  betrothal  to  Christ 
had  received  from  an  angel  a  bracelet 
marked  with  the  sign  of  the  cross.  The 
night  before  her  wedding-day,  while  the 
guards  and  attendants  were  revelling  or 
sleeping,  she  fled,  taking  the  bracelet 
with  her.  Finding  no  ship,  she  cut  a 
turf,  and  on  it  crossed  the  sea  to  the 
opposite  coast.  She  landed  on  a  promon- 


tory in  Cumberland,  then  part  of  the 
kingdom  of  Northumbria.  Here  she 
lived  in  prayer  and  charity  for  a  long 
time,  and  finally  moved  further  inland 
for  fear  of  pirates.  In  the  Middle  Ages 
she  was  especially  appealed  to  against 
oppressors  of  the  poor  and  against 
Scottish  rievers.  In  the  12th  century 
her  bracelet  was  kept  as  a  holy  relic,, 
on  which  persons  were  called  upon  to 
swear,  as  it  was  believed  that  a  false 
oath  made  on  that  relic  would  be  imme- 
diately exposed  and  incur  a  dreadful 
vengeance.  It  is  not  impossible  that, 
having  moved  inland  for  fear  of  ma- 
rauders, she  went  further  and  further, 
and  finally  settled  on  the  eastern  coast 
of  Northumbria,  where  Christianity  was 
established  and  protected.  On  this  sup- 
position she  is  identified  by  some 
authorities,  among  them  the  Aberdeen 
Breviary,  with  St.  Begu  and  St.  Heiu. 
She  may  be  Begu,  but  I  cannot  see  that 
she  can  be  Heiu  also. 

AA.SS.  Boll.  Brit.Sancta.  Forbes, 
Scot  Col.  Montalembert,  Monks.  Lani- 
gan,  Eccles.  Hist.  Butler,  Lives.  Chate- 
lain,  Voc.  Hag. 

St.  Bega  (2),  Begu. 

St.  Bega  (3),  Vey. 

St.  Begea,  or  Begeus,  Dec.  23. 
Abbess  in  -Egypt.    Giry,  Diet.  Hag. 

St.  Begga  (1),  Dec.  17.  7th  century. 
Patron  of  Anden. 

Bepresented  (1)  with  a  bear  or  boar, 
to  show  that  she  built  her  church  in  a 
place  previously  the  resort  of  wild  beasts, 
or  in  memory  of  a  tradition  that  her 
grandson,  Charles  Martel,  killed  a  bear 
at  Anden;  (2)  with  a  hen  and  seven 
chickens,  or  a  flock  of  ducks  in  a  little 
pool.  (The  site  of  her  churches  is  said 
to  have  been  indicated  to  her  by  seven 
little  animals  grouped  round  their 
mother. )  She  holds  in  her  hand  a  com- 
plicated building  to  represent  the  seven 
churches  that  she  built. 

Begga  was  daughter  of  Pepin  of  Lan- 
den,  mayor  of  the  palace  under  Clothaire 
II.  (613)  and  Dagobert  I.  (028),  Eings 
of  France,  and  Sigebert  II.  (638),  Eing 
of  Austrasia.  Her  mother  was  B.  Ida. 
Her  sister  was  the  famous  St.  Gertrude 
of  Nivelle.  Begga  married  Ansigisilus, 
or  Anohisus,  son  of  SS.  Arnulf  and  Doda. 


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ST.  BEGGA 


Arnulf,  or  Arnoul,  was  of  noble'Frankish 
birth.  Ansigisilus  and  Begga  had  a  son, 
Pepin  of  Herstal,  the  second  of  the  three 
great  Pepins,  and  the  father  of  Charles 
Martel.  Ansigisilus  met  his  death  while 
hunting.  Begga  then  made  a  pilgrimage 
to  Borne,  and  on  her  return  built  seven 
chapels  at  Anden  on  the  Mense  between 
•Huy  and  Namur,  in  imitation  of  the 
seven  principal  churches  in  Borne.  She 
also  built  a  nunnery  at  Anden  like  that 
of  her  sister  at  Nivelle.  Gertrude  had 
long  been  dead.  St.  Wulfetrude,  the 
second  abbess,  was  dead  too.  Agnes, 
the  third  abbess,  took  care  to  give  Begga 
the  benefit  of  all  that  she  had  learned 
under  the  holy  Gertrude,  and  sent  nuns  to 
train  the  new  community.  They  took  with 
them  a  piece  of  St.  Gertrude's  bed,  and 
placed  it  near  the  altar  of  St.  Genovefa, 
in  Begga's  church,  where  it  worked 
miraculous  cures,  and  was  adorned  with 
votive  offerings  of  gold  and  precious 
stones.  The  monastery  of  Anden  was 
afterwards  converted  into  a  collegiate 
church  of  thirty-two  canonesses  of  noble 
families,  with  ten  canons  to  officiate  at 
the  altar.  Begga  is  said  by  some  autho- 
rities to  have  founded  the  B6guines,  who 
devoted  themselves  to  religion  under 
simple  vows  not  taken  for  life.  The 
general  opinion  is  that  they  were  founded 
in  the  12th  century,  by  Lambert  le 
Begue,  a  priest  of  Liege.  B.M.  Cahier. 
Butler,  Lives.  Bouquet,  Becueil,  iii.  304, 
"Chronique  de  St.  Denis."  Pertz, 
Hausmeier,  p.  52.  Mabillon,  Contem- 
porary Life  of  St.  Gertrude. 

St.  Begga  (2),  Bega. 

St.  Begghe,  Bega. 

St.  Begfia,  Bega. 

St.  Begu,  having  dedicated  her  vir- 
ginity to  the  Lord  for  thirty  years  and 
more,  served  Him  in  monastic  conversa- 
tion in  the  nunnery  of  Hackness,  built 
by  St.  Hilda  shortly  before  her  death. 
On  Nov.  17,  680,  Begu  was  sleeping  in 
the  dormitory  with  the  other  sisters. 
She  suddenly  heard  the  bell  that  called 
them  to  prayer  when  a  soul  was  passing 
away.  Immediately  she  saw  the  roof 
of  the  house  open  :  a  bright  light  filled 
the  sky,  and  in  that  light  the  maid  of 
God,  Hilda,  was  borne  to  heaven  by 
angels.  Begu  arose,  found  the  sisters  all 


asleep,  and  knew  that  she  had  seen  a 
vision.  Running  to  Frigyd,  who  ruled 
in  the  absence  of  the  Abbess  Hilda,  she 
told  her  that  their  dear  mother  had  that 
moment  departed  from  the  earth.  They 
all  arose  and  prayed  for  the  soul  of  the 
blessed  abbess  until,  at  dawn,  some  monks 
arrived  to  tell  them  of  her  death.  (Bede, 
Eccl.  Hist.,  book  iv.  chap.  23.)  Some 
modern  writers  identify  hor  with  Heiu, 
who  is  mentioned  by  Bede  in  the  same 
narrative.  They  seem  to  me  to  be  two 
distinct  persons.  Some  think  she  is  St. 
Bee  of  Egremont  (Bega  (l)),but  this  is 
mere  conjecture  and  rests  on  no  authority. 
Smith  and  Wace,  Diet.  "Heiu"  and 
"  Begu." 

St  Bela,  Oct.  28,  M.  with  her  father 
and  mother,  SS.  Terence  and  Neonilla, 
her  sister  St.  Eunice,  and  four  brothers 
They  were  delivered  by  angels  from 
bonds  and  torments  of  various  kinds. 
They  were  thrown  into  boiling  pitch, 
which  turned  into  water  and  did  not 
hurt  them.  Then  they  were  all  beheaded. 
Their  worship  is  extensive,  particularly 
in  the  Eastern  Church.  Their  date  and 
history  are  unknown.  AA.SS. 

Beli,  Gorman- Swiss  for  Barbara. 

St.  Belina,  Sept.  8.  Date  unknown. 
V.  M.  of  chastity,  it  is  supposed,  at  Lan- 
gres,  in  Champagne.  Her  head  is  pre- 
served in  the  convent  of  Mores  or  Maures, 
near  Troyes,  and  is  said  to  have  been  cut 
off  by  her  persecutor,  the  Lord  of  Lan~ 
dreville,  a  place  near  Maures.  AA.SS. 
Martin,  French  Mart. 

Baring-Gould  says  she  died  at  Lan- 
dreville,  in  1153,  was  canonized  in  1203, 
and  her  relics  were  dispersed  at  the 
Revolution.  He  also  relates  that  her 
murder  caused  an  tmeute  of  the  vassals, 
who  burned  the  castle  and  would  have 
killed  the  seigneur  of  Pradines  and 
d'Arcy.  He  escaped,  but  was  excom- 
municated and  exiled. 

St.  Bellande,  Berlendis. 

St.  Belleride,  Berlendis. 

St.  Bemba,  V.  M.  at  Rome.  Her 
festival  is  held  March  28,  in  the  monas- 
tery of  Einsiedeln,  in  Switzerland. 

St.  Beneacta,  June  29,  Chastelainr 
Voc.  Hag. 

St.  Benecutia,  or  Denecutia,  May 
14,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 


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ST.  BENEDICTA 


113 


Benedetto,  Benedicta. 

St.  Benedicta  (l),  July  8.  1st  cen- 
tury. Wife  of  Count  Sigebert  of  Bor- 
deaux, who  was  paralyzed  for  years. 
When  he  heard  of  the  miracles  of  St. 
Martial,  he  sent  Benedicta,  with  offerings 
of  gold  and  silver,  to  ask  that  saint  to 
restore  her  husband  to  health.  Seeing 
lier  faith,  he  promised  what  she  asked, 
gave  her  his  staff,  and  bade  her  lay  it  on 
her  husband ;  he  would  not  receive  the 
gold  and  silver,  but  baptized  her  and  all 
her  companions.  Meantime  the  people 
of  Bordeaux  were  worshippiug  their 
idols,  and  while  the  priest  was  burning 
incense,  the  devil  declared  he  would  de- 
part from  there  at  the  command  of  a 
Hebrew  named  Martial.  As  Benedicta 
re-entered  the  town,  the  old  men  of  the 
place  met  her  and  told  her  all  that  was 
going  on.  She  sent  for  the  high  priest 
and  told  him  to  destroy  every  temple  in 
the  place,  except  that  to  the  unknown 
God.  Then,  assisted  by  the  prayers  of 
her  Christian  brethren  and  companions, 
she  went  to  her  husband's  bed,  and  laid 
the  holy  bishop's  staff  upon  him.  Sige- 
bert was  instantaneously  cured.  His  first 
act  was  to  go  to  St.  Martial,  and  ask  for 
baptism.  The  town  of  Bordeaux  was 
once  on  the  point  of  being  destroyed  by 
fire;  but  the  pious  Benedicta  took  the 
staff  of  St.  Martial  to  meet  the  flames, 
and  they  immediately  disappeared. 

When  St.  Martial  was  preaching  at 
Mortagne,  Sigebert  and  his  soldiers  went 
to  take  provisions  to  him  and  his  people. 
He  sent  a  number  of  men  to  procure  a 
quantity  of  fish.  While  they  were  at  sea, 
a  great  storm  came  on.  Benedicta  saw 
that  they  were  about  to  perish.  She 
raised  her  hands  towards  heaven  and 
prayed,  and  they  all  camo  safe  to  land, 
with  their  boats,  their  nets,  and  their 
fish.  This  story  is  told  by  Ordericus 
Vitalis,  in  his  History  of  the  Normans,  i. 
365.  Sanssaye  and  Ferrarius  merely  say 
Benedicta  was  baptized  by  St.  Martial. 

St.  Benedicta  (2),  July  ll,  V.  M. 
at  Saragossa  in  the  time  of  Nero.  She 
was  carried  naked  through  the  city,  but 
no  one  could  see  her.  After  various 
tortures,  she  was  put  to  death.  AA.SS., 
Prseter.\  from  Tamayo  Salazar. 

St.  Benedicta  (3),  Nov.  12,  V.  M. 


at  Borne.  She  endured  many  tortures 
and  insults,  was  miraculously  encouraged 
and  healed  by  an  angel,  and  finally  be- 
headed.   Viola  Sanctorum. 

St.  Benedicta  (4),  April  1 7,  M.  236. 
Mother  of  SS.  Alphius,  Philadelpbius, 
and  Cyrinns.    AA.SS.,  May  10. 

St.  Benedicta  (5),  June  29,  Sept.  6, 
7  (Beat a,  locally  B£atte,  Benoite  de 
Sens),  V.  M.  c.  273.  She  went  from 
Spain,  with  her  brother  St.  Sanctian  and 
St.  Augustine,  to  Sens,  in  France,  where 
the  Emperor  Aurelian  tried,  by  threats 
and  promises,  to  make  them  renounce  the 
Christian  faith,  offering  them  the  highest 
honours  in  his  court  as  the  reward  of 
apostasy,  and  the  death  of  criminals  in 
case  they  remained  firm.  They,  on  the 
other  hand,  told  him  how  much  greater 
were  the  honours  and  pleasures  their 
Master  prepared  for  them  in  the  other 
world,  and  warned  the  Emperor  where 
he  would  go,  and  whom  he  would  associ- 
ate with  eventually,  unless  he  were  con- 
verted. Finally  they  were  beheaded. 
R.M.,  June  29.  AA.SS.,  June  20  and 
Sept.  6.    Martin,  French  Mart.,  Sept.  7. 

St.  Benedicta  (0),  Jan.  4,  V.  M. 
at  Borne,  302,  with  SS.  Priscus  and  Pre- 
scillian,  in  the  persecution  under  Julian 
the  Apostate.    R.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Benedicta  (7),  Oct.  8,  more 
commonly  called  Sainte  Benoite,  V. 
M.  302,  under  Julian  the  Apostate. 
Patron  of  Origny  (Auriniacum).  The 
Roman  Martyrology  mentions  four  holy 
virgins  of  this  name,  on  Jan.  4,  May  0, 
June  29,  Oct.  8.  The  one  best  known 
in  France  was  the  daughter  of  a  Boman 
senator.  Despising  the  pleasures  of  the 
world,  she  took  twelve  young  girls  to 
lead  a  religious  life  in  her  house.  Hear- 
ing of  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Quentin  and 
his  companions  in  Picardy,  she  set  off 
with  her  twelve  friends  to  seek  martyr- 
dom in  Gaul.  They  stayod  some  time 
at  the  capital  of  Vermandois,  now  called 
St.  Quentin ;  then  they  dispersed,  to  ex- 
tend the  knowledge  of  Christianity  in 
different  directions.  Benedicta  and  her 
foster-sister,  Leoberia,  went  to  Origny- 
sur-Oise,  in  the  diocsse  of  Laon,  and 
made  many  converts.  Their  cell  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  at  Mont  d'Origny, 
a  village  near  the  town  of  Origny. 

I 


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114 


ST.  BENEDICTA 


Matroclus,  the  prefect,  a  J ew,  after  trying 
in  vain  to  turn  Benedicta  from  her 
religion,  had  her  beaten  until  she  was  a 
mass  of  wounds;  she  was  then  thrown 
into  a  dark  dungeon :  her  wounds  were 
healed  by  an  angel.  This  miraculous 
cure  caused  tho  conversion  of  fifty-five 
persons.  Matroclus,  exasperated,  cut  off 
her  head  with  his  own  hand.  Local 
tradition  fixes  the  site  of  her  martyrdom 
at  a  place  called  Les  Arbres  du  Thil,  an 
enclosure  of  about  twenty-two  acres, 
surrounded  by  trees  and  hedges,  where 
many  devotees  resort  every  Sunday. 

Of  the  twelve  companions  of  St.  Bene- 
dicta, Father  Giry  only  mentions  SS. 
Leoberia,  Yolaine  or  Yoland,  Camiona, 
and  Eomana.  St.  Yolaine  is  honoured 
at  Pleines  Selves,  about  three  miles  from 
Origny;  and  St.  Camiona,  near  Le- 
Mesnil-Saint-Laurent,  about  five  miles 
from  Origny,  in  the  territory  of  Lugdu- 
num  Clavatum,  which  is  Loon,  not 
Lyons;  the  double  meaning  of  Lugdu- 
num  has  given  rise  to  a  fictitious  St. 
Benedicta  op  Lyons  (Chastelain,  Voc. 
Hag.),  A  monastery  was  built  over  her 
tomb  in  the  6th  or  7th  century.  After- 
words a  nunnery  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Benedict,  dedicated  in  tho  names  of  SS. 
Mary  and  Benedicta,  was  built  at  Origny 
(Diet,  des  Abbayes). 

Constantino  Suysken,  in  AA.SS.,  Oct. 
8,  gives  her  fabulous  Acts  and  a  discussion 
as  to  the  place  and  date  of  her  life  and 
death.  Bailie t  considers  her  story  to  be 
a  copy  of  that  of  St.  Bomana,  and  that 
a  copy  of  the  history  of  St.  Saturnina. 
There  are  numerous  instances  in  which 
the  history  of  one  saint  has  been  adapted 
to  another.  The  history  of  St.  Bomana 
can  only  be  traced  to  within  eight  hun- 
dred years  of  the  date  ascribed  to  that 
martyr. 

St.  Benedicta  (8)  of  Lyons.  (See 
Benedicta  op  Origny.) 

St.  Benedicta  (9),  June  27,  M.  A 
venerable  Christian,  who  was  martyred 
with  SS.  Crispus  and  Crispinian  in  362. 
Benedicta  is  sometimes  called  Virgin, 
sometimes  Matron.  Boll.,  AA.SS.,  June 
27. 

St  Benedicta  (10).  Mentioned  in  a 
Litany  used  in  England  in  the  7th  century. 
This  is  probably  one  of  the  early  martyrs 


already  mentioned.  English  Mart  Ma- 
billon,  Vetera  Analecta%  pp.  669,  et  seq. 

St.  Benedicta  (11),  May  6.  Friend 
and  fellow-nun  of  St.  Gall  a  (10),  at 
Rome,  in  the  6th  century.  Her  head  is 
said  to  be  still  preserved  at  Rome.  R.M. 
Henschenius.  AA.SS. 

St  Benedicta  (12),  Aug.  17.  7th 
century.  A  Spanish  abbess,  disciplo  of 
St.  Fructuosus.  He  was  a  martyr  in  the 
3rd  century.  Espana  Sagruda,  xxv. 
168.    Bucelinus.  Gnenebault. 

St.  Benedicta  (13),  Aug.  17.  loth 
century.  Abbess  of  Susteren.  Daughter 
of  St.  Zuentibold,  king  of  Lotharingia, 
who  died  in  900,  and  was  the  son  of  the 
Emperor  Arnulf  (887-899).  She  became 
a  nun  at  Susteren  with  her  sisters,  SS. 
Cecilia  and  Belinda,  under  the  direction 
of  a  holy  virgin  named  Amelberga,  after 
whoso  death  Benedicta  became  abbess, 
and  was,  in  her  turn,  succeeded  by  Cecilia. 
The  three  sisters  are  commemorated  to- 
gether, Nov.  16.  AA.SS.  Bucelinus, 
Men.  Ben.    Lechner,  Ben.  Ordens. 

B.  Benedicta  (14),  June  28.  A  lay- 
sister  in  the  nunnery  of  Petra,  near 
Subiaco.  Her  real  name  has  not  come 
down  to  us,  so  she  is  called  after  the 
founder  of  her  order.  One  day  the 
abbess  sent  her  some  distance,  with  an 
ass,  to  fetch  flour  from  a  mill.  She  said 
her  prayers  while  the  corn  was  being 
ground,  and  went  on  with  more  prayers, 
although  the  miller  warned  her  that  it 
was  going  to  rain,  and  that  sho  would 
not  get  home  at  the  time  required  by 
the  rule.  When  her  prayers  were  ended, 
it  was  quite  dark  and  pouring  wet,  but 
she  arrived  safely  at  the  monastery,  with 
the  new  supply  of  flour,  the  donkey,  and 
her  own  clothes  perfectly  dry.  The 
abbess  said  to  her,  "  You  must  be  tired 
after  your  long  walk.  Go  to  bed." 
Benedicta  said,  "Let  mo  first  say  my 
usual  prayers  in  the  chapel."  While 
she  was  there,  the  other  nuns  made 
supper  ready  for  her,  and  as  she  did  not 
come  for  some  time,  they  went  to  fetch 
her.  They  found  her  kneeling  with  her 
hands  clasped,  and  her  head  up— -quite 
dead.  They  buried  her  in  that  attitude. 
Long  afterwards,  in  1463,  her  body  was 
found  in  perfect  preservation,  and  after 
the  nunnery  was  destroyed,  her  story  was 


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B.  BENVENUTA  BOJANI 


115 


remembered,  and  a  chapel  was  built  in 
her  honour.    Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 

St  Benedicta  (15).  llth  century. 
Daughter  of  St.  Anfroy,  count  of  Huy 
and  Louyain,  afterwards  Bishop  of 
Utrecht.  She  succeeded  her  mother, 
St.  Heb8wind,  as  Abbess  of  Torenne  or 
Thora.  They  are  numbered  among  the 
saints  of  Liege.  Stadler,  from  Bartho- 
lomew Lesen,  Flares  Ecclesise  Leodiensis. 

B.  Benedicta  (16),  March  10,  Oct. 
19,  V.  fl260.  Succeeded  St.  Clara 
as  Abbess  of  St.  Damian's,  at  Assisi,  in 
Umbria,  1253.  Held  in  great  veneration 
at  Assisi,  but  has  not  been  inserted  in 
the  martyrologies.  AA.SS. 

B.  Benedicta  (17).  f  1519.  Suc- 
ceeded B.  Catherine  Morigia,  in  1478, 
as  second  Abbess  of  Monto  Varasio. 
Benedicta  enriched  the  community  and 
enlarged  the  convent.  By  the  desire  of 
the  sisters  and  permission  of  the  Pope, 
she  continued  abbess  until  her  death, 
notwithstanding  the  rule  that  each 
superior  should  hold  office  for  three 
years  only.  She  was  succeeded  by  the 
"Illumined  Sister,"  Lucretia  Alciati, 
who  brought  a  large  fortune  to  the 
sisterhood.  Helyot,  Hist.  Ord.  Mon.,  iv. 
ch.  9. 

St  Benigna,  June  20,  V.  M.  1241. 
Cistercian  nun  at  Wratislaw,  in  Poland. 
Taken  captive  and  slain  for  her  adhe- 
rence to  her  innocence  and  Christian 
faith,  by  the  Tartars  who  overran  Poland 
in  the  time  of  Henry  the  Pious,  son  of 
St.  Hedwio.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter.  Henriquez,  Lilia  Cist., 
June  19. 

St.  Benilda,  June  15.  f  853.  A 
very  old  woman.  One  of  the  martyrs 
of  Cordova.  Beheaded  the  day  after 
St.  Diona.  R.M.  Henschenius,  in  Boll., 
AA.SS.  St.  Eulogius,  Mem.  Sanct. 
Baillet,  Vies. 

St.  Benonia,  or  Bononus,  April  29. 
It  is  uncertain  whether  this  is  the  name 
of  man,  woman,  or  place.  AA.SS. 

St.  Benu,  Jan.  15,  is  honoured  by 
the  Copts  as  a  martyr. 

B.  Benvenuta  (l)  Bojani,  Oct.  29 
or  30.  1 254-1 29'J.  O.S.D.  When 
she  was  born  at  Cividale  of  Austria,  in 
Friuli,  no  one  dared  to  tell  her  father 
that  he  had  a  seventh  daughter,  as  he 


was  very  anxious  for  a  son.  When  at 
last  he  heard  it,  he  said,  "She  is 
welcome ;  let  her  be  named  Benvenuta  " 
(Welcome).  She  and  her  sister  Mary  f 
made  a  vow  of  celibacy  at  a  very  early 
age.  Benvenuta  had  a  special  devotion 
to  St.  Dominic,  saw  diabolical  and 
celestial  apparitions,  and  practised 
wonderful  austerities  from  her  child- 
hood. She  suffered  so  much  from 
numbness,  tremor,  and  breathlessness 
that  she  could  not  lie  down,  and  had  for 
some  years  to  take  all  her  rest  sitting  in 
a  chair.  She  was  carried  to  church  once 
a  week.  At  last  she  was  cured  by 
St.  Dominic,  and,  accompanied  by  her 
brother  and  sister,  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
his  shrine  at  Bologna,  in  fulfilment  of  a 
vow.  They  passed  through  Venice  and 
Padua,  and  returned  home  to  Cividale, 
where  she  lived  in  perfect  health  for 
some  years.  The  Dominican  nuns  there 
were  much  edified  by  her  piety,  and 
invited  her  to  stay  with  them  in  their 
convent  of  Cella  whenever  she  chose. 
By  her  prayers  she  cured  one  of  the 
sisters  of  a  mysterious  and  painful  dis- 
order to  which  she  was  subject  every 
winter.  She  cured  another  of  blindness. 
She  delivered  the  souls  of  several  of  her 
friends  and  relations  from  purgatory ; 
had  the  gift  of  prophecy  ;  took  the  form 
of  absent  persons,  and  performed  their 
duties;  had  frequent  raptures  and 
ecstasies.  She  died  in  her  own  house, 
1292.  Many  people  of  rank,  as  well  as 
many  of  the  lower  class,  came  from  the 
surrounding  towns  to  make  a  visit  of 
devotion  to  her  body,  touching  it  with 
rings,  beads,  etc.,  that  they  might 
thereby  receive  the  virtue  of  holy  charms. 
The  abbess  and  nuns  of  the  great  Bene- 
dictine convent  were  among  those  who 
visitod  her  before  her  burial.  She  was 
carried  to  the  Dominican  church  by  the 
friars,  and  a  short  sermon  was  preached' 
by  her  confessor,  Conrad,  prior  of 
Verona,  in  which  he  related  two  of  her 
miracles — that  of  her  cure  by  St.  Dominic 
already  mentioned,  and  that  of  the  rope. 
While  yet  very  young  she  girt  herself  so 
tightly  with  a  rope  that  as  she  grew  it 
became  embedded  in  her  flesh,  and  caused 
her  great  suffering.  It  could  only  be 
removed  by  a  surgical  operation.  As 


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116 


B.  BENVENUTA 


this  idea  was  painful  to  her  delicacy, 
she  had  recourse  to  prayer.  Falling 
into  a  rapture,  she  found,  on  her  return 
to  a  sense  of  earthly  things,  that  the  rope 
was  lying  beside  her  on  the  floor.  The 
people  begged  to  hear  more  about  her. 
Conrad  preached  another  sermon  the 
following  Sunday,  in  which  he  related 
several  miraculous  circumstances  con- 
cerning the  departed  saint.  He  said 
that  for  five  years  the  angel  Gabriel  fed 
her  daily  with  food  from  heaven. 
During  that  time  she  never  ate  any 
earthly  food  without  its  producing  in- 
stant sickness,  the  sacramental  bread 
excepted.  She  was  buried  in  the  tomb 
of  her  family  outside  the  church.  Some 
time  afterwards  her  body  was  diligently 
sought,  in  order  to  lay  it  with  greater 
honour  in  the  church.  It  could  not  be 
found,  and  was  supposed  to  have  been 
carried  off  by  Dominican  friars  to 
Bologna  or  Eavenna.  Her  Life  in 
Modern  Saints,  edited  by  the  Fathers  of 
the  Oratory.  Mart.  O.F.P.,  Oct.  29. 
A.R.M.  Pio. 

B.  Benvenuta  (2).  13th  century. 
O.S.F.  One  of  the  first  nuns  under 
St.  Clara.    (See  Agnes  of  Assisi.) 

St.  Bera,  Bkata  (l). 

St.  Berathgit,  Bebgit,  or  Berthgith. 
8th  century.  Daughter  of  St.  Bilhild  (2), 
or  Gunthild.  They  were  taken  by  St. 
Boniface  from  Wimborne  to  Thuringia, 
and  set  over  his  convent  schools  there. 
Thuringia  Sacra  (Frankfort,  1737).  Two 
letters  from  Berthgith  to  her  brother 
Balthard  are  among  the  letters  of  St. 
Boniface  and  St.  Lullus.  Smith  and 
Wace,  Diet  of  Christian  Biography,  re- 
ferring to  Jaffa's  Monumenta  Moguntice. 

St  Beredina.    (See  Victoria  (2).) 

St.  Berelendis,  Berlendis. 

St.  Berema,  Beata  (i). 
.  B.  Berengaria,  March  8.  fc.  1250. 
Daughter  of  Ferdinand  III.,  king  of 
Leon  and  Castile.  Sister  of  Alfonso, 
king  of  the  Eomans.  In  1240  she  took 
the  Cistercian  habit  at  Holga,  near 
Burgos.  Mentioned  by  Henriquez  and 
Bucelinu8.    AA.SS.,  Praeter. 

St.  Berenice  (1),  Veronica  (1). 
-  St.   Berenice  (2),  or  Bekinna. 
Daughter  of  Domnina  (3). 

St.  Bergit,  Berathgit,  not  Birgit. 


St.  Berinna,  or  Berenice,  M.  at 
Antioch  with  her  mother  and  sister, 
Domnina  (3)  and  Prosdoce. 

St.  Beriona,  Bitriana. 

St.  Berlendis,  Feb.  3  (Bellande, 
Belleride,  Berlinda).  7th  century. 
Commemorated  with  Nona  and  Celse  at 
Meerbeck,  in  Brabant.  Be  presented 
with  a  cow  beside  her.  Patron  of 
peasants.  Invoked  against  contagious 
diseases  of  animals.  She  also  protects 
trees,  particularly  those  transplanted  on 
her  day.  Berlendis  is  specially  honoured 
at  Tin-le-Moutiers,  in  Betelois.  Accord- 
ing to  Bucelinus,  her  mother  was  Nona, 
sister  of  St.  Amandus.  Her  father  was  a 
wealthy  noble,  who  served  under  Dago- 
bert  I.,  king  of  France.  His  name  was 
Odelardus.  He  suffered  from  leprosy, 
produced  by  his  pious  austerities.  Ber- 
lendis offended  him  beyond  forgiveness, 
because  she  rinsed  his  cup  before  drink- 
ing out  of  it  herself.  For  this  act  he 
disinherited  her,  and  left  everything  to 
St.  Gertrude.  His  daughter  realized 
that  she  had  erred:  she  became  a  nun 
at  Morsella,  and  manifested  her  repent- 
ance by  giving  up  all  luxuries  and  rest- 
ing content  with  poor  food  and  plain 
raiment.  One  day  she  heard  angels 
singing  as  they  carried  her  father's  soul 
to  heaven.  Knowing  by  this  sign  that 
he  was  dead,  she  went  to  Meerbeck  and 
buried  him.  On  her  death  she  was 
buried  in  a  wooden  tomb,  on  account  of 
the  scarcity  of  stone.  The  wood,  how- 
ever, was,  by  supernatural  agency,  turned 
into  stone.  Her  body  was  afterwards 
removed  from  its  original  resting-place, 
upon  which  occasion  many  miracles  were 
performed.  Those  who  assisted  at  the 
translation  had  their  food  wonderfully 
increased.  At  Meerbeck  there  is  a 
representation  of  St.  Berlendis  with  her 
cow,  rudely  cut  in  wood.  The  peasants 
come  and  reverently  touch  the  udder,  for 
the  good  of  their  own  cows  and  dairies. 
At  one  time  the  proceedings  at  her  fes- 
tival were  so  riotous  that  it  came  to  be 
called  the  Drunken  Vespers,  and  in  the 
16  th  century  the  clergy  were  forbidden 
to  take  part  in  it.  St.  Celse  was,  per- 
haps, her  disciple  or  her  sister.  Boll., 
AA.SS.  Biog.  Univ.,  "Odelard."  Ecken- 
stein.     Cahier.    Chastelain,  Voc.  Hag. 


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ST.  BERTHA 


117 


She  is  mentioned  by  Saussaye,  Molanus, 
I^ahierius,  and  Ferrarius. 

SL  Berlinda,  Beklendis. 

St.  Beroma,  Be  at  a  (1). 

St.  Beronica,  Veronica  (1). 

St.  Bertana,  Ebemberta,  Herem- 
bertha,  or  Ibembertana,  Oct.  15.  End 
of  7th  or  beginning  of  8th  century. 
Abbess.  Niece  of  St.  Vulmer,  Abbot  of 
Silviac,  near  Boulogne.  Silviac  was 
afterwards  called  Samer-  (i.e.  St.  Vulmer) 
in-the-Wood,  to  distinguish  it  from 
another  monastery  of  St.  Vulmer  built 
by  B.  Ida,  widow,  within  the  walls  of 
Boulogne.  Bertana  was  a  nun  in 
authority,  under  Vulmer,  at  Wiere,  near 
Samer.  When  she  and  her  fellow-nuns 
could  get  no  food,  he  refreshed  them 
with  a  mellifluous  sermon.  AAJSS. 

St  Bertha  (l).  f612-  Queen  of 
Kent,  first  Christian  queen  in  England. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Charibert,  one 
of  the  four  brothers  who  became  kings 
of  France  in  561.  Her  mother  was  the 
pious  Ingoberga.  She  married  Ethel- 
bert,  king  of  Kent,  who  promised  her 
free  exercise  of  her  own  religion.  She 
took  as  her  chaplain  to  England,  Liud- 
hard,  a  bishop.  Ethelbert  gave  him  a 
little  church  at  Canterbury,  built  during 
the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain,  and 
still  standing.  Liudhard  restored  it, 
and  dedicated  it  in  the  name  of  St. 
Martin.  It  is  the  oldest  church  in 
England,  and  has  been  used  continuously 
since  that  time.  The  additions  of  dif- 
ferent periods  are  distinctly  visible. 
Bertha's  character  and  conduct  predis- 
posed the  king  in  favour  of  Christianity, 
and  when,  in  596,  St.  Gregory,  the  Pope, 
sent  a  band  of  missionary  monks  to 
England,  under  Augustine,  they  were 
received  with  respect.  The  king  and 
many  others  listened  to  their  teaching. 
On  Whitsunday,  597,  Ethelbert  declared 
himself  a  Christian,  and  was  baptized; 
and  his  example  was  quickly  followed  by 
many  of  his  people.  He  gave  his  own 
house  at  Canterbury  to  Augustine,  who 
there  founded  a  church,  now  the  cathe- 
dral. Ethelbert  and  Bertha,  standing 
between  Augustino  and  Liudhard,  appear 
in  the  windows  of  the  nave  of  Canterbury 
Cathedral,  among  the  early  English 
saints.  St.  Bertha  figures  in  the  windows 


of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Barns- 
gate.  She  is  spoken  of  at  Canterbury 
as  "  St.  Bertha,"  but  it  is  not  clear  that 
she  has  ever  been  worshipped,  and  she 
has  no  dedications.  Dean  Stanley. 
Montalembert.  SS.  Ethelbubga  (1)  and 
Edburga  (1)  were  her  daughters. 

St.  Bertha  (2),  May  1,  Aug.  31,  Oct. 
12,  V.  M.  Wife  of  St.  Gombert,  lord 
of  Champenois,  who  was  of  the  royal 
family  of  France.  He  built  her  a  nun- 
nery at  Avenay,  near  Rheims.  He  then 
retired  to  a  monastery  which  he  had 
built  on  the  seashore.  Here  he  was 
killed  by  idolaters,  towards  the  end  of 
the  7th  century.  After  his  death,  St. 
Bertha,  in  obedience  to  a  vision,  re- 
moved with  her  nuns  to  Val  d'Or,  near 
Avenay.  The  nuns  and  the  people  of 
Avenay  being  in  great  want  of  water, 
St.  Peter  appeared  to  Bertha,  and  guided 
her  to  a  garden  where  there  was  a  good 
spring.  She  bought  it  for  a  pound  of 
silver  (according  to  Martin,  about  sixty 
francs),  and  traced  with  her  distaff  a 
little  furrow  from  the  spring  to  her 
convent;  the  water  ran  along  the  line, 
deepening  its  channel  as  it  flowed.  She 
called  the  stream  Libra,  because  it  was 
bought  for  a  pound ;  and  there  it  flows 
to  this  day,  an  abundant  supply  of  beauti- 
ful, clear  water,  curing  many  infirmities, 
and  witnessing  the  truth  of  the  legend 
of  the  distaff.  The  Privigni,  Gombert's 
relations,  were  very  angry  because 
Bertha  gave  to  the  poor  a  great  deal 
that  they  hoped  to  get  for  themselves. 
So  they  murdered  her,  and  were  imme- 
diately seized  by  the  devil,  and  tore 
themselves  to  pieces,  all  but  one — a 
woman  named  Nuncia,  who  had  some 
pangs  of  repentance.  Many  years  after- 
wards, Bertha  appeared  to  her  and  said, 
"  If  thou  wouldst  be  forgiven,  bring  the 
body  of  my  blessed  husband  and  lay  it 
beside  mine."  Nuncia  said,  "But  how 
shall  I  know  that  I  am  forgiven  for  so 
great  a  crime?"  Bertha  answered, 
"  As  soon  as  you  have  fulfilled  my  com- 
mand, blood  will  gush  from  your  nose 
and  mouth.  By  that  sign  you  will 
know  that  you  are  forgiven."  Without 
delay,  Nuncia  set  about  her  pious  task, 
and  had  Gombert's  body  brought  to  the 
convent  church  of  Val  d'Or.    She  then 


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ST.  BERTHA 


addressed  the  body  of  Bertha,  asking  if 
she  was  forgiven.  Immediately  the 
blood  spouted  out  of  her  nose  and  month. 
A  hundred  years  afterwards  Bertha's 
body  was  found  fresh  and  life-like,  and 
when  the  two  bodies  were  taken  to  the 
place  where  she  had  been  killed,  her 
wounds  bled  afresh.  Papebroch,  in 
AA.SS.,  May  1,  from  her  Acts  in  the 
ancient  office  of  the  church  of  Avenay. 
Martin's  edition  of  Surius  d'Apres 
Lipoman. 

St.  Bertha  (3),  July  4.  + c.  725  or 
735.  Abbess  and  founder  of  .Blangy,  in 
Artois. 

Bepresented  with  her  two  daughters 
dressed  as  nuns.  They  are  drawn  on  a 
very  small  scale,  to  indicate  their  minor 
importance. 

Daughter  of  Bigobert,  count  of  the 
Palace,  under  Clovis  II.  (638-656),  and 
Ursana,  his  wife,  who  was  of  English 
descent  and  related  to  the  wife  of  Clovis. 
Bertha  married  a  relation  of  the  king, 
Count  Sigfried,  son  of  Prince  Bigomar 
and  St.  Gertrude  op  Hamay.  They 
had  five  daughters,  Gertrude,  Deotila, 
Emma,  Gesa,  and  Gesta,  all  of  whom 
did  credit  to  the  training  of  their  pious 
parents.  When  they  had  been  married 
twenty  years,  Sigfried  died  and  was 
buried  in  his  own  ground  at  Blangy. 
Then  Bertha  left  off  silk  and  jewels, 
took  the  habit  of  a  nun,  and  resolved  to 
build  a  church  on  her  husband's  estate. 
As  soon,  however,  as  the  building  had 
made  a  little  progress,  it  fell  down.  She 
built  again,  on  another  spot.  When  the 
church  was  finished  and  ready  to  be 
consecrated,  and  while  Bertha  was  on  a 
visit  to  St.  Bictrude,  abbess  of  Mar- 
chiennes,  about  thirty  miles  from  Blangy, 
the  church  fell  with  such  a  noise  that 
Bertha  and  Bictrude  heard  it  as  they 
sat  talking.  Bictrude  tried  to  comfort 
Bertha  by  saying  that  it  was  the  will  of 
God  she  should  build  on  another  site. 
At  Bertha's  request  a  fast  of  three  days 
was  strictly  observed  at  Marchiennes, 
and  during  that  time  fervent  prayers 
were  offered  for  the  success  of  her 
scheme,  and  for  Divine  direction  as  to 
the  situation  of  the  church.  At  the  end 
of  the  third  day  an  angel  showed  in  a 
dream,  to  one  of  the  workmen,  a  fitting 


spot  at  Terouanne,  beside  the  river 
Thena,  where  the  foundations  were 
already  lined  out.  There  she  built  her 
famous  church  and  monastery.  Germain 
of  Paris,  Eligius,  bishop  of  Noyon,  and 
several  bishops  who  were  afterwards 
honoured  as  saints,  assisted  at  the  con- 
secration. When  they  were  all  assembled 
for  the  consecration,  there  was  no  hyssop. 
Consequently,  Bavengarius,  bishop  of 
Terouanne,  refused  to  proceed  with  the 
ceremony.  Bertha  was  in  great  distress 
that  she  had  gathered  together  so  many 
holy  and  worthy  men,  and  still  it  seemed 
that  the  consecration  of  her  church  must 
be  deferred.  However,  while  she  was 
in  her  oratory  engaged  in  fervent  prayer, 
a  man  came  to  the  door  with  hyssop. 
Bertha  thanked  God,  and  thought  that 
at  last  all  would  now  be  well,  but 
another  of  her  people  came  to  tell  her 
that  the  bishops,  finding  there  was  to  be 
no  ceremony,  had  gone  away.  She, 
however,  sent  after  them  in  all  haste, 
and  they  prophesied  that  great  blessings 
would  rest  on  her  undertaking,  as  she 
had  persevered  and  had  at  length  been 
assisted  by  a  miracle.  The  church  and 
convent  were  consecrated,  and  Bertha 
and  her  two  eldest  daughters  received 
the  veil,  a.d.  682.  The  three  younger 
daughters  continued  with  her.  Boger, 
one  of  the  king's  great  nobles,  a  proud 
man,  seeking  mundane  and  transitory 
gratification,  earnestly  entreated  Bertha 
to  grant  him  the  hand  of  Gertrude,  her 
eldest  daughter.  Bertha  replied  that 
her  daughter  was  already  the  bride  of 
Christ,  and  that  she  could  enter  into  no 
negotiation  for  her.  He  went  to  the 
king,  one  of  St.  Bathilde's  sons,  and  told 
him  that  Count  Sigfried  had  promised 
him  the  hand  of  his  eldest  daughter, 
and  the  greater  part  of  his  estates  as 
her  dowry.  He  then  returned  to  Blangy 
with  a  strong  band  of  followers,  armed 
with  the  king's  authority  to  marry 
Gertrude.  Again  failing  to  extort  the 
consent  of  the  mother,  Boger  swore 
he  would  not  go  away  without  seeing 
Gertrude.  Bertha  agreed  to  this.  She 
kept  the  soldiers  waiting  until  the  hour 
of  evening  prayer,  and  while  the  nuns 
began  to  sing  the  service,  the  doors 
of  the  church  were  thrown  open,  and 


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119 


Roger  "the  rebel  to  God,"  saw  and 
heard  them  all  singing  the  prayers 
and  psalms.  Before  the  altar,  in  a  free 
space  within  ten  paces  of  him,  stood  the 
girl  all  these  soldiers  had  come  to  carry 
off.  Bertha  said,  "  Behold,  the  servant 
and  spouse  of  Christ  is  present,  veiled  by 
the  holy  bishops,  and  solemnly  devoted 
at  the  altar  where  she  stands !  If  you 
dare  to  take  her  away  from  the  Lord,  take 
her :  we  women  can  offer  no  resistance, 
but  God  will  avenge  us!"  Roger  did 
not  dare  to  take  Gertrude,  but  went 
away  in  a  rage,  and  vowed  vengeance  on 
Bertha.  He  immediately  went  to  the 
king,  and  accused  the  Countess  Bertha 
of  treasonable  correspondence  with  the 
English.  King  Thierry  summoned 
Bertha  to  answer  the  charge.  She  went 
without  fear,  trusting  in  her  integrity. 
Roger  came  to  meet  her,  under  pretence 
of  doing  her  honour,  but  really  to  cast 
a  slight  upon  her  by  contriving  that  she 
should  ride  to  the  palace  on  a  miserable 
horse,  without  the  usual  trappings. 
Radulph,  however,  of  pious  memory,  met 
the  venerable  abbess  thus  unworthily 
mounted,  and  at  once  exchanged  horses 
with  her,  at  the  same  time  reproaching 
Roger  for  his  disrespect.  The  king  was 
soon  convinced  of  the  innocence  of  Bertha, 
and  sent  her  home  in  peace  with  a  guard 
of  honour.  On  her  return  she  enlarged 
and  beautified  her  convent  and  built  ten 
churches,  eight  in  honour  of  St.  Martin,  the 
other  two  in  honour  of  St.  Audomar  and  St. 
Vedast  respectively.  Then  wishing  to 
retire  from  the  government  of  the  house 
and  to  devote  the  remainder  of  her  life 
to  prayer,  she  promoted  Deotila  to  the 
office  of  abbess  instead  of  Gertrude, 
because  of  the  trouble  and  scandal  Roger 
had  caused  on  her  account,  and  had  a 
cell  built  in  the  church,  where  she 
passed  all  her  time;  she  had  a  little 
window  near  the  altar.  Her  two 
daughters  and  the  sixty  nuns  came  to 
her  every  day  to  be  refreshed  with 
spiritual  advice  and  instruction.  Her 
two  youngest  daughters,  Gesa  and  Gesta, 
died  young.  Emma,  her  third  daughter, 
was  given  in  marriage  by  Thierry,  king 
of  France,  to  Waraclinus,  a  king  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons.  St.  Bertha,  hearing  of  his 
cruelty  and  infidelity  to  her  daughter, 


invited  her  to  visit  her  at  Blangy.  Emma 
set  off  with  her  husband's  consent.  During 
the  voyage,  she  was  seized  with  fever 
and  died.  When  Bertha  heard  of  it,  she 
ordered  every  thing  to  be  prepared  for 
a  funeral  befitting  her  daughter's  rank, 
and  went  to  meet  the  corpse.  "  Alas, 
my  beloved  daughter,"  she  said,  "  I  see 
your  face,  but  you  are  not  able  to  see 
me."  Hereupon  Emma  opened  her  eyes 
and  looked  at  her  mother.  Bertha  had 
her  taken  into  the  convent  and  buried 
with  all  honour. 

St.  Bertha  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
nine,  about  the  year  725  or  735.  At 
the  moment  of  her  death  three  men,  in 
shining  raiment,  were  seen  standing  by 
to  take  her  soul  to  heaven.  Deotila 
ruled  the  convent  with  her  mother  for 
twenty-nine  years,  and  was  sole  abbess 
for  some  time.    Gertrude  succeeded  her. 

In  805,  during  an  invasion  of  the 
Normans,  the  nuns  fled  from  Blangy  to 
the  monastery  of  Estrees  at  Strasburg. 
They  took  with  them,  as  their  most 
sacred  treasures,  the  bodies  of  the 
sainted  founder  and  her  two  daughters, 
Gertrude  and  Deotila.  They  brought 
them  back  on  their  return  to  Blangy, 
many  years  afterwards. 

Soller  says  the  Life  of  St.  Bertha  is 
by  an  anonymous  author  of  :the  10th 
or  11th  century,  and  that  it  is  well 
established  that  she  was  worshipped 
directly  after  her  death.  Her  marriage 
and  her  foundations  are  facts,  but  the 
story  of  Roger  cannot  be  traced  to  any 
contemporary  source,  and  is  attributed 
by  Baillet  to  an  author  "  de  mauvaise  fox 
et  fort  ignorant.19 

Bouquet,  Becueil,  iii.  621.  J.  B. 
Soller,  in  AA.SS.,  from  MS.  Acta  pre- 
served in  her  monastery.  Baillet,  Vies. 
Butler,  Lives.  Mabillon,  AA.SS.,  O.S.B., 
ssbc.  ii.  Duchesne,  Script.  Franc,  i. 
605.  Her  name  ocours  in  the  Auctaria 
to  Usuard,  July  4. 

St.  Bertha  (4)  of  Biugen,  May  15. 

Jc.  808.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a 
hristian  prince  of  Lotharingia,  and 
married  Robold,  a  heathen  duke  of 
Bingen.  She  was  soon  left  a  widow 
with  a  son  Rupert,  three  years  old,  from 
whom  the  Rupertsberg  took  its  name. 
Bertha  retired  from  her  castle,  and 


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120 


B.  BERTHA 


devoted  the  rest  of  her  life  to  the  service 
of  Christ.  Bnpert  from  his  earliest 
infancy  exhibited  an  unusual  gentleness 
and  sweetness.  His  mother  had  him 
well  instructed,  and  resolved  that  he 
should  rule  in  his  father's  stead  and 
protect  the  Church.  He  was  good  to 
the  poor,  and  spent  lavishly  in  building 
churches  and  places  of  refuge  for  them. 
Kesolved,  however,  to  become,  like  his 
blessed  Lord,  a  stranger  upon  earth,  he 
left  his  home  and  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Borne,  where  he  won  all  hearts  by  his 
gentle  goodness.  Here  he  met  holy 
men,  who  warned  him  to  remember  the 
words  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  "Go, 
sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor, 
and  then  come  and  follow  Me."  Eupert 
resolved  to  follow  their  advice,  and  re- 
turned at  length  to  his  mother.  He 
then  divided  all  his  possessions,  which 
were  very  great,  amongst  his  servants 
and  followers,  with  special  provision  for 
the  care  of  the  poor,  and  retired  from 
the  world.  He  soon  afterwards  died  of 
a  fever,  in  his  twentieth  year,  and  was 
buried  in  a  church  which  he  had  built. 
After  his  death  Bertha  gave  herself  up 
more  than  ever  to  good  works,  fasting, 
almsgiving,  and  prayer,  and  after  twenty- 
five  years  of  patient  waiting,  she  died, 
and  was  buried  in  the  same  grave  with 
her  son  on  the  Eupertsberg.  St.  Hilde- 
gabd  calls  her  Beata.  Tritheim  speaks 
of  her  as  a  holy  woman.  Pictures  of 
the  16th  century  represent  her  with  the 
nimbus.    Henschenius,  in  AA.SS. 

B.  Bertha  (5)  of  Biburg,  O.S.B. 
1151.  Represented  with  St.  Everard, 
offering  to  a  bishop  and  an  abbot,  who 
appear  in  the  clouds,  documents  with 
seals  hanging  from  them ;  in  the  back- 
ground is  a  church  in  process  of  building. 
She  wears  the  halo  of  a  saint.  Only 
sister  of  ten  brothers,  to  whom  Biburg 
belonged.  One  of  these  was  St.  Everard, 
first  abbot  of  Biburg,  and  afterwards 
bishop  of  Salzburg.  With  the  help 
and  advice  of  St  Otho,  bishop  of  Bam- 
berg, Bertha  built  a  church  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Benedict,  and  a  hospice  for  the 
poor,  at  Biburg.  Barefooted,  she  carried 
the  stones,  and  assisted  in  the  pious 
work,  not  only  with  her  wealth,  but  with 
the  labours  of  her  hands.  Other  women 


followed  her  example.  The  temple  was 
finished  in  eight  years,  and  was  opened 
by  St.  Otho  of  Bamberg,  and  Henry, 
bishop  of  Eatisbon.  Bertha  lies  buried 
at  Biburg.    Bavaria  Sancta. 

St.  Bertha  (6),  March  24,  V.  Ab- 
bess. O.S.B.  fll63.  Daughter  of 
Lothario  di  Ugo,  count  of  Vernio.  She 
is  called,  by  Bucelinus  and  others,  Bertha 
de*  Bardi.  It  seems  more  probable  that 
she  belonged  to  the  family  of  Alberti, 
who  were  counts  of  Vernio  in  the  12  th 
century;  the  county  only  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  Bardi  in  the  14th 
century.  She  was  born  at  Florence, 
and  was  very  pious  from  her  infancy. 
In  1143  she  took  the  veil  in  the  convent 
of  St.  Felicita8,  in  Florence,  whence 
she  was  sent  by  the  Blessed  Gualdo 
Galli,  general  of  the  Order  of  Vallam- 
brosa  (a  branch  of  the  Benedictines),  to 
reform  and  preside  over  the  monastery 
of  St.  Mary,  at  Capriola  or  Cavriglia, 
in  Yaldarno.  Bertha  was  distinguished 
by  miracles  and  regarded  as  a  saint. 
She  was  not  buried  among  the  other 
nuns,  but  laid  iu  a  coffin  under  the  high 
altar  of  the  chapel.  Brocchi,  Santi 
Toscani.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben.  Helyot, 
Ordres  Monastiques,  v.  20.  Boll.,  AA.SS. 
Bucelinus  says  she  was  descended  from 
counts  of  Eavenna. 

B.  Bertha  (7),  countess  of  Eaven- 
stein.  Founder  or  restorer  of  the  abbey 
of  Elchingen.  12th  century.  Honoured 
by  the  people  of  Bavaria  for  having 
driven  away  the  wild  geese  from  the 
banks  of  the  Upper  Danube.  Her  day 
is  unknown  to  Cahier.  She  is  not  Bertha 
Pedauque,  nor  the  Queen  of  Sheba. 
Cahier,  Caracteristiques,  voc.  "  Oie." 

St.  Bertha  (8)  de  Marbaia,  July  18. 
j"  1247.  Cistercian  nun  at  Aquiria,  and 
first  Abbess  of  Marquette,  or  Marchet, 
near  Lille,  which  was  founded  by  Jane, 
countess  of  Flanders,  in  1227.  Migne. 
Diet,  des  Abbayes.  Henriquez  and  Bol- 
landus. 

Ven.  Bertha  (9)  Jacobi,  June  25. 
1427-1514.  A  professed  sister  of  the 
rule  of  Anchorites,  she  lived  at  Utrecht 
more  than  fifty-seven  years,  in  her  cell, 
barefooted,  without  fire,  tasting  neither 
flesh  nor  milk,  and  wearing  only  a  hair 
shirt  and  a  single  tunic  winter  and 


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ST.  BESSIA 


121 


snmmer.  Sho  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
seven,  and  was  buried,  by  her  own 
desire,  in  the  spot  where  she  had  led 
this  penitential  life.  D.  Papebroch,  in 
the  Acta  Sanctorum.  Appended  to  his 
account  is  a  copy  of  the  rule  of  the 
Anchorites. 

St.  Bertheline,  or  Bertilinb,  patron 
of  Senois,  in  Guienne.  Petits  Bol- 
landistes. 

St.  Berthgith,  Berathgit. 

St.  Berthilia,  Bertilla. 

St.  Bertilana,  Bertilla  (3). 

St.  Bertilda,  Bertilla  (1). 

St.  Bertilia,  Bertilla. 

St.  Bertiline,  Bertheline. 

St.  Bertilla  (l)»May  11  (Berthilia, 
Bertilia).  f  c.  060.  Of  Curtissolra, 
or  Courtsohre,  in  Hainanlt.  Wife  of 
St.  Walbert,  duke  of  Louvaine,  under 
Clothaire  II.  Mother  of  the  holy  ab- 
besses SS.  Waltrude  and  Aldegund. 
She  had  also  a  son,  St.  Ablebert.  Pape- 
broch, in  AA.SS.  Martin. 

St  Bertilla  (2),  Jan.  3  (Berthilia, 
or  Bertilia).  f  687.  Patron  of  Mar- 
ceuil.  Of  noble  and  wealthy  parents. 
Married  Guthland.  They  spent  their 
lives  and  fortune  in  works  of  mercy  and 
piety.  After  Guthland's  death,  Bertilla 
gave  her  property  to  the  Church,  only 
reserving  one  small  estate,  on  which  she 
built  a  church  in  honour  of  Amandus, 
and  a  monastery  at  Maroeuil,  in  Artois, 
where  she  was  buried.  Gerard,  second 
bishop  of  Artois,  had  her  bones  taken 
up,  to  honour  her  as  a  saint.  They  are 
still  venerated  there.  Pilgrimages  for 
diseases  of  the  eyes  are  made  to  the 
fountain  of  St.  Bertilla  at  Maroeuil. 
AA.S8.    Saussaye,  Mart.  Gall. 

St.  Bertilla  (3),  or  Bertilana,  Nov. 
5,  and  June  27,  V.  f  692  or  702- 
Abbess  of  Chelles.  Patron  of  Chelles, 
Jouarre,  and  perhaps  of  Marolles.  It 
seems  more  likely  that  it  is  by  con- 
founding her  with  her  contemporary 
Bertilla  (2)  that  6he  has  been  called 
patron  of  Marolles.  Invoked  against 
goitre,  swellings,  sore  throats,  diseases 
of  horses,  storms,  hernia  in  children. 
She  was  a  member  of  a  noble  family  at 
Soissons,  in  the  reign  of  Dagobert  I. 
Her  parents  at  first  opposed  her  voca- 
tion, but  afterwards  placed  her  in  the 


monastery  of  Jouarre,  near  Meauz,  newly 
founded  by  St.  Ado,  brother  of  her  friend 
and  adviser  St.  Owen,  and  where  St. 
Teutehild  was  abbess.  Bertilla  ac- 
quitted herself  so  well  that  she  was 
chosen  prioress,  and  when  Queen  Ba- 
thilde  refounded  the  monastery  of 
Chelles  on  the  Marne,  she  begged  St. 
Teutehild  to  send  Bertilla  and  a  few 
nuns  to  establish  the  new  community. 
Bertilla  was  the  first  Abbess  of  Chelles, 
and  ruled  for  forty-six  years,  during 
which  St.  Bathilde,  queen  of  France, 
took  the  veil  there.  The  English  queen, 
St.  Hereswitha,  was  probably  a  nun 
there  when  Bertilla  arrived.  Under 
Bertilla,  Chelles  became  one  of  the 
famous  schools  of  piety  to  which  English 
ladies  resorted  when  they  wanted  to  be 
trained  in  monastic  life ;  some  remained 
there,  and  some,  after  a  time,  returned 
to  teach  their  countrywomen,  and  to 
plant  in  England  new  gardens  of  living 
trees  bearing  the  fruit  of  good  works. 
Bertilla  was  ambitious  of  martyrdom, 
but  as  no  persecutors  were  forthcoming, 
she  martyred  herself  with  austerities. 
It  is  related  that  a  nun  spoke  unkindly 
to  her  in  a  moment  of  ill  temper.  Ber- 
tilla did  not  answer,  but  prayed  that 
God  would  judge  between  them.  A  few 
days  afterwards  the  nun  died.  Bertilla, 
fearing  that  her  imprecation  might  have 
brought  this  judgment,  entreated  the 
dead  woman's  forgiveness.  Thereupon 
the  nun  came  to  life,  and  said  that  she 
forgave  Bertilla,  and  that  God  had  for- 
given them  both.  She  then  closed  her 
eyes  again  in  death.  Butler,  Lives. 
Baillet,  Vies.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben., 
June  27.  Menard,  Mart.  Ben.,  Nov.  4. 
Giry,  Diet.  Hag. 

St  Bertoara,  or  Bertrade,  Dec.  4. 
7th  century.  According  to  Martin's 
French  Martyrology,  St.  Bertoara  is 
patron  of  the  church  of  Sales,  in  Savoy, 
where  she  was  a  nun,  and  is  honoured 
at  Bourges. 

St.  Bertrade,  Bertoara. 

St  Bertrana,  July  20,  V.  Abbess. 
Saussaye,  Appendix  to  Mart.  Gall. 

St.  Besia,  M. 

St.  Bessa,  Dec.  18,  M.  P.B. 
St  Bessia  (1),  July  28,  M.  at  Lao- 
dicea  in  Phrygia.  AA.SS. 


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122 


ST.  BESSIA 


St.  Bessia  (2),  Vestina.  A  martyr 
of  Scillita.    (See  Januabia  (1).) 

B.  Bessela,  March  24.  12th  cen- 
tury. Abbess  and  founder  of  Wert. 
Wife  of  Folcold,  count  of  Bern,  near 
Bois  le  Duo,  and  Teisterband.  His 
lands  lay  between  the  Meuse  and  the 
Waal,  and  included  Hensdan,  Altena, 
and  the  island  of  Bomnelana.  Once,  in 
a  battle,  being  hard  beset  by  his  enemies, 
he  leaped  with  his  horse  into  the  Meuse, 
vowing  at  the  same  moment  that  if  he 
were  saved  he  would  build  a  monastery. 
His  safety  was  ensured  by  the  Virgin 
Mary,  who  was  seen  sitting  behind  him 
on  his  horse.  He  fulfilled  his  vow  in 
1134,  with  the  consent  of  his  wife, 
Bessela,  and  the  bishop,  by  turning  his 
castle  of  Bern  into  a  monastery  of  the 
Premonstratensian  Order.  The  Blessed 
Robert,  abbot  of  the  Island  of  St.  Mary, 
a  house  of  the  same  order,  sent  him 
brothers  for  his  new  establishment,  and 
set  the  Blessed  Everard  over  them.  Fol- 
cold became  a  lay-brother  in  his  own 
monastery,  and  lived  there  for  fifteen 
years  in  great  humility.  Bessela  also 
took  the  monastic  habit,  and  became 
founder  and  first  abbess  of  Wert,  be- 
tween the  Meuse  and  the  Waal,  where 
she  ruled  over  seventy  Premonstratensian 
nuns.  Folcold  and  Bessela  died  about 
1153.  AA.SS.,  Preeter.  Le  Paige, 
Bibl.  Preem.  Ordinis. 

St.  Beth,  Elizabeth  of  Eeuthe. 

St.  Betilda,  Bathilde. 

St  Bettelina.  Not  later  than  9th 
century.  Worshipped  at  Croyland — sup- 
posed to  have  been  a  nun  there.  Stadler. 

St.  Beuve,  Bova. 

St.  Bevea,  Barbea. 

St.  Bey,  Bega. 

St.  Beya,  Bega  (1),  and  Vey. 

St.  Bez,  Bega  (1). 

St.  Bibiana,  or  Viviana,  Dec.  2, 
V.  M.  364.  Patron  of  the  city  of 
Seville ;  against  epilepsy ;  and  of  drinkers 
in  Germany;  invoked  against  drunken- 
ness and  headache,  apparently  enabling 
her  votaries  to  indulge  their  taste  for 
strong  drink  with  impunity. 

Bepresented  (1)  in  her  church  in 
Borne,  holding  a  dagger  and  a  palm; 
(2)  holding  a  branch  with  little  twigs  on 
it ;  (3)  carrying  bags. 


Daughter  of  SS.  Flavianus  and  Da- 
fbosa.  Sister  of  St.  Demetria.  Scourged 
to  death  at  Borne,  under  Apronius,  in 
the  time  of  Julian  the  Apostate.  Her 
body  was  ordered  to  be  left  for  beasts  to 
eat,  but  after  two  days  it  was  taken  at 
night  by  a  pious  Christian  priest  named 
John,  and  buried  near  the  palace  of 
Luoinius.  A  chapel  was  built  over  her 
grave  on  the  restoration  of  peace  to  the 
Church. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  her  martyrdom 
and  that  of  her  parents  took  place  in  the 
reign  of  Gallienus,  just  a  century  earlier. 
There  was  no  organized  persecution  of 
the  Church  under  Julian,  although  there 
are  instances  of  such  martyrdoms,  either 
for  private  ends  of  tne  persecutors  or  on 
account  of  political  action  on  the  part 
of  Christians. 

B.M.  Butler,  Lives.  Leggendario. 
Bibadeneyra.  Vega.  Yillegas.  Bede. 
Husenbeth.  AA.SS.,  St.Pigmenius,  March 
23.    Baring-Gould,  Lives,  Dec.  2. 

St.  Biblias,  or  Biblis,  June  2.  3rd 
century.  One  of  the  martyrs  of  Lyons. 
She  was  one  of  the  ten  who,  on  being 
accused  as  Christians,  denied  their  faith, 
and  even  accused  the  others  of  crimes, 
in  order  to  screen  themselves  by  appear- 
ing not  to  belong  to  the  same  community. 
The  apostates  were  treated  with  con- 
tempt by  the  multitude,  and  were  kept 
in  prison  with  the  other  Christian  con- 
fessors until  the  Emperor's  pleasure 
should  be  known  regarding  them.  On 
the  arrival  of  an  order  that  the  Christians 
should  be  put  to  death,  but  that  those 
who  would  renounce  their  errors  should 
be  set  at  liberty,  the  apostates  were 
brought  before  the  tribunal  again.  To 
the  surprise  of  all,  they  declared  them- 
selves ashamed  of  their  base  denial  of 
their  faith,  and  ready  to  prove  their 
repentance  by  enduring  tortures  and 
death.  Biblias,  as  a  Roman  citizen,  was 
beheaded.  She  was  first  tortured,  and, 
when  asked  if  the  Christians  sacrificed 
and  ate  their  own  children,  she  answered, 
"  How  can  they  eat  their  own  children, 
when  they  are  not  even  allowed  to  eat 
the  blood  of  animals?"  Baillet,  Vie. 
(See  Blandina.) 

St.  Bicca,  or  Nicas,  June  28,  M  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 


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St.  Bienvenue,  Benvenuta. 

St.  BilhUd  (1),  BlLDECHILDE,  BlLDE- 
HILDI8,  BlTHILD,  BlTIHILD,  BLITHILD,  Feb. 

15;  with  her  husband,  Oct.  28.  7th 
century.  A  woman  of  high  rank.  Mar- 
ried St.  Faro,  a  nobleman  at  the  court 
of  Clothaire  II.,  early  in  the  7th  cen- 
tury. Faro  and  Bilhild  served  God  to- 
gether to  the  best  of  their  ability,  until 
at  last  he  found  so  many  hindrances  and 
distractions  that  they  agreed  to  separate. 
Bilhild  took  the  veil,  and  settled  in  a 
solitary  place  on  one  of  their  estates, 
supposed  to  be  now  Champigny.  Faro 
became  a  monk,  and,  in  627,  was  made 
Bishop  of  Meaux.  The  devil,  who  is 
always  watching  to  destroy  the  just, 
troubled  him  with  memories  of  his  wife. 
He  sent  three  times  to  ask  her  to  come 
and  see  him.  At  last  she  came ;  but,  lest 
she  should  expose  the  servant  of  God  to 
the  traps  of  Satan,  she  cut  off  all  her 
hair,  and  put  on  ugly  old  clothes  and  a 
cilicium.  He  admired  her  courage,  and, 
shuddering  at  the  sight  of  her,  sent  her 
away.  She  then  became  a  nun  under 
his  sister,  St.  Fara.  Bucelinus.  Mon- 
lalembert,  Moines.    Saussaye,  Mart.  Qal. 

St  Bilhild  (2),  Guntild  (l). 

St  Bilhild  (3),  Nov.  27.  8th  cen- 
tury. Abbess  and  widow.  Born,  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  7th  century,  at 
Hochheim.  Daughter  of  the  noble  Ibe- 
rim  and  Mechtrida.  She  was  brought 
up  at  Wurtzburg,  and  married  very 
young  to  Duke  Hottan.  When  she  was 
eighteen  her  husband  was  killed  in 
battle,  and  her  only  child  died.  She 
built  the  nunnery  of  Altmiinster,  or 
Antiquacella,  at  Maintz.  She  was  christ- 
ened by  her  uncle  Sigebert,  bishop  of 
that  city,  and  ruled  over  a  large  com- 
munity. The  monastery  was  afterwards 
called  Albas  Dominaa,  "  White  Ladies," 
and  stood  until  the  end  of  the  18th  cen- 
tury. Her  name  is  in  the  German, 
French,  and  Benedictine  Martyrologies. 
Lechner.  The  Kev.  Baring-Gould  gives 
her  Life  from  the  Maintz  Breviary, 
Molanus.  Bucelinus. 

St  Bilhild  (4),  or  Blithild.  A  nun 
whom  St.  Prrojectus,  bishop  of  Clermont, 
and  martyr,  called  "a  worthy  servant 
of  Christ,"  and  held  in  great  veneration. 
Saussaye,  Mart.  Gal,  p.  1219. 


St.  Birgitta,  Bbiged  of  Sweden. 
St.  Birona,  Beata  (1). 
Bissia  of  Alexandria,  July  28.  Mart. 
Biche. 

St.  Bistamona,  June  4.  Sister  of 
St.  Dibamona,  and  daughter  of  St. 
Sophia — all  martyred  in  Egypt.  Gnerin 
supposes  her  to  be  the  same  as  Elpis, 
or  Esperance.  {See  Faith,  Hope, 
and  Charity.)  AA.SS.  Petits  Bol- 
landistes. 

B.  Bivia,  companion  of  B.  Catherine 
Morigia,  and  one  of  the  first  nuns  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Ambrose  ad  Nemus.  Helyot, 
Ord.  Man.,  iv.  9. 

St  Blaesilla,  Jan.  22.  f350-  A 
disciple  of  St.  Jerome.  Her  husband 
died  seven  months  after  their  marriage. 
After  Blaesilla's  death,  St.  Jerome  wrote 
letters  of  condolence  to  her  mother,  St. 
Paula,  and  her  sister,  St.  Eustochium. 
Bollandus  gives  several  extracts  from  his 
letters,  setting  forth  her  virtues  and  piety. 
Boll.,  AA.SS. 

Blanca  (l),  Alda. 

Blanca  (2),  Blanche. 

St.  Blanche  (1),  Nov.  30.  c.  1187- 
1253.  Wife  of  Louis  VIII.,  king  of 
France  (1223-1226).  Mother  of  St. 
Louis  (IX.)  (1226-1270).  She  was  the 
eldest  of  the  eleven  or  twelve  daughters 
of  Alfonso  IX.,  king  of  Castille  (1188- 
1214).  Three  of  her  sisters  were  queens 
respectively  of  Portugal,  Leon,  and 
Arragon.  Her  mother  was  the  daughter 
of  Henry  II.,  king  of  England.  Philip 
II.,  called  "  Augustus  "  and  "  the  Great," 
king  of  France  (1180-1223),  desired,  for 
political  reasons,  to  make  an  alliance 
with  England  and  with  Spain  by  marrying 
his  son  Louis  to  the  daughter  of  the 
King  of  Castille.  John,  king  of  England, 
also  favoured  the  project.  Eleanor  of 
Guienne  had  married,  first,  Louis  VII.  of 
France,  from  whom  she  was  divorced; 
and  secondly,  Henry  II.  of  England. 
She  was  thus  grandmother  of  Louis  VIII. 
and  of  Blanche,  and  took  great  part  in 
negotiating  the  marriage.  As  soon  as 
the  arrangements  were  concluded,  she 
went  to  Castille  as  ambassador  for  the 
two  kings,  to  propose  for  the  Princess 
Blanche  and  to  fetch  her.  The  marriage 
was  celebrated,  by  proxy  (c.  1200),  at 
Burgos,     with    great  magnificence* 


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124 


ST.  BLANCHE 


Blanche's  father  and  his  court  accom- 
panied her  to  the  frontier  of  Gascony, 
where  Louis  sent  Matthew  de  Mont- 
morency to  receive  her.  The  marriage 
could  not  he  solemnized  at  Paris,  because 
the  kingdom  was  under  an  interdict,  on 
account  of  Philip's  repudiation  of  his 
wife  Ingibiorg,  and  his  unlawful  marriage 
to  Agnes  of  Meran.  Normandy,  how- 
ever, being  the  property  of  the  bride's 
uncle,  John,  king  of  England,  that 
monarch  went  to  meet  her  and  conducted 
her  thither,  and  the  wedding  was  cele- 
brated at  Parmoy  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Bourges  in  presence  of  a  brilliant 
assemblage  of  prelates  and  nobles  of 
France  and  England.  Louis  "  emmena 
sachere  moieU"  to  Paris  to  the  gay  court 
of  Philip  Augustus,  where  the  greater 
part  of  her  married  life  was  passed. 
The  young  couple  were  thirteen  or 
fourteen  years  old,  both  amiable,  inno- 
cent, pious,  and  much  alike  in  many 
ways,  so  that  they  became  devotedly 
attached,  and  could  not  bear  to  lose  sight 
of  each  other,  and  no  couple  were  ever 
more  united  or  more  happy.  Blanche 
was  remarkable  all  her  life  for  her  noble 
qualities  of  heart  and  intellect.  When 
she  came  to  France  hor  beauty  and 
dignity  won  the  hearts  of  all  the  French, 
and  her  conversation  was  so  reasonable 
and  so  charming  that  it  was  impossible 
to  refuse  her  anything.  Her  father-in- 
law  admitted  the  value  of  her  judgment, 
and  was  often  guided  by  her  advice ;  her 
husband  would  not  undertake  the  smallest 
thing  without  consulting  her.  The  chief 
business  of  his  short  reign  was  the  war 
with  England.  The  French  won  back 
many  of  the  places  which  were  in  the 
hands  of  the  English,  and  would  prob- 
ably have  driven  them  out  of  France  had 
Louis  not  abandoned  the  struggle  for  the 
purpose  of  fighting  the  Albigenses. 
Blanche,  who  had  a  pious  horror  of 
heretics  and  infidels,  gave  some  of  her 
furniture  and  some  valuable  rings  to 
contribute  to  the  expense  of  a  war  which 
she  considered  sacred.  She  went  with 
him  to  Languedoo,  and  lived  for  some 
time  in  the  camp,  to  encourage  the  Catho- 
lics. Daring  this  campaign  a  pestilence 
broke  out  in  the  French  army;  among 
the  immense  number  of  victims  was  the 


king.  He  made  the  nobles  swear  alle" 
giance  to  his  son  Louis  IX.  the  Saint, 
who  was  only  eleven  years  old,  and 
appointed  Blanche  to  be  regent  until 
Louis  should  reach  the  age  of  twenty. 

The  barons  thought  the  reign  of  a 
child  and  the  regency  of  a  woman  an 
excellent  opportunity  to  recover  the 
power  and  independence  they  had  lost 
under  Philip  Augustus.  They  banded 
together  against  the  queen-mother,  but 
her  firmness  of  character  and  political 
ability  were  more  than  a  match  for  their 
arrogant  pretensions.  The  most  power- 
ful of  her  opponents  was  Thibault,  count 
of  Champagne,  afterwards  king  of  Na- 
varre, an  accomplished  knight,  a  brave 
soldier,  and  a  poet,  who  had  long  been 
in  love  with  Blanche,  and  having  never 
received  the  smallest  encouragement 
from  her,  now  thought  to  punish  her 
cruelty;  but  she  put  him  to  shame  by 
her  remonstrances,  and  he  became  her 
staunchest  champion,  and  helped  her  to 
overcome  his  former  colleagues,  so  that 
her  regency  strengthened  the  authority 
of  the  crown  and  enriched  it  by  prudent 
alliances. 

One  of  the  notable  events  that  occurred 
in  Europe  during  her  regency  was  the 
establishment,  in  1229,  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion, which  Professor  Gustavo  Masson 
characterizes  as  "the  most  formidable 
engine  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  the 
world  has  ever  seen." 

Blanche  took  very  great  trouble  and 
care  in  the  education  of  her  children. 
St.  Louis  grew  up  to  be  one  of  the  best 
kings  that  ever  reigned  in  any  country, 
and  one  of  the  best  men  that  ever  lived 
in  France.  She  said  to  the  young  king, 
"  My  son,  I  would  rather  see  you  dead 
than  guilty  of  a  mortal  sin."  She  was 
regent  for  him  a  second  time  while  he 
was  absent  at  the  sixth  crusade  (1249). 
She  and  all  his  wisest  advisers  dis- 
approved of  his  expedition  to  Palestine. 
She  favoured  the  clergy,  both  from  piety 
and  policy.  Both  she  and  her  husband 
are  revered  by  Franciscans  as  members 
of  their  Third  Order.  The  two  monas- 
teries she  built  were  Cistercian,  namely, 
Maubuisson,  at  Pontoise,  where  *she  is 
buried,  and  Le  Lys,  near  Melun,  where 
her  heart  is  buried.    She  helped  her 


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ST.  BLANDINA 


125 


son  to  bring  to  Paris  the  holy  crown  of 
thorns,  which  he  got  from  the  Turks. 
A  festival  was  instituted  in  its  honour, 
Ang.  11.    (Oynecmum  and  Oebetbuch.) 

During  his  second  expedition  to  the 
holy  wars  in  the  seventh  crusade,  Blanche 
died,  on  hearing  that  he  had  vowed  to 
remain  there. 

She  had  eleven  children,  several  of 
whom  died  young.  One  was  Charles, 
count  of  Anjou,  who  had  Anjou  and 
Maine  from  his  father,  Provence  and 
Forcalquier  from  his  wife,  the  Kingdom 
of  the  Two  Sicilies  by  his  sword.  He 
would  also  have  had  the  empire  of 
Greece,  but  for  the  jealousy  of  the  Pope 
(Mezeray). 

Of  her  two  daughters,  one  died  in 
infancy  and  the  other  was  Saints  Isa- 

BBLLE  DE  FRANCE. 

Mezeray,  Histoire  de  France.  Dr. 
Brewer,  History  of  France.  Gustave 
Masson,  Mediseval  France.  The  con- 
temporary accounts  of  the  reign  of  Louis 
IX.,  and  particularly  of  his  expedition 
to  the  holy  wars,  in  the  collections  of 
Bouquet,  Bouchon,  etc.,  are  full  of 
interest.  Saussaye,  Mart.  OalL  Her 
Life  is  to  be  given  by  the  Bollandists 
when  they  come  to  her  day. 

B.  Blanche  (2),  April  26.  Daughter 
of  Philip  III.  the  Fair,  king  of  France 
(1285-1314).  Worshipped  in  the  con- 
vent of  Longchamps,  near  Paris,  founded 
by  her  great-aunt,  St.  Isabelle  de 
France.  AA.SS.,  Prseter,  from  the 
Franciscan  Mart. 

B.  Blanche  (3),  Jan.  14.  Abbess  of 
Argensol,  in  Champagne  (founded  1220). 
When  it  was  revealed  to  her  that  Blanche, 
countess  of  Champagne,  queen  of  Navarre, 
and  founder  of  her  convent,  must  die 
and  lose  her  soul,  this  saintly  woman 
gave  up  her  own  life  as  the  only  con- 
dition on  which  she  could  ransom  that 
of  her  friend.    Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 

St  Blanda  (1),  May  10,  M.  222. 
Wife  of  St.  Felix,  M.  She  was  paralytic 
and  bedridden  for  four  years.  Felix, 
hearing  of  the  miracles  of  the  Christians, 
applied  to  Palmatius — a  consul  newly 
converted  to  Christianity — promising  to 
adopt  that  religion  if  his  wife  were 
cured.  Palmatius,  who  was  a  guest  and 
prisoner  in  the  house  of  Simplicius, 


threw  himself  on  his  knees  and  prayed 
for  the  restoration  of  Blanda  to  health. 
Before  an  hour  had  elapsed,  Blanda  ran 
to  the  house,  praising  God,  and  begging 
to  be  baptized  with  her  husband.  Pal- 
matius then  sent  for  St.  Calixtus,  the 
Pope,  who  baptized  them  and  converted 
and  baptized  Simplicius,  his  wife  and 
children,  and  about  sixty-eight  persons 
of  his  household.  The  Emperor  Alex- 
ander was  very  angry,  and  had  all  the 
new  converts  beheaded  and  their  heads 
stuck  on  the  different  gates  of  Home,  as 
a  warning  to  Christians.  B.M.  Boll., 
AA.SS.,  who  give  the  Acts  "  per  notarios 
Bomanos  Conscripta." 

Blanda  (2),  May  13,  June  12; 
with  St.  Eleutherius,  Feb.  20,  V.  6th 
century.  Raised  to  life,  baptized  and 
consecrated  to  God  by  St.  Eleutherius, 
bishop  of  Tournay.  She  led  a  holy 
life,  and  her  relics  are  honoured,  with 
those  of  Eleutherius,  in  the  cathedral  of 
Tournay.  Gallia  Christiana,  iii.  571. 
Henschenius,  AA.SS.,  Feb.  20. 

St.  Blandina,  June  2,  V.M.  f  c.  1 77. 
One  of  the  martyrs  of  Lyons.  Patron 
of  young  girls. 

Represented  (1)  with  a  gridiron; 
(2)  tied  to  a  stake  or  pillar,  a  lion,  bear, 
or  ox  standing  by. 

A  sanguinary  and  indiscriminate  per- 
secution of  the  Christians  occurred  at 
Lyons  and  Vienne,  in  the  reign  of  one 
of  the  best  of  men,  as  well  as  most 
tolerant  of  rulers,  namely,  Marcus  Aure- 
lius  Antoninus.  These  cruelties  were 
carried  on  by  the  local  authorities  after 
the  Emperor  had  ordered  the  suspension 
of  the  persecution.  There  is  nothing  in 
sacred  history  more  authentic  than  the 
story  of  the  Martyrs  of  Lyons.  The 
circumstances  are  related  in  a  letter 
from  the  surviving  Christians  of  those 
Churches  to  those  of  Phrygia  and  Asia. 
This  letter  is  supposed  to  be  written  by 
St.  Ireneeus,  coadjutor  of  St.  Photinus, 
bishop  of  Lyons.  Part  of  it  is  preserved 
in  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Eusebius, 
who  says  that  he  has  given  it  in  full  in 
his  Book  of  Martyrs,  which  is  lost. 
The  letter  says  that  "  the  faithful  were 
dragged  about  the  streets,  imprisoned, 
stoned,  and  overwhelmed  with  outrages." 
Among  the  most  distinguished  of  the 


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126 


ST.  BLANDINA 


forty-nine  martyrs  was  Vettins  Epaga- 
thus,  who,  before  he  had  been  arrested 
or  accused  as  a  Christian,  publicly  re- 
monstrated against  the  injustice  of  con- 
demning them  without  evidence ;  and 
undertook  to  prove  that  they  were 
innocent  of  any  crime.  He  was  placed 
amongst  the  confessors,  and  it  is  probable 
that  as  a  Roman  citizen  he  was  one  of 
those  eventually  beheaded,  like  Attains, 
who,  after  being  led  into  the  amphi- 
theatre to  fight  with  beasts  for  the 
amusement  of  the  populace,  was  re- 
manded to  prison  for  a  time  and  suffered 
the  more  dignified  penalty.  Sanctus  a 
deacon,  and  Maturus  a  neophyte,  were 
killed  by  being  roasted  in  hot  iron 
chairs.  The  aged  Bishop  Photinus 
was  one  of  several  who  died  of  the 
poisonous  atmosphere  of  the  prison, 
before  any  torture  was  inflicted  on  them. 
Ten  of  the  accused  apostatized ;  among 
them  St.  Biblias.  They  were  im- 
prisoned with  the  rest,  and  treated  with 
greater  contempt  on  account  of  their 
cowardice.  It  happened  that  some  of 
the  Christians  had  heathen  slaves  who 
were  arrested  with  them,  and  these,  in 
their  terror  of  being  identified  with  the 
proscribed  sect,  accused  them  of  the 
most  horrible  crimes.  Meantime  the  con- 
fessors would  not  allow  any  one  to  call 
them  martyrs.  By  their  intercession 
and  example,  they  reclaimed  many  of 
the  apostates.  After  some  delay,  while 
the  Emperor's  decision  was  awaited, 
these  were  re-examined,  and  were  offered 
their  liberty,  on  condition  that  they 
should  positively  renounce  their  religion, 
but,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  had 
never  been  Christians  at  heart,  and  had 
led  wicked  lives,  they  only  desired  the 
privilege  of  suffering  with  their  brethren, 
who  now  received  them  with  open  arms. 

Blandina  was  a  slave,  of  such  a  delicate 
constitution  and  so  little  courage  that 
her  mistress,  who  was  among  the  martyrs, 
feared  she  would  be  wearied  or  terrified 
into  apostasy.  The  executioners  relieved 
each  other  in  torturing  her,  from  dawn 
until  sunset,  in  order  to  induce  her 
to  accuse  her  mistress  and  the  other 
Christians,  as  the  heathen  slaves  had 
done.  But  she  said,  "  I  am  a  Christian ; 
crimes  are  not  tolerated  among  us." 


After  many  kinds  of  torture  had  been 
tried  upon  her,  she  was  bound  to  a  stake 
to  be  devoured  by  the  wild  beasts  that 
were  driven  into  the  arena.  Hanging 
thus,  as  if  on  a  cross,  and  praying 
earnestly,  she  greatly  encouraged  the 
other  confessors,  who  saw  in  their  sister 
an  image  of  Him  who  was  crucified  for 
them.  As  none  of  the  beasts  would 
touch  her,  she  was  taken  back  to  the 
prison.  On  the  last  day  of  the  gladia- 
torial games,  she  and  Ponticus,  a  lad  of 
fifteen,  who  seems  to  have  been  her 
brother,  after  they  had  witnessed  the 
death  of  all  their  companions,  were  com- 
manded to  swear  by  the  idols.  Ponticus, 
encouraged  by  Blandina,  refused,  and 
was  at  once  put  to  death.  Blandina  was 
scourged,  torn  by  beasts,  and  made  to 
sit  in  the  burning  chair,  after  which  she 
was  enveloped  in  a  net  and  thrown  down 
before  a  wild  cow,  which  tossed  her 
about  and  tore  her  limb  from  limb. 
The  pagans  admitted  that  none  of  their 
women  could  have  endured  such  torments 
so  bravely.  The  bodies  of  the  saints 
were  given  to  be  eaten  by  dogs,  and 
soldiers  watched  day  and  night  to 
prevent  any  of  them  from  being  buried 
by  their  friends.  Some  tried  in  vain  to 
bribe  the  guards  to  give  up  the  bodies, 
but  all  that  remained  of  the  martyrs  was 
burned  and  the  ashes  thrown  into  the 
Ehone.  It  was  presumed  that  this  would 
destroy  the  hope  of  their  resurrection. 
The  names  of  the  martyrs  who  suffered 
at  the  same  time  as  Blandina  are  judged 
to  have  been  taken  from  the  original 
account.  Twelve  men  and  twelve  women 
were  beheaded  as  Roman  citizens.  The 
women  were  SS.  Albina,  Biblias  or 
Biblis,  Elpis  who  is  also  called  Amnea 
or  Amnia,  Emilia,  Grata  or  Agrata, 
Julia,  Materna,  Pompeia,  Postumiana 
or  Potamia,  Mabta,  Bhodana,  Rogata. 
Nine  men  and  nine  women  died  in  prison ; 
the  latter  were  SS.  Alumna  or  Domna, 
Antonia,  Ausonia,  Emilia,  Jamnica  or 
Gamnite,  Julia,  Just  a,  Pompeia,  and 
Trophima.  Blandina  was  the  only 
woman  who  was  thrown  to  the  beasts. 
Some  of  the  Christians  were  brought 
from  Vienne  to  Lyons  to  be  tried  and 
executed  with  their  brethren  there ;  but 
they  are  generally  all  called  "The 


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127 


Martyrs  of  Lyons ; "  they  are  also  called 
"Martyrs  of  Aisnai" — supposed  to  be 
the  spot  in  Lyons  where  they  were  pnt 
to  death.  According  to  another  theory, 
the  site  of  their  martyrdom  was  the 
amphitheatre  on  Mount  Forviere.  Blan- 
dina  is  generally  considered  the  chief 
of  these  martyrs,  and  churches  dedicated 
in  honour  of  the  forty-eight  Martyrs  of 
Lyons  are  often  called  by  her  name. 

KM.  AA.SS.  Tillemont.  Baillet 
Butler.  The  Epistle  of  the  Galliean 
C%ttrc^«,translatedbyBindley(S.P.C.K.). 

St.  Blata,  or  Blatha,  i.e.  Flora,  Jan. 
29,  V.  St.  Brigid's  cook.  *f  c.  523. 
Colgan,  Irish  Saints,  ii.  629,  Appendix. 

St  Blath  (1),  an  Irish  V.,  Jan.  18, 
honoured  with  St.  Sooth  (2). 

St  Blath  (2),  Blata. 

St.  Blatta,  April  22,  V.  Nun  at 
Ana8tasiopolis,  the  capital  of  Ancyra. 
Sister  of  St.  Theodore  Syceota  (f  613), 
bishop  of  Anastasiopolis,  archimandrite 
of  the  monasteries  of  Galatia.  Boll., 
AA.SS.,  Prater. 

St  Blictrude.  Supposed  to  mean 
Plectbude. 

St  Blida,  May  30.  11th  century. 
Mother  of  St.  Walstan.  Wife  of  Bene- 
dict, of  a  rich  and  influential  family.  They 
lived  at  Baber,  afterwards  called  Baw- 
burgh,  in  Norfolk,  where  Walstan  was 
born.  He  was  ascetic  and  pious  from 
his  youth.  He  gave  his  own  clothes  and 
shoes  to  the  poor,  and  became  a  farm- 
servant  at  Taverham,  near  Cossey.  He 
died  working  in  the  field,  May  30,  1016. 
All  these  places  are  within  a  few  miles 
of  Norwich.  A  well  near  Cossey  still 
bears  his  name,  and  pilgrimages  were 
made  to  ensure  his  intercession  against 
fever,  lameness,  blindness,  and  palsy. 
Blida  is  represented  (1)  as  a  saint,  on 
the  chancel  window  of  North  Tudden- 
ham  Church ;  (2)  crowned,  and  holding 
a  book  and  palm.  This  representation 
was  formerly  to  be  seen  on  the  rood- 
screen  of  St.  James's,  Norwich,  and  is 
now  in  private  possession  at  Aylsham. 
Husenbeth,  Emblems  of  Saints.  Butler, 
Lives.    Capgrave,  fol.  285. 

Blithildis  or  Blithilda,  Gerberga. 

St  Blittrude,  Plectbude. 

St.  Bogha,  sister  of  SS.  Colma  and 
Lassara. 


B.  Bogna,  June  13.  11th  century. 
One  of  the  patrons  of  Poland.  She  and 
her  husband  were  of  the  most  illustrious 
families  in  Poland.  They  were  childless 
for  thirty  years.  In  1030  their  son 
Stanislas  Sezepanowski  was  born  at 
Sezepanow,  near  Cracow.  As  bishop  of 
that  town,  he  was  the  only  person  who 
dared  to  reprove  Boleslas  II.  the  Cruel, 
for  his  licentious,  tyrannical,  and  bar- 
barous conduct.  After  repeated  remon- 
strances, he  excommunicated  the  king, 
who  therefore  murdered  him,  1079. 
Stanislas  and  his  mother  are  buried  at 
Sezepanow.  The  Bollandists  do  not 
sanction  her  worship,  but  describe  her 
virtues  and  those  of  her  husband  in  the 
Life  of  their  son  St.  Stanislas,  May  7. 
Butler,  Lives,  "St.  Stanislas."  Bogna 
appears  in  the  AA.SS.  amongst  the 
Psetermissi,  June  13. 

St.  Bologne,  Bolonia. 

St  Bolonia,  Oct.  16  (in  French, 
Bologne  or  Boulogne),  V.  M.  "f  c.  372 
or  362.  Worshipped  at  Chaumont, 
Haute  Marne.  When  she  was  very 
young  her  mother  died,  leaving  her  to 
the  care  of  a  Christian  nurse.  Her 
father,  for  fear  of  the  Emperor,  sent  her 
away  to  live  with  the  nurse.  Bolonia 
tended  the  sheep.  When  she  was  fifteen 
Ptolemy,  a  general  under  Julian,  tried 
to  seduce  her  and  then  to  marry  her. 
He  persecuted  her  in  various  ways,  and 
after  many  tortures,  ordered  her  to 
sacrifice  to  the  gods.  She  answered,  "  I 
sacrifice  myself  to  the  living  God."  He 
put  her  into  a  vessel  full  of  water,  with 
stones  and  fetters  to  ensure  her  being 
drowned.  In  this  she  was  thrown  from 
the  top  of  the  hill  on  which  her  father's 
castle  stood,  and  arrived  safe  and  well, 
shining  with  unearthly  beauty  and  glory, 
on  the  bank  of  the  river.  Then  her 
head  was  cut  off,  and  she  carried  it  in 
her  hands  across  the  river  to  be  buried. 
She  was  not,  as  some  have  supposed,  the 
sister  of  SS.  Gall  and  Bercharius.  Bou- 
logne, in  Chaumont,  is  said  to  be  named 
after  her.  She  is  worshipped  there  with 
a  special  service  of  nine  lessons  and  two- 
collects,  although  she  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  old  martyrologies.  Boll.,  AA.SS.* 
Oct.  16  ;  and  Prater.,  July  17. 

St  Bona  (1),  Sept.  12  (Cabmundica, 


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128 


ST.  BONA 


Mundicorda),  V.  Supposed  a  nun  in 
Egypt,  in  the  7th  century.  AA.SS., 
Prseter.  Worshipped  at  Treviso.  Migne. 
Ferrarius. 

St.  Bona  (2),  Bova. 

St.  Bona  (3),  May  29,  V.  of  Pisa. 
1156-1207.  Represented  carrying  a 
pilgrim's  staff  and  a  short  double-barred 
cross  in  her  joined  hands.  She  had 
three  half-brothers,  the  Patriarch  of 
Jerusalem,  the  Master  of  the  Temple, 
and  a  Enight  Hospitaller.  From  early 
youth  she  was  under  the  direction  of 
angels,  and  was  the  subject  of  visions. 
She  led  a  life  of  great  austerity,  wearing 
a  hair  shirt  and  an  iron  belt  under  her 
clothes.  Notwithstanding  the  opposition 
of  her  family,  she  went  on  pilgrimage  to 
the  Holy  Land,  and  afterwards  to  Santiago 
de  Compostella.  During  her  journeyings 
she  was  attacked  and  wounded  by  robbers; 
she  crossed  rivers  dry-shod,  and  otherwise 
miraculously  helped  herself  and  others. 
After  her  return,  she  built  a  church  at 
Pisa  in  honour  of  St.  James  of  Com- 
postella. She  devoted  herself  to  a 
religious  life  in  the  Order  of  Canons 
Regular.  She  died  in  the  odour  of 
sanctity.  She  was  buried  in  the  church 
of  St.  Martin,  at  Pisa,  followed  to  the 
grave  by  the  archbishop  and  a  great 
concourse  of  people.  An  altar  was 
afterwards  dedicated  there  in  her  name. 
She  was  never  canonized,  but  was 
worshipped  at  Pisa.  AA.SS.  Cahier, 
CaracUristiques.  Husenbeth,  Emblems. 
The  ring  with  which  she  was  married  to 
Christ  and  the  table  at  which  Ho  supped 
with  her  were  reverently  preserved  at 
two  monasteries  near  Pisa.  Lives  of  the 
Brethren. 

St.  Bona  (4),  Aug.  5.  t  1240- 
3rd  O.S.F.  St.  Lucchese  or  Lucesio, 
and  his  wife  St.  Bona  or  Buona  Donna, 
lived  at  St.  Casciano,  where  several 
children  were  born  to  them.  They 
afterwards  removed  to  Poggibonsi. 
Lucchese  took  part  with  the  Guelphs. 
He  spent  most  of  his  substance  in  keep- 
ing up  his  rank,  lie  then  set  about 
restoring  his  fortune  by  trade,  and  became 
a  provision  merchant.  This  trade  brought 
liim  the  temptation  to  wish  for  a  famine 
for  the  sake  of  the  profits  he  could  make. 
He  soon  repented  of  his  wicked  desire, 


and,  after  the  death  of  his  children,  he 
gave  away  all  that  he  had,  except  a  small 
sum  with  which  he  bought  a  little  garden 
and  maintained  himself  and  his  wife. 
He  wished  to  join  the  Poor  Friars,  as 
the  Brothers  of  St.  Francis  were  called ; 
but  not  being  able  to  do  so,  he  prayed 
to  bo  taught  how  to  sanctify  his  soul  in 
the  world.  He  devoted  himself  to  works 
of  benevolence,  begging  from  the  rich 
for  the  sake  of  the  poor,  visiting  the 
Maremma  every  summer,  to  minister  to 
the  wants  of  those  who  suffered  from  the 
heat  and  the  unhealthy  air,  at  the  same 
time  exhorting  them  to  repentance  and 
righteousness.  At  first  Bona  blamed 
his  excessive  charity,  and  feared  he  would 
leave  her  and  himself  in  destitution. 
One  day  she  was  angry  with  him  for 
giving  away  the  last  morsel  of  bread  in 
the  house.  He  answered  that  He  who 
had  multiplied  the  five  loaves  would  be 
able  to  provide  for  them.  Presently 
some  beggars  came  to  the  door,  and 
Lucchese  told  his  wife  to  go  to  the  cup- 
board and  get  them  something.  She 
laughed,  knowing  the  place  was  empty ; 
but  he  again  bade  her  go.  She  went, 
and  found  a  large  supply  of  bread. 
From  that  time  she  always  gave  without 
stint,  and  when  St.  Francis  came,  preach- 
ing poverty  and  charity,  Bona  was  as 
ready  as  her  husband  to  receive  his 
instructions. 

Such  was  the  compunction  caused  by 
the  preaching  of  this  great  apostle,  that 
numbers  of  people  crowded  into  the 
monasteries,  and  thousands  more  were  dis- 
posed to  follow,  regarding  the  cloistered 
life  as  the  only  way  of  saving  their  souls. 
St.  Francis  discouraged  this  movement ; 
he  told  them  they  could  not  secure  their 
salvation  by  burying  themselves  in  the 
religious  houses,  and  that  many  of  them 
would  serve  God  better  by  carrying  on 
their  ordinary  business  righteously  and 
bringing  up  their  children  virtuously. 
It  was  for  such  as  these  that,  in  1221,  he 
instituted  his  Third  Order.  The  rule 
was  simple,  and  it  was  expressly  declared 
that  it  did  not  oblige  under  pain  of 
sin.  Four  things  were  required  of  the 
candidates:  (1)  restoration  of  all  goods 
unjustly  acquired ;  (2)  reconciliation 
with  all  adversaries :  (3)  observance  of 


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ST.  BONOSA 


129 


the  commandments  of  God  and  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Church  and  the  Rule  ;  (4) 
in  case  of  the  reception  of  a  married 
woman,  her  husband's  consent  was  neces- 
sary. They  wore  a  simple  grey  dress 
and  the  Franciscan  cord ;  they  were  not 
allowed  to  attend  theatrical  representa- 
tions, dances,  or  revels.  They  were  to 
regulate  their  worldly  affairs  and  make 
their  wills.  Eventually  the  Third  Order 
betook  themselves  to  cloisters,  throwing 
away  what  was  perhaps  the  most  bene- 
ficial part  of  the  system  of  their  founder. 

Lucchese  and  Bona  continued  to  be 
members  of  this  order  for  nineteen 
years.  At  one  time  Lucchese  appears  to 
have  lived  alone  in  a  hermitage,  visiting 
Bona  and  assisting  her  in  good  works. 
Bona  fell  ill,  and  Lucchese,  who  was  also 
ill,  went  to  see  her,  and  advised  her  to 
receive  the  Holy  Communion.  When 
she  had  done  so,  he  said,  "  My  dear 
companion,  God,  who  gave  us  grace  to  re- 
nounce our  property  together,  is  going  to 
grant  us  the  favour  of  leaving  the  world 
together ;  wait  a  little  while  until  I  have 
received  the  Holy  Sacrament,  and  then 
we  will  go  together  to  eternal  happiness." 
He  went  back  to  his  hermitage,  sent  for 
bis  confessor  and  the  parish  priest,  and 
received  with  great  devotion.  He  re- 
turned in  a  state  of  extreme  exhaustion 
to  Bona,  who  died  holding  his  hands. 
He  was  carried  back  to  his  hut,  where 
he  died  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  crucifix, 
on  April  28,  on  which  day  he  is  com- 
memorated in  the  Franciscan  Martyrology. 
They  were  both  buried  in  the  Franciscan 
church  at  Poggibonsi,  afterwards  called 
San  Lucchese. 

Brocchi,  Santi  Fiorentini.  Magliano, 
Hist.  Franciscans.  Prayer-Book.  Luc- 
chese may  mean  a  man  of  Lucca,  and 
Buona  Donna,  a  good  woman,  his  wife. 

B.  Bona  (5)  d'Armagnac,  Oct.  2G. 
15th  century.  Clarissan  nun  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Anne  of  Lezignan,  near 
Narbonne.  Daughter  of  the  Count  d'Ar- 
magnac.  Born  in  answer  to  the  prayers 
of  St.  Colette,  who  told  the  count  and 
countess  that  their  first  child  would  be 
a  daughter,  and  become  a  holy  nun  of 
her  order,  the  Keformed  Order  of  St. 
Francis  at  Lezignan,  and  that  they  must 
not  oppose  her  vocation.  Accordingly, 


their  eldest  child  became  a  nun  of  that 
order,  and  three  years  after  her  pro- 
fession she  died  in  the  odour  of  sanctity, 
under  the  name  of  Sceuk  Bonne.  Jumel, 
Life  of  St.  Colette.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

Sainte  Bonde,  Santa  Bonda.  Cor- 
ruption of  St.  Abundius,  bishop  of  Como, 
who  died  468.  A  convert  of  Santa 
Bonda  is  mentioned  in  the  letters  of  St. 
Catherine  of  Siena.  AA.SS.,  April  2. 
Helyot,  Hist.  Ord.  Mon.,  iii. 

SS.  Bonifacia.  Four  women  of  this 
name  appear  as  martyrs  in  old  calen- 
dars. 

St.  Bonita,  Oct.  16,  V.  9th,  10th, 
or  11th  century.  A  goose-girl  in  the 
village  of  Alvier,  in  Auvergne.  She 
had  a  great  devotion  to  St  Julian.  In 
answer  to  her  fervent  prayer,  an  angel 
took  her  across  the  river  in  time  of  flood, 
so  that  she  might  worship  at  his  tomb 
as  usual.  After  this  she  led  an  angelic 
life.  Tradition  adds  that  she  lived  when 
the  English  were  fighting  in  that  part 
of  Franco.  AAJ3S. 

B.  Bonizella,  May  6,  widow,  f  800. 
Her  body  is  preserved  entire  in  the 
church  of  Trequanda,  in  the  diocese  of 
Siena,  and  her  festival  is  kept  there  on 
the  third  Sunday  in  May.  Her  history 
is  lost,  and  is  believed  to  have  been 
destroyed  in  a  fire  in  1384.  AA.SS. 

Bonne,  Bona  (5}. 

St.  Bonosa  (1),  in  French  Veneuse, 
Venouse,  Feb.  2,  July  15,  a  Boman 
V.  M.  207,  at  Porto  Romano,  under 
Severus.  The  Leggendario  says  that 
when  she  was  condemned  to  be  beaten, 
she  was  miraculously  concealed  from  the 
eyes  of  her  tormentors,  although  she 
could  feel  their  blows.  She  was  then 
given  into  the  care  of  a  prefect,  who  was 
to  convert  her  if  he  could,  and  otherwise 
to  kill  her.  When  she  was  again  con- 
demned to  be  scourged,  the  executioners 
were  seized  with  acute  pains  in  their 
arms,  and  found  themselves  unable  to 
use  the  whips.  She  was  kept  many  days 
in  a  dark  prison,  and  finally  beheaded. 
Fifty  soldiers  were  converted  by  her 
and  put  to  death  with  her.  They  are 
honoured  as  martyrs.  St.  Bonosa  is 
commemorated  in  the  Boman  Martyro- 
logy,  July  15,  with  her  brother  St. 
Eutropius,  and  sister  St.  Zozima,  all 


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ST.  BONOSA 


martyred  at  Porto  Romano.  The  Mar- 
tyrology  of  St.  Jerome  says  that  their 
sepulchre  was  venerated  in  Nisela,  or  in 
insula.  The  fragments  of  a  magnificent 
stone  were  discovered  at  two  different 
times,  in  1837  and  in  1858,  about  a 
mile  from  the  walls  of  Porto  Romano, 
near  the  Capo  due  Rami,  where  the  island 
begins.  All  the  modern  discoveries  tend 
to  establish  the  tradition  that  the  three 
martyrs  were  bnried  here.  Civilth  Cat- 
tolica,  seria  vi.  vol.  7,  p.  481,  Aug.  11, 
1866.  B.M.,  July  15.  Boll.,  AA.SS. 
Leggendario  delle  Sante  Vergini,  Feb.  2. 

St.  Bonosa  (2),  May  10,  M.  at 
Tarsus,  in  Cilicia.    Boll.,  AA.SS. 

St.  Bonosia,  Feb.  2,  M.  at  Rome, 
with  Cappa  and  many  others.  Boll., 
AA.SS. 

St.  Borema,  Beata  (1 ). 

St.  Botild,  or  Bothildis,  July  28. 
■('1102.  Queen  of  Denmark.  Daughter 
of  Turgot,  or  Trugillus,  a  Swedish  noble. 
Wife  of  Eric  II.  (Eyegod),  king  of 
Denmark  (1095-1102),  stepson  of  St. 
Ouda.  Botild  suffered  her  husband's 
infidelities  meekly.  He  was  beloved  by 
his  people  for  many  noble  qualities,  but 
was  liable  to  fits  of  fury,  in  one  of  which 
he  killed  some  of  his  faithful  servants. 
His  repentance  was  deep,  and  after  pay- 
ing the  blood  fine,  he  could  not  quiet 
his  conscience  without  making  a  pil- 
grimage to  Jerusalem  to  atone  for  the 
sin  of  murder.  When  his  intention  was 
known,  his  people  besought  him  not  to 
go,  and  offered  a  third  of  their  property 
to  pay  for  Masses,  and  to  buy  off  the 
king's  vow.  He  insisted  on  going,  and 
Botild  determined  to  accompany  him. 
One  of  his  illegitimate  sons  was  ap- 
pointed regent.  Enud,  the  only  son 
Botild  had  given  to  Eric,  was  left  at 
home ;  he  grew  up  a  great  warrior,  and 
was  crowned  King  of  the  Obotrites  by 
the  Emperor  Lothaire.  The  pilgrims 
went  through  Russia  to  Constantinople, 
and  thence  to  Cyprus,  where  Eric  was 
taken  ill  and  died.  Botild  proceeded  on 
her  pilgrimage,  and  died  on  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  within  sight  of  the  gates  of 
Jerusalem,  in  1102.  Some  historians 
place  their  death  a  year  later.  During 
their  life,  Eric's  brother  Enud,  king  of 
Denmark,  was  canonized.  Vastovius, 


Vitis  Aquilonise.  Saxo  Grammaticus, 
Hist.  Dan.  Otte,  Scandinavia.  Dalin. 
Svea  Bikes  Historia.  Mas  Latrie,  2Wsor, 
Hamsfortii,  Chron.  Langebek,  Scriptores 
Return  Danicarum,  i.  271.  Dahlmann, 
Denmark. 

St.  Boulogne,  Bolonia. 

St.  Bourguine,  Buroundopora. 

St.  Bova,  April  24,  sometimes  erro- 
neously called  Bona,  in  French  Bkuve, 
V.  Abbess  at  Rheims.  6th  or  7th  cen- 
tury. Sister  of  St.  Balderic,  or  Baudri, 
founder  and  abbot  of  Montfaucon,  or 
Fauquemont,  near  Rheims.  These  saints 
are  said  to  have  been  the  children  of  a 
King  Sigebert.  If  Mr.  Baring-Gould  is 
right  in  making  him  Sigebert  I.,  who 
began  to  reign  561,  their  mother  was  the 
celebrated  Queen  Brunehaut,  whose  mar- 
riage is  said  to  be  the  first  that  was 
solemnized  with  a  religious  ceremony 
in  France.  Butler  and  Baillet  say  Bova 
was  a  great  lady  at  the  court  of  King 
Dagobert,  and  edified  the  court  by 
her  virtues  until  she  was  about  thirty 
years  old,  when,  about  639,  she  with- 
drew to  tho  monastery  St.  Balderic  had 
built  for  her  in  a  suburb  of  Rheims. 
Here  she  was  soon  joined  by  her  niece, 
St.  Doda.  Balderic  went  to  stay  with 
his  sister  and  niece,  and  died  in  their 
nunnery.  Bova  did  not  long  survive 
him.  Doda  succeeded  her  aunt  as  abbess, 
about  673.  These  saints  are  mentioned 
by  Flodoard,in  his  history  of  the  Church, 
of  Rheims  (10th  century).  The  original 
history  of  their  lives  was  destroyed  in  a 
great  fire.  In  the  10th  century  an 
anonymous  author  compiled  another, 
with  the  help  of  the  nuns  who  had  often 
heard  it  read.  Butler,  Lives.  Baillet, 
Vies.  Hugo  Menard,  Mart.  Ben.  Baring- 
Gould,  Lives,  "St.  Balderic,"  Oct.  16. 

St.  Boylette,  Colette  Boilet. 

St.  Bozena,  Beatrice  (2). 

St.  Breaca,  Oct.  27,  June  4  (Breage, 
Breca,  Breock,  Brig,  Briga,  Brioh). 
5th  or  6th  century.  Possibly  the  same 
as  Briga  (3)  or  (4).  Breaca  joined  or 
headed  a  band  of  Irish  missionary 
settlers.  Accompanied  by  her  foster- 
son,  King  Germoe,  SS.  Fingar  and 
Piala,  Ia,  Burian,  Crewenna,  and 
several  others,  she  crossed  over  from 
Ireland  to  Cornwall,  where  they  landed 


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in  the  Hayle  estuary  on  the  north  coast. 
They  were  well  received  by  King  Theo- 
dore. Breaca  built  several  churohes. 
Cornish  legend  says  she  was  a  midwife, 
and  the  sister  of  St.  Levin.  He  was  a 
hermit  at  Bodellen,  in  Cornwall.  He 
used  to  catch  one  fish  every  day  for  his 
own  food.  One  evening,  when  he  went 
fishing,  he  caught  two  bream  on  his 
hook.  He  took  them  both  off,  and  threw 
them  back  into  the  sea;  the  same  two 
came  again  a  second  and  a  third  time; 
he  supposed  there  was  some  reason  for 
this  double  supply,  and  carried  them 
both  home;  there  he  found  that  his 
sister  St.  Breaca  had  come  to  visit  him 
with  her  two  children,  who  had  had  a 
long  walk,  and  were  very  hungry.  Tho 
fish  were  cooked  for  sapper.  The  chil- 
dren ate  their  portions  eagerly,  without 
waiting  to  pick  out  the  bones,  and  both 
were  choked.  From  that  day  the  bream 
has  been  called  by  the  Cornish  fisher- 
men, chak-cheel  (choke-child);  some 
people  say  it  was  the  chad,  but  the  bream 
has  very  dangerous  bones,  and  is  more 
likely  to  have  been  the  fatal  food. 
Nothing  is  known  with  any  certainty 
about  St.  Levin,  and  some  of  the  stories 
give  him,  instead  of  Breaca,  a  sister 
Manoccan.  AA.SS.  British  Piety.  A. 
Forster,  English  Dedications.  Rev.  S. 
Baring-Gould,  Book  of  the  West.  Forbes. 
Hunt,  Popular  Romances  of  the  West  of 
England  .  .  .  Traditiotis  of  Old  Cornwall. 
Smith  and  Wace. 

Breenada,  July  3,  V.  7th  century. 
Irish.  Commemorated  with  Tirechan, 
a  disciple  of  Ultan.  Boll.,  AA.SS., 
Prseter. 

St.  Breeyith,  Brigid  (2). 

St.  Brega,  Bega. 

St.  Breock,  Breaca. 

St.  Brettiva,  Jan.  11  (Brictiva, 
Brittifa,  Broteva,  Brykke).  Supposed 
to  be  Irish,  but  worshipped  chiefly  in 
Norway  and  Iceland.  From  the  11th 
century  her  name  appears  there  in  the 
catalogues  of  saints'  days  to  be  kept 
holy.  Broteva  is  still  found  as  a  name 
in  Iceland,  and  popularly  understood  to 
mean  the  guilty  Eve.  In  the  Nor- 
wegian calendars  a  horse  is  the  sign  for 
St.  Brettiva's  day.  The  word  brette 
means  to  turn  violently,  to  double  up. 


A  farmer  drove  out  for  hay  on  that  day. 
Being  warned  that  it  was  Brette  Messe, 
he  obstinately  and  profanely  made  a 
pun  on  her  name,  by  answering, "  Turn 
me  this  way,  turn  me  that,  I'll  turn  me 
home  a  load  of  hay."  But  his  horse 
fell  and  broke  its  leg.  The  pictured 
horse,  therefore,  stands  in  the  calendar 
as  a  warning.  The  festival  is  also  called 
Brykke  Messa  and  Brokkis  Messa,  from 
the  custom  of  the  remnants  of  the  Yule 
fare  being  stewed  and  eaten  on  that  day. 
Report  xx.  Antiquarian  Society  of  Cam- 
bridge. 

St.  Brewo,  Winifred. 

St.  Bricheza,  a  mistake  for  St. 
Richeza. 

St.  Brictiva,  Brettiva. 

St.  Bride,  Brigid  (2). 

St.  Bridget,  Brigid. 

St.  Brie,  Brigid  (2). 

St.  Brig,  Breaca. 

St.  Briga,  or  Brigh.  Briga  is  one 
of  the  names  of  St.  Brigid,  besides 
which  there  are  several  Brigas,  called 
also  Brigh.  (1)  A  pious  matron, 
daughter  of  Feargna,  who  assisted  St. 
Patrick  in  his  labours;  (2)  Brigh  of 
Coirpre,  Jan.  7,  who  is  possibly  the 
same  as  Briga  (1).  Smith  and  Wace. 
O'Hanlon. 

St.  Briga  (3),  or  Brigh,  Feb.  1. 
End  of  5th  or  beginning  of  6th  century. 
An  abbess  in  Leinster,  contemporary 
and  friend  of  St.  Brigid  (2).  At  one 
of  her  frequent  visits  to  St.  Briga's 
convent,  when  the  nuns  had  washed  the 
feet  of  their  beloved  guest,  one  of  them, 
who  had  long  lost  the  use  of  hers  from 
gout,  put  them  into  the  same  water. 
Before  she  had  time  to  dry  them,  they 
were  perfectly  well.  When  Brigid, 
Briga,  and  the  nuns  were  at  dinner,  they 
noticed  that  Brigid  kept  her  eyes  fixed 
on  one  spot.  They  asked  her  the  reason. 
She  said  she  saw  the  devil  sitting  there 
amongst  them.  At  Briga's  request  she 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  her  eyes, 
and  so  enabled  her  to  seo  him  too.  He 
had  an  immense  head,  a  black  face,  fiery 
eyes,  flaming  breath,  thick  knees  and 
ankles.  Brigid  asked  him  why  he  and 
his  companions  bore  so  fierce  a  hatred 
towards  the  human  race.  He  answered, 
"Because  we  do  not  wish  any  one  to 


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ST.  BRIGA 


enjoy  the  glories  of  heaven,  6ince  we 
ourselves  have  lost  all  hope  of  entering 
there."  "Ah!"  said  the  saint,  "how 
different  is  my  inclination !  If  I  could 
not  go  to  heaven  myself,  I  should  wish 
to  open  to  all  others  the  gates  that  I 
knew  to  be  shut  against  me."  She  then 
asked  what  business  he  had  in  a  re- 
ligious community.  He  told  her  that 
he  was  harboured  there  by  one  of  the 
nuns,  who  did  his  will  rather  than  that 
of  her  ostensible  Master.  Brigid  ascer- 
tained from  him  the  name  of  the  nun, 
and  then  opened  her  eyes  with  the  sign 
of  the  cross,  that  she  might  see  what  a 
hideous  and  cruel  master  she  served. 
The  nun,  with  tears,  besought  her 
prayers,  and  promised  to  amend  her 
life.  Brigid  then  banished  the  devil 
from  amongst  them,  and  the  nun  led  a 
holy,  penitential  life,  and  was  saved. 
Boll.,  AA.SS.,  iu  the  fifth  Life  of  St. 
Brigid. 

St.  Briga  (4),  Jan.  7,  was  the  sister 
of  St.  Brendan,  the  navigator.  After 
his  seven  years'  voyage,  he  founded  the 
monasteries  of  Clonfert  and  Annadown, 
and  set  his  sister  over  the  latter,  and 
there,  in  577,  he  died  in  her  arms,  at 
the  age  of  ninety-four.  Smith  and 
Wace.  This  Briga  is  thought  to  be  the 
same  as  St.  Bbeaca,  who  settled  in 
Cornwall,  but  it  does  not  seem  very 
likely  that,  when  her  brother  had  died 
at  ninety-four,  she  could  have  been 
young  enough  to  start  on  a  missionary 
tour  to  another  country. 

Briga  (5),  Breaca. 

Brighe,  Brigid  (2). 

Brighite,  Brigid  (2). 

St.  Brigid  (1),  Feb.  1,  with  Helen 
(4),  Sapientia  (2),  cousins  of  St. 
Ursula,  and  daughters  of  St.  Eilian, 
one  of  the  conductors  of  her  campaign. 
AA.SS.,  Oct.  21. 

St.  Brigid  (2),  Feb.  1,  born  about 
the  middle  of  the  5th  century,  died  in  or 
before  525  (Breeyith,  Bride,  Bridget, 
Brighit,  Brigida,  Briid,  Britta,  Brtde, 
Brydock  ;  in  France,  Brigitte  ;  in  Hol- 
land, Brie,  Brighe;  the  Mary  of  Ire- 
land), the  "Fiery  Dart."  Patron  of 
Ireland,  Leinster,  Kildare,  of  the  family 
of  Douglas,  and  of  cattle  and  dairies. 
The  dedications  in  her  name  are  very 


numerous  in  Ireland  and  on  the  western 
side  of  Great  Britain. 

Represented  (1)  with  flames  playing 
round  her  head;  (2)  with  a  cow  and  a 
large  bowl. 

The  greatest  of  all  the  Irish  saints, 
except  St.  Patrick.  Founder  of  the 
first  nunnery  in  Ireland,  and  chief  over 
many  monasteries  for  both  sexes.  Bishop 
Conlaeth,  or  Conlian,  at  the  time  head  of 
the  bishops  and  abbots,  attended  to  the 
spiritual  interests  of  her  nuns  and  the 
services  of  her  church. 

Montalembert  says  that  Ireland  was 
evangelized  by  two  slaves,  Patrick  and 
Bridgid;  that  Brigid  was  twice  sold, 
was  flogged,  insulted,  and  subjected  to 
the  hardest  labour  required  of  a  female 
slave  in  those  days;  she  learnt  mercy 
in  the  school  of  suffering  and  oppression ; 
she  became  a  nun,  but  by  no  means  a 
recluse;  she  travelled  all  over  Ireland, 
and  had  frequent  and  important  inter- 
course with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
persons,  but  always  in  the  interest  of 
souls,  or  with  a  view  to  helping  tho 
unfortunate.  She  was  honoured  with 
the  friendship  and  confidence  of  the 
holiest  and  most  learned  Irishmen  of 
her  time,  among  whom  tradition  places 
St.  Ere,  bishop  of  Slane,  St.  Mel  of 
Ardagh,  Cailaet,  bishop  of  Kildare,  St. 
Ailbe  of  Emly,  St.  Brendan  of  Clonfert, 
St.  Gildas,  who  sent  her  a  small  bell 
cast  by  himself.  St.  Finnian  was  also 
her  contemporary,  and  once  preached 
before  her  and  her  nuns  at  Kildare. 
She  is  believed  to  have  been  contem- 
porary with  St.  Patrick,  although  much 
younger.  There  is  considerable  un- 
certainty as  to  her  dates,  and  still  more 
as  to  his.  She  died,  upwards  of  seventy, 
in  or  before  525.  In  an  old  Life  of  St. 
Patrick,  it  is  said  that  she  fell  asleep 
while  he  was  preaching,  and  that  he 
made  her  tell  her  dream,  which  he  inter- 
preted as  referring  to  the  future  history 
of  Ireland.  One  legend  says  that  he 
taught  her  to  play  on  the  harp,  and  that 
she  embroidered  a  shroud  for  him  at  his 
own  request,  and  took  it  to  him  at  tho 
monastery  of  Saball;  he  then  charged 
her  to  bless  Ireland  for  thirty  years 
after  his  death. 

Here  are  some  of  the  countless  tradi- 


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ST.  BRIGID 


183 


tions  concerning  St.  Brigid.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Dubtach,  a  nobleman 
of  Leinster,  who  was  descended  from 
Eochard,  brother  of  King  Conn  of  the 
Hundred  Battles ;  her  mother  was  Broet- 
seach  or  Brocessa  O'Connor,  his  slave. 
Dubtach's  wife  had  several  sons,  but  no 
daughter,  and  her  jealousy  of  Brocessa 
was  increased  by  the  prophecy  that  Bro- 
cessa would  give  birth  to  a  daughter 
who  should  be  very  illustrious.  She 
insisted  that  Brocessa  should  be  sent 
away.  So  Dubtach  sold  her  to  a 
magician  or  bard  at  Faugher,  near  Dun- 
dalk,  with  the  condition  that  her  child 
should  be  returned  to  him.  The  night 
that  she  arrived  in  her  new  home,  a  holy 
man  came  begging  for  hospitality.  He 
passed  the  whole  night  in  prayer,  and  in 
the  morning  told  his  host  he  had  seen  a 
globe  of  fire  resting  over  the  place  whore 
the  servant  slept.  One  day  the  bard 
invited  his  king  and  queen  to  supper, 
but  the  queen  could  not  come  because 
she  was  hourly  expecting  to  have  a 
child.  The  friends  and  servants  of  the 
king  inquired  of  the  bard  what  sort  of 
child  the  queen  would  have,  and  when  it 
wonld  be  born.  He  told  them  that  it 
would  have  no  equal  in  Ireland  if  it  were 
born  at  sunrise,  neither  in  the  house  nor 
out  of  the  house.  At  midnight  the 
queen  gave  birth  to  a  son.  Very  early 
in  the  morning,  Brocessa  went  and  milked 
the  cows  as  usual.  She  returned  with  a 
large  pail  of  milk.  As  she  entered  her 
master's  door,  having  one  foot  in  the 
house  and  one  foot  out,  she  fell  down  on 
the  threshold,  and  there,  at  the  moment 
of  sunrise,  she  was  delivered  of  a 
daughter,  Brigid,  whose  infancy  was 
illustrated  by  prodigies,  and  who  was 
evidently  under  the  immediate  protection 
of  Heaven.  Flames  often  filled  her  room 
or  surrounded  her  head,  but  did  not 
hurt  her  or  destroy  anything.  No  food 
was  found  to  suit  her  until  the  magician 
set  apart  a  beautiful  white  cow  for  her 
use,  and  got  a  Christian  woman  to  milk 
it.  According  to  agreement,  the  bard 
sent  the  child  Brigid  to  her  father. 
Once  she  went  to  help  her  mother,  who 
was  making  butter  and  taking  care  of 
the  cows  some  distance  from  her  master's 
house.    As  fast  as  the  butter  was  made, 


Brigid,  who  said,  "  Every  guest  is 
Christ,"  gave  it  all  away  to  beggars  and 
travellers.  After  a  time  the  magician 
and  his  wife  came  to  the  farm  to  fetch 
the  butter.  When  Brigid  saw  what  a 
large  cask  they  had  brought  to  carry  it 
away  in,  she  was  much  embarrassed, 
knowing  she  had  only  the  supply  of  one 
day  and  a  half;  however,  she  received 
them  cheerfully,  washed  their  feet,  and 
gave  them  food.  She  then  went  to  her 
own  cell  and  prayed,  and  afterwards 
brought  the  butter  she  had  to  the  bard's 
wife,  who  laughed  at  her  and  said,  "  Is 
that  all  the  butter  you  have  made  in  so 
many  days?"  Brigid  said,  "Fill  the 
cask:  you  shall  have  butter  enough." 
The  woman  began  putting  the  butter 
into  her  large  receptacle  out  of  Brigid's 
little  one,  and  very  soon  it  was  quite 
full.  When  the  magician  saw  that 
miracle,  he  said  to  Brigid,  "  You  shall 
have  all  the  butter  for  yourself,  and  the 
twelve  cows  which  you  have  milked 
shall  be  yours  also."  Brigid  said, 
"Keep  your  cows,  and  give  me  my 
mother's  freedom."  The  magician  an- 
swered, "  The  cows  and  the  butter  and 
your  mother  are  yours."  Then  he  be- 
lieved in  Christ  and  was  baptized,  and 
Brigid  gave  all  his  gifts  to  the  poor,  and 
returned  to  Dubtach  with  her  mother. 
Her  father  offered  to  sell  her  to  the 
king,  saying  that  he  wished  to  get  rid  of 
her  because  she  gave  to  the  poor  every- 
thing she  could  lay  her  hands  upon. 
While  they  were  in  the  house  discussing 
the  matter,  Brigid  was  left  in  the  carriage 
at  the  door.  A  beggar  asked  her  for 
alms,  and  as  she  had  no  money  she  gaye 
him  her  father's  sword,  which  was  a  gift 
from  the  king.  When  he  came  back, 
she  said  that  what  she  gave  to  the  poor 
she  gave  to  Christ,  that  her  father  and 
the  king  ought  to  be  glad  that  the  sword 
was  so  honoured,  and  that  if  she  could, 
she  would  give  them  both,  and  every- 
thing that  belonged  to  them,  to  Christ. 
The  king  then  gave  her  a  new  sword  for 
her  father. 

Some  Christians,  travelling  through 
the  country,  were  taken  by  Dubtach's 
followers.  As  they  oould  not  give  a 
satisfactory  account  of  themselves,  they 
were  condemned  to  death  as  rogues  and 


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134- 


ST.  BRIGID 


spies.  Brigid  said  they  were  minstrels, 
and  bade  them  play  on  her  harp.  "  Alas," 
said  the  strangers, "  we  have  never  learnt 
mnsic."  "Fear  not,"  replied  Brigid, 
"  play."  And  she  blessed  their  hands, 
laying  her  own  npon  them ;  wherenpon 
the  strangers  played  and  sang  more 
beautifully  than  any  minstrels  that  had 
ever  been  heard  in  that  hall. 

When  she  was  sixteen,  her  wisdom 
and  beauty  were  praised  throughout  the 
land.  Her  father,  who  had  no  other 
daughter,  wished  her  to  make  an  advan- 
tageous marriage;  but  Brigid,  being 
determined  to  consecrate  her  life  to  the 
service  of  God  and  to  works  of  mercy, 
prayed  that  some  deformity  might  come 
upon  her  to  deliver  her  from  liability  to 
marriage.  Immediately  one  of  her  eyes 
burst  in  her  head,  thus  destroying  all 
her  beauty.  Dubtach  then  permitted 
her  to  take  the  veil.  As  she  knelt  to 
receive  it,  the  wood  of  the  altar  became 
green  at  her  touch,  and  for  years  after- 
wards effected  miraculous  cures.  At  the 
same  time,  her  lost  eye  was  restored,  and 
a  pillar  of  fire  appeared  above  her  head. 
Her  enthusiasm  soon  led  other  women 
to  join  her.  At  first  they  lived  together 
at  Kilbrighde,  or  Kilbude,  near  the  sea. 
There  are  many  places  of  this  name  in 
Ireland,  but  this  is  supposed  to  be  the 
one  in  the  county  Waterford.  After  a 
time,  Brigid  built  herself  a  cell  under  a 
goodly  oak,  and  added  a  church  and 
other  buildings  for  her  nuns.  This  was 
Eildare,  Eil  Dara,  the  cell  or  chapel  of 
the  oak.  There  were  already  communi- 
ties of  men,  and  there  were  churches  and 
Christian  schools,  but  this  was  the  first 
convent  of  women  in  Ireland.  The 
dwellings  of  the  nuns  were  probably  a 
number  of  huts  or  cells  close  to  the 
church.  The  church  was  divided  into 
three  parts,  one  for  monks,  one  for  nuns, 
and  one  for  the  people. 

Brigid  always  showed  a  deep  and 
tender  sympathy  for  slaves  and  captives, 
whose  troubles  she  knew  by  experience. 
Once  she  went  to  ask  for  the  liberty  of 
a  captive ;  the  master  was  absent,  but  she 
made  friends  with  his  foster-father  and 
brothers  by  teaching  them  to  play  the 
harp,  and  had  already  a  6trong  party  in 
her  favour  when  the  chief  came  home. 


Charmed  by  her  music,  he  begged  her 
blessing,  which  was  granted  on  con- 
dition of  his  setting  his  prisoner  at 
liberty. 

She  took  a  great  interest  in  young 
persons,  and  delighted  to  encourage  them 
in  virtue  and  piety.  One  day,  as  she 
was  standing  outside  the  monastery  with 
some  of  her  nuns,  she  saw  a  young  man* 
named  Nennidh,  running  very  fast. 
"  Bring  that  youth  to  me,"  commanded 
the  abbess.  He  came  with  apparent 
reluctance.  "  Whither  so  fast  ?  "  asked 
Brigid.  Nennidh  answered,  with  a 
laugh,  that  he  was  running  to  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  "  I  wish,"  said  Brigid, 
"  that  I  were  worthy  to  run  there  with 
you  to-day.  Pray  for  me,  that  I  may 
arrive  there."  The  young  man,  touched 
by  her  words,  begged  her  to  pray  for 
him,  and  resolved  to  embrace  a  religious 
life.  Brigid  then  foretold  that  he  was 
the  person  from  whom  sho  should  receive 
the  holy  viaticum  on  the  day  of  her 
death.  He  took  great  pains  to  keep  his 
hand  worthy  of  so  great  an  honour,  and 
was  called  Nennidh,  the  clean-handed. 
He  wrote  a  hymn  in  honour  of  St.  Brigid, 
preserved  in  Colgan's  Acts  of  the  Saints, 
Jan.  18.  He  is  numbered  among  the 
saints,  but  is  not  the  great  St.  Nennidh, 
surnamed  Laobh-deare,  the  one-eyed,  or 
squinting. 

Many  of  the  stories  of  the  life  of  St. 
Brigid  relate  to  the  journeys  and  excur- 
sions she  used  to  make  in  her  carriage. 
On  one  of  these  journeys  she  saw  a  poor 
family  carrying  heavy  burdens  of  wood, 
and  with  her  usual  kindness  gave  them 
her  horses.  She  and  her  sisters  sat 
down  by  the  wayside,  and  she  told  them 
to  dig  there  for  water.  As  soon  as  they 
did  so,  a  fountain  sprang  from  the  earth, 
and  presently  a  chieftain  passed  by  and 
gave  his  horses  to  Brigid. 

Another  time  she  happened  to  be  alone 
in  a  friend's  house  when  some  persons 
came  begging  for  bread.  She  looked 
about  for  any  of  the  household,  but  could 
see  no  one  except  a  boy  lying  on  the 
ground.  He  was  deaf  and  paralytic,  but 
Brigid  did  not  know  it.  She  said  to 
him,  "  Boy,  thou  knowest  where  the  keys 
are  ?  "  He  said,  "  Yes,  I  know."  The 
holy  woman  then  told  him  to  go  and 


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ST.  BRIGID 


135 


serve  these  poor  persons,  which  he  did, 
and  had  his  facilities  ever  after. 

In  a  time  of  famine  she  went  with 
some  of  her  nuns  and  asked  for  provisions 
from  Bishop  Ybar.  He  had  no  bread, 
so  he  set  before  her  a  stone  with  some 
lard.  The  stone  became  bread,  and 
B rigid  and  the  bishop  were  satisfied  to 
make  a  meal  of  it,  but  two  of  the  virgins, 
desiring  to  eat  flesh,  hid  it,  and  they 
found  it  turned  into  serpents.  Brigid 
rebuked  them,  and  on  their  repentance 
the  serpents  again  became  bread. 

She  had  power  over  wild  beasts.  Once 
when  a  wolf  had  killed  a  sheep-dog,  she 
made  him  take  the  place  of  his  victim, 
and  drive  the  sheep  without  frightening 
them. 

Cows,  calves,  milk,  and  butter  figure 
largely  in  the  legends  of  this  saint.  A 
number  of  strangers  arrived  at  her  home, 
and  as  she  had  nothing  to  give  them  but 
what  she  could  get  from  one  cow,  she 
milked  it  three  times,  and  it  gave  as 
much  as  three  cows.  It  is  in  allusion  to 
this  legend  that  she  appears  in  some 
pictures  holding  a  large  bowl. 

She  seems  to  have  shown  severity  or 
inflicted  punishment  only  when  the 
objects  of  her  anger  were  guilty  of  un- 
kindness.  For  instance,  when  a  woman 
refused  to  wash  a  leper  whom  Brigid 
intended  to  heal,  she  transferred  the 
leprosy  to  the  unkind  one,  but  afterwards 
prayed  for  her,  and  thereby  healed  her. 
One  day  two  lepers  came  begging,  and 
she  gave  them  a  calf  One  of  them  said 
he  did  not  want  half  a  calf,  and  did 
not  care  to  have  it  unless  he  might 
have  it  all  to  himself.  Brigid  bade 
him  take  the  animal,  and  said  to  the 
other,  "Wait  with  me  a  little  while, 
and  see  if  God  will  send  you  anything 
to  make  up  for  your  share  of  the  calf." 
She  procured  another  calf  for  him,  and 
he  went  and  overtook  the  ungrateful 
leper.  They  soon  came  to  a  great  river, 
and  the  good  leper  and  his  calf  arrived 
safely  at  the  other  side,  but  the  thankless 
one  and  his  calf  were  washed  away  and 
drowned. 

>  Her  hospitality  and  charity  were  un- 
bounded. The  fame  of  her  holiness,  her 
miracles,  and  her  prophetic  powers  ex- 
tended to  Scotland.  It  is  said  that  Ring 


Neotan,  being  driven  out  of  Scotland, 
went  to  Ireland,  and  there  visited  Brigid, 
and  asked  for  her  prayers.  She  promised 
that  if  he  went  back  to  his  own  country 
God  would  have  mercy  upon  him,  and  he 
should  possess  the  kingdom  of  the  Picts 
in  peace. 

She  was  upwards  of  seventy  when  she 
died.  She  was  buried  at  Kildare,  and 
translated  to  Downpatrick,  where  she  was 
laid  beside  St.  Patrick  and  St.  Columba. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  identify  her  with 
St.  Brigid  op  Glastonbury  or  St. 
Brigid  op  Abkrnethy.  Several  other 
saints  of  the  same  name,  contemporary 
with  her,  or  nearly  so,  are  mentioned  T>y 
Colgan.  She  is  honoured  in  many  places 
and  calendars  on  the  Continent,  but  is 
perhaps  not  so  universally  known  there 
as  St.  Brigid  op  Sweden. 

After  her  death,  the  sacred  fire,  which 
she  had  kept  perpetually  burning,  and 
which  caused  the  church  of  Kildare  to 
be  called  the  house  of  fire,  was  kept  up 
on  her  tomb  until  1220,  when  sundry 
accusations  of  superstition  and  heathen- 
ism having  arisen  against  the  custom, 
Henry  London,  archbishop  of  Dublin, 
ordered  it  to  be  put  out  to  avert  scandal. 
It  was  relighted  and  kept  burning  until 
the  time  of  Henry  VIII.,  when  the  nuns 
were  banished  from  Kildare,  their  goods 
confiscated,  and  the  churches  desecrated. 

Her  Life  was  written  immediately 
aftor  her  death  by  Brogan  (called  also 
Cloen).  Another  biography  of  her  was 
written  in  the  same  century,  another  in 
the  following,  and  so  on.  Five  Lives 
are  given  in  the  Bollandist  collection. 
BM  Bede,  Mart.  Colgan,  AA.SS. 
Hibernise.  Forbes,  Kalendars.  Monta- 
lembert,  Monks  of  the  West.  Butler. 
Cahier. 

For  other  stories  of  St.  Brigid,  see 
Briga  (3),  Dardulagha,  Hinna,  Lasrea. 

St.  Brigid  (3)  of  Abernethy.  Bishop 
Forbes,  Scottish  Calendars,  thinks  it  is 
probable  there  was  a  Scotch  saint  of  the 
name  of  Brigid,  whose  relics  were  kept 
at  Abernethy.  The  Aberdeen  Breviary, 
in  the  story  of  St.  Mazota,  says  that  St. 
Brigid  of  Abernethy  was  cousin  of  Gra- 
verdus,  king  of  the  Picts,  who  daring 
his  wars  with  the  Britons  was  admon- 
ished by  supernatural  means  to  send  to 


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136 


ST.  BRIGID 


Ireland  for  Brigid,  and  follow  her 
advice.  She  came  with  St.  Mazota  and 
eight  holy  virgins,  and  settled  at  Aber- 
nethy,  and  there  built  a  church,  where 
the  king  was  baptized. 

St.  Brigid  (4)  of  Benchor,  whoso 
head,  in  1225,  was  brought  from  Scotland 
or  Ireland  to  Denis,  king  of  Portugal, 
and  kept  at  Lumiar  with  great  venera- 
tion, is  said  to  have  founded  a  great 
monastery  at  Benchor.  This  may  have 
been  Banchory  in  Scotland,  or  Bangor 
in  Wales,  or  some  place  in  Ireland. 
Bollandus  could  not  identify  her  with 
either  of  the  well-known  SS.  Brigid. 
Perhaps  she  is  St.  Brigid  of  Aber- 

NETHY. 

St.  Brigid  (5-11).  Colgan,  in  his 
History  of  the  Irish  Saints,  speaks  of 
twenty-five  Brigids,  some  of  whom  are 
distinguishable  from  each  other,  and 
some  are  not.  No  one  but  a  Celtic 
scholar  and  antiquary  could  attempt  to 
disentangle  them  all,  or  form  an  opinion 
as  to  how  many  Brigids  there  were,  or 
which  is  a  duplicate  of  which.  I  take 
these  seven — who  are  possibly  reducible 
to  four — from  Bishop  Forbes'  article 
"  Brigida,"  in  Smith  and  Wace's  Diet. 

St.  Brigid  (5),  March  9,  of  Moin- 
miolain.    (Perhaps  same  as  6.) 

St  Brigid  (6),  Sept.  30.  Great- 
granddaughter  of  Colla  or  Colladius, 
who  gave  land  to  St.  Patrick. 

St.  Brigid  (7),  May  13,  24,  nursed 
and  converted  her  infirm  husband :  after 
his  death  she  returned  to  her  father's 
house,  and  built  herself  a  cell. 

St.  Brigid  (8)  of  Ooghterard,  co. 
Kildare.    (Perhaps  same  as  7.) 

St.  Brigid  (9)  of  Senboith,  or  Shaubo, 
in  Wexford.    (Perhaps  same  as  7.) 

St.  Brigid  f  10),  March  6.  Daughter 
of  Lenin,  one  or  several  saints  descended 
from  the  family  of  St.  Foillan.  One  of 
six  sisters  to  whom  is  dedicated  the 
"  church  of  the  Sisters,"  at  Kill-naning- 
hean,  in  the  district  of  Ui-Brivin. 

St  Brigid  (11),  sister  of  St.  Sedna, 
abbot  of  Killaine,  and  of  SS.  Gorba 
and  La8sara,  all  descended  from  Ere, 
the  ancestor  of  the  kings  of  Albanian 
Scotia. 

St  Brigid  (12)  Mactail.  6th 
century.  Daughter  of  Conchraid,  of  the 


family  of  Mactail.  She  had  her  cell  at 
Cluan-in-fidi,  on  the  banks  of  the  Shan- 
non. She  made  a  vestment  which  she 
wished  to  send  to  Inniscathy  for  St. 
Senan,  who  was  settled  there  not  earlier 
than  534.  Finding  no  better  mode  of 
sending  it,  she  wrapped  it  in  hay  and 
put  it  in  a  basket,  which  she  addressed 
and  set  afloat  on  the  river.  It  is  said  to 
have  arrived  safely.  This  anecdote  is 
related  of  St.  Brigid  of  Kildare,  who 
sent  her  basket,  however,  by  sea,  and  a 
much  greater  distance.  Lanigan,  Eccles. 
Hist,  of  Ireland,  i.  44i». 

St.  Brigid  (13),  March  14.  An  Irish 
virgin,  brought  np  at  Dunkeld  with  St. 
Cuthbert,  by  St.  Columba.  Bishop 
Forbes,  Scot.  Col. 

St.  Brigid  (14),  or  Bbitta,  Jan.  14. 
8th  century.  Of  Beauvais ;  also  called  of 
Tours  and  of  Nogent :  with  her  sister 
St.  Maura,  July  13,  MM.  of  virginity. 
Daughters  of  the  King  of  the  Scots.  They 
were  born  in  731,  on  the  day  that  a  long 
and  desolating  famine  and  pestilence 
came  to  an  end.  Their  mother  died  in 
giving  them  birth.  Maura  devoted  her 
life  to  fasting  and  prayer.  Brigid 
devoted  hers  to  works  of  mercy.  Con- 
trary to  their  wishes,  the  king  sought 
advantageous  alliances  for  them.  While 
he  was  taking  measures  to  bring  them  to 
his  way  of  thinking,  he  died.  They  were 
now  heirs  of  the  kingdom,  as  their  only 
brother  Hispadius  was  feeble  of  body 
and  unfit  to  succeed  his  father.  They 
renounced  their  right  to  the  throne,  took 
their  brother  with  them,  and  went  to 
Borne.  After  they  had  visited  the  holy 
places,  they  cast  a  devil  out  of  Ursinus 
their  host,  who  thenceforth  became  their 
devoted  servant.  They  next  went  to  the 
territory  of  Beauvais,  where  they  settled 
at  Balagny,  near  Creil.  Here  they  were 
attacked  by  four  ruffians,  and  suffered 
much  in  their  own  defence.  At  last  the 
robbers  killed  them  and  their  brother, 
and  Ursinus  buried  them.  After  many 
years,  Sr.  Bathilde,  queen  of  France, 
had  them  translated  to  her  new  monastery 
of  Chelles.  Colgan,  Irish  Saints,  Jan. 
14.  French  Mart.,  July  13.  Guerin, 
Petits  Boll.  (Cf.  Maura.  The  differ- 
ence in  dates  tends  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  legends  are  fictitious.) 


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ST.  BRIGID 


137 


St.  Brigid  (15),  Dec.  31,  Feb.  1.  9th 
century.  Irish.  Her  brother  St.  Andrew 
left  his  country  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage. 
When  he  said  farewell  to  her,  he  advised 
her  to  dedicate  her  life  to  God.  She  did 
so.  Many  years  passed,  and  she  had  long 
ceased  to  expect  news  of  her  brother, 
when,  about  the  year  840,  she  was  sitting 
at  home  preparing  her  frugal  fare,  when 
an  angel  appeared  and  carried  her  off  to 
Fiesole,  near  Florence.  There  she  found 
herself  in  the  presence  of  St.  Andrew, 
who  lay  on  his  death-bed,  surrounded  by 
his  sorrowing  monks.  He  had  been  for 
years  Archdeacon  of  Fiesole,  under  its 
Irish  seventh  bishop,  St.  Donatus,  and 
had  restored  the  monastery  of  St.  Martin. 
Donatus  was  lately  dead.  Andrew  was 
ill  of  fever,  and  felt  that  he  had  not 
many  days  to  live.  He  greatly  longed 
to  see  his  sister  Brigid  before  he  died, 
and  in  answer  to  his  strong  wish,  she 
had  been  miraculously  brought  to  him. 
She  thought  she  was  dreaming,  and  was 
as  much  amazed  and  bewildered  as  the 
monks  were  to  see  her  arrive  in  their 
midst  Andrew  said,  "Brigid,  my  be- 
loved sister,  I  have  longed  to  see  thee 
before  I  die,  and  because  of  the  great 
distance  that  lay  between  us  I  feared 
my  desire  would  not  be  granted.  I 
trust  that  here  where  I  have  lived,  thou, 
as  a  solitary  and  penitent,  wilt  dwell, 
and  by  thy  prayers  and  virtues  fill  up  the 
measure  of  my  shortcomings.  Cease 
from  thy  amazement,  and  pray  for  me 
with  all  thy  soul,  for  my  last  hour  is  at 
hand,  and  my  summons  has  come." 
Then  Brigid  awoke  as  from  a  dream,  and 
wept  both  for  joy  and  grief ;  she  grieved 
to  lose  him  again  so  soon,  but  exulted 
that  he  had  resisted  temptations  and 
overcome  the  evil  one.  She  promised 
that  all  the  days  of  life  that  remained  to 
her  should  be  dedicated  to  carrying  out 
his  will,  and  that  she  would  stay  in  the 
country  of  his  adoption  and  walk  in  his 
footsteps  as  far  as  her  weakness  allowed. 
Then  brilliant  lights  and  sweet  odours 
announced  the  ascent  of  the  soul  of 
Andrew,  and  all  the  people  camo  and 
venerated  their  dead  saint.  Brigid  left 
the  monastery  and  settled  near  the  source 
of  the  Sieci,  high  up  in  the  Val  d'Arno, 
where  she  founded  a  church  in  honour 


of  St.  Martin  of  Tours.  After  some 
years  she  went  further  up  the  mountain 
to  a  more  secluded  place  in  the  thick 
woods.  Here  she  found  a  cave,  where 
she  led  a  solitary  life  of  penance  and 
prayer,  and  there  she  lived  to  a  great 
age.  The  cave  is  still  shown  under- 
neath the  church  of  the  Madonna  del 
Sasso,  high  up  among  the  Apennines, 
about  two  miles  from  Lobaco.  In  870 
the  inhabitants  built  a  church  on  the 
site  of  her  hermitage,  and  called  it 
Santa  Brigida.  Boll.,  AA.SS.  Lanigan. 
Stokes,  Six  Months  in  the  Apennines. 

St.  Brigid  (16),  or  Birgitta,  Feb. 
1,  V.  Sister  of  St.  Henry,  Emperor 
(1002-1024).  Abbess  of  a  monastery  at 
Eegensburg,  founded  by  St.  Wolfgang. 
She  is  worshipped  by  the  Benedictines 
only.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St  Brigid  (17)  of  Glastonbury,  a 
recluse  at  Glastonbury,  whose  necklace 
and  other  relics  were  shown  there  in 
the  time  of  William  of  Malmesbury 
(11th  century),  and  were  supposed  to 
have  belonged  to  St.  Brigid  of  Ireland. 
Later  critics  and  investigators  say  this 
was  another  saint,  whose  memory  is 
swallowed  up  in  the  fame  of  her  great 
namesake 

St.  Brigid  (18),  March  6.  13th 
century.  Franciscan  nun,  seen  by  her 
contemporary,  St.  Agnes  of  Bohemia, 
among  the  angels  in  glory.  AA.SS. 

St.  Brigid  (19)  of  Sweden,  July  23, 
Oct.  8.  1302  or  1304-1373.  Commonly 
called  Brighitb,  Brigida  or  Bbigitte, 
Bbitta  or  Brita,  but  her  proper  name 
was  Birgitta.  Dr.  Dollinger  calls  her 
"  one  of  the  great  visionaries  of  the  14th 
century  "  Founder  and  patron  of  the 
Order  of  the  Saviour  of  the  World,  or 
Brigittines,  and  of  the  monastery  of 
Wadstein,  the  first  of  that  order. 

Represented  (1)  holding  in  her  hand 
a  heart  surmounted  by  a  crucifix,  to 
indicate  her  devotion  to  the  Passion; 

(2)  standing  before  a  cross,  holding  a 
candle,  in  allusion  to  her  custom  not  to 
let  Friday  pass  without  undergoing  some 
suffering  in  honour  of  Christ :  if  no 
other  opportunity  for  suffering  occurred, 
she  dropped  burning  wax  on  her  flesh ; 

(3)  stigmata  in  the  air  near  her,  to 
denote  revelations  which  she  had  on  the 


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138 


ST.  BRIGID 


subject ;  (4)  writing  in  a  book,  an  angel 
dictating  to  her. 

In  the  Norwegian  calendars  of  the 
15th  century  a  house  is  the  emblem  of 
her  day,  in  allusion  to  the  monastery 1 
she  founded ;  sometimes  the  day  is 
marked,  instead,  by  two  heather-bushes, 
because  on  this  day,  Oct.  8,  the  bear  is 
supposed  to  begin  to  prepare  his  lair  for 
the  winter  by  gathering  ling. 

Brigid  was  daughter  of  Birger  Person 
Brahe,  a  devout  warrior,  who  fought 
against  the  Russians  and  made  a  pilgrim- 
age to  Jerusalem.  Her  mother  was 
Ingeborg,  of  the  great  family  of  Fol- 
kunga,  who  gave  Sweden  her  first  kings. 
Shortly  before  the  birth  of  Brigid,  her 
mother  was  at  sea  in  a  frightful  storm 
when  many  persons  were  drowned.  The 
following  night  she  was  told  in  a  dream 
that  she  was  saved  from  shipwreck  on 
account  of  the  predestined  sanctity  of 
her  unborn  daughter.  She  died  soon 
after  the  birth  of  her  child.  Brigid  was 
three  years  old  before  she  began  to 
speak,  and  then  she  surprised  her  family 
by  uttering  quite  distinctly  words  of 
prayer  and  praise.  Sometimes  she  got 
up  to  pray  while  the  other  girls  in  her 
room  were  asleep.  On  one  of  these 
occasions  the  aunt,  who  had  charge  of 
them,  quietly  fetched  a  cane  to  whip  her. 
She  no  sooner  held  it  over  the  back  of 
the  young  saint  than  it  fell  into  small 
pieces.  At  thirteen  she  married  Fulk 
or  Wulf,  prince  or  lagman  of  Nericia, 
who  was  eighteen.  They  joined  the 
Third  Order  of  St  Francis,  and  passed 
the  first  year  of  their  married  life  in 
holy  virginity.  They  devoted  much  of 
their  property,  time,  and  energy  to  works 
of  religion  and  charity,  turning  their 
house  into  a  sort  of  hospital,  where  they 
tended  the  sick.  About  1343  they  took 
their  eight  children  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
St.  James  of  Compostella,  in  Spain.  On 
their  return  journey,  Wulf  was  taken  ill 
at  Arras.  He  received  the  last  sacra- 
ments, but  Brigid  continued  to  pray  for 
his  recovery.  St.  Denis  appeared  to  her 
in  a  dream,  and  foretold  many  events ; 
and  as  a  pledge  of  their  truth,  said  that 
Wulf  should  recover  immediately ;  which 
he  did.  When  they  reached  Sweden  he 
retired,  with  Brigid's  approbation,  into 


the  Cistercian  monastery  of  Alvastro, 
where  he  very  soon  died.  From  that 
time  she  led  a  life  of  austerity  and 
devotion,  eating  with  the  poor  in  the 
hospitals,  and  begging  with  them  about 
the  streets,  denying  herself  the  use  of 
linen,  and  wearing  a  cilicium. 

It  was  about  1344,  soon  after  the 
death  of  her  husband,  that  she  founded 
the  monastery  of  Wadstein,  on  the 
beautiful  shore  of  Lake  Wettern,  in  the 
diocese  of  Linoopen.  It  was  the  first 
house  of  her  Order  of  the  Saviour  of  the 
World,  since  called  that  of  the  Brigittines. 
It  was  a  branch  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Augustine,  and  was  instituted  expressly 
for  women ;  men  were  never  to  be  admitted, 
except  to  minister  to  the  spiritual  wants 
of  the  nuns ;  the  abbess  ruled  over  the 
monks  in  all  temporal  matters.  The 
rule  she  gave  contains  the  most  minute 
directions,  not  only  for  the  conduct  of 
the  members  of  the  order,  but  concerning 
their  dress  and  the  furniture  of  the  house 
and  church.  The  number  of  nuns  in 
each  monastery  was  fixed  at  sixty,  that 
of  the  priests  at  thirteen,  in  honour  of 
the  twelve  apostles  and  St.  Paul.  There 
were  to  be  eight  lay  brothers  and  four 
deacons,  representing  the  four  doctors 
of  the  Church  (SS.  Jerome,  Ambrose, 
Augustine,  and  Gregory) ;  in  all,  eighty- 
five,  the  number  of  the  thirteen  apostles 
and  seventy-two  disciples  of  Christ. 

While  she  was  protesting  against  the 
wickedness  of  the  time,  against  the 
abuses  in  the  Church,  and  the  conduct 
of  her  cousin,  King  Magnus  Smek,  and 
prophesying  that  God's  judgments  would 
fall  upon  the  land,  the  Black  Death 
came  from  England  in  a  ship.  Before 
the  ship  was  unloaded,  every  man  who- 
had  come  in  it  was  dead,  and  the  con- 
tagion had  made  many  other  victims. 
It  spread  over  the  country,  and  killed  a 
third  of  the  population,  laying  waste 
whole  districts,  so  that  many  churches 
were  unused  and  forgotten,  and  in  the 
next  generation  people  discovered  them 
in  unsuspected  places,  where  the  woods 
had  grown  up  around  them  and  hidden 
them. 

St.  Brigid  never  took  the  veil,  because 
the  rule  of  the  order  would  have  pre- 
vented the  pilgrimages  she  believed  God. 


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SS.  BRITTA  AND  MAURA 


139 


required  her  to  make.  She  went  to 
Borne,  and  obtained  the  confirmation  of 
her  order  by  Urban  V.  in  1370.  After 
visiting  Naples  and  Sicily,  she  was  in- 
spired to  go  to  Jerusalem,  although, 
being  in  her  seventieth  year,  she  had 
some  misgivings  about  her  infirmities. 
Her  son  Charles,  father  of  the  younger 
St.  Bbigid  of  Sweden,  set  off  with  her, 
but  died  at  an  early  stage  of  the  journey. 
She  was  comforted  by  a  revelation  of 
his  having  entered  into  eternal  bliss. 
Her  daughter,  St.  Catherine  of  Sweden, 
and  her  son  Birger,  went  with  her  to 
Jerusalem.  She  was  taken  ill  on  the 
return  journey,  and  died  in  1373,  soon 
after  her  arrival  in  Home. 

It  is  recorded  that  she  was  never 
known  to  be  angry  or  jealous.  She 
caused  the  Scriptures  to  be  translated 
into  her  native  language. 

She  had  four  sons  and  four  daughters, 
one  of  whom  was  Abbess  of  Wadstein ; 
another  daughter,  Mareta,  was  the 
mother  of  Ingrid,  abbess  of  Wadstein. 
There  is  extant  a  volume  of  the  Reve- 
lations of  St.  Brigid,  presented  by  her 
daughter  St.  Catherine  to  Pope  Gregory 
XI.,  who  commissioned  three  learned 
cardinals  to  examine  them ;  they  found 
in  them  nothing  contrary  to  the  Catholic 
faith.  Her  denunciations  of  the  abuses 
of  the  time  in  high  places  were  some- 
what like  those  of  St.  Hildegard,  but 
much  more  explicit.  A  coarse  sort  of 
guipure  lace,  made  in  Sweden,  is  said 
to  have  been  introduced  by  St.  Brigid, 
who  learned  the  art  on  her  pilgrimages, 
and  taught  it  to  her  nuns. 

The  tomb  of  Brigid's  father  and 
mother  is  still  shown  in  the  cathedral 
of  Upsala.  Their  recumbent  statues  lie 
on  a  slab,  a  lion  at  his  feet  and  a  dog 
at  hers ;  their  seven  children  are  repre- 
sented on  the  border  of  the  tomb.  Two 
sheets  of  her  handwriting  are  shown  in 
the  Library  at  Stockholm. 

Her  canonization  was  begun  by  Boni- 
face IX.,  and  was  completed  by  Martin  V., 
in  1419. 

B.M.,  Oct  8.  Fant  and  Annerstedt, 
Berum  Suecicarum,  iii.  Helyot,  Hist. 
Ord.  Mon.9  part  iii.  chap.  4.  Butler. 
Baillet.  Mesenguy.  Duffy.  Mrs.  Jame- 
son.   Geijar,  Hist  of  Sweden,  i.  290,  etc. 


Karamsin,  Hist,  de  Bussie,  iv.  327. 
Keport  of  the  Cambridge  Antiquarian 
Society,  Oct.,  1878.  A  very  interesting 
book,  The  Mirrour  of  our  Lady,  edited 
for  the  Early  English  Text  Society,  by 
Miss  Toulmin  Smith,  and  written  for 
the  monastery  of  St.  Saviour  and  St. 
Brigid  at  Isleworth,  near  Twickenham, 
gives  some  particulars  of  her  life,  and 
an  account  of  the  establishment,  in  1406, 
of  this  first  Brigittine  monastery  in 
England.  Paul  du  Chaillu,  Land  of  the 
Midnight  Sun,  ii.  p.  333,  etc.,  gives  a 
charming  description  of  the  country 
where  Wadstein  is  situated,  and  some 
legends  collected  from  the  people  of  the 
district. 

St.  Brigid  (20)  the  Younger,  of 
Sweden,  V.  f  1398-  Granddaughter 
of  St.  Brigid  op  Sweden,  being  the 
daughter  of  her  son  Charles,  who  died 
on  pilgrimage.  The  younger  Brigid 
was  brought  up  in  the  convent  of  Vreta, 
on  the  Wettern  Lake.  When  she  was 
seven,  her  grandmother  appeared  to  her 
and  predicted  her  death.  She  made  her 
last  confession,  and,  although  it  was 
January,  she  begged  persistently  for 
strawberries,  and,  by  a  revelation  from 
St.  Brigid,  some  were  found  under  the 
snow,  on  a  hill  near  the  convent.  She 
was  buried  at  her  grandmother's  mon- 
astery of  Wadstein.  Yastovius,  Vitis 
Aquilonise. 

B.  Brigid  (21)  of  Holland.  3rd 
O.S.D.  Supposed  14th  century.  She 
was  so  full  of  love  to  God  that  He 
adorned  her  with  the  stigmata.  Pio> 
Uomini  e  donne,  p.  506.  Choquet,  Sancti 
Belgi,  O.S.D.,  chap.  xxv. 

Brigidona  and  Mary,  May  6,  MM. 
AA.SS,  Prseter.  MS.  Calendar  of  Tam- 
laght. 

St.  Briid,  Brigid  (2). 

B.  Briolaya,  Oct.  28,  V.  +  c.  1500. 
Cistercian  nun  at  Ebora,  in  rortugaL 
Bemarkable  for  silence.  She  is  praised 
by  several  hagiologists,  but  has  no 
authorized  worship.  Arturus  calls  her 
"  Saint."  Bucelinus  calls  her  "  Blessed." 
Boll.,  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Brita,  Bbigid  (19). 

St  Brites,  Beatrice. 

SS.  Britta  (l)  and  Maura,  July  3. 
Honoured  at  Tours.   See  Brigid  (14). 


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ST.  BRITTA 


St.  Britta(2),  or  Brita.  Brigid  (19) 
of  Sweden  is  so  called  in  Dalecarlia. 

St.  Brittifa,  Bbettiva. 

St.  Bronacha,  or  Bronana,  April  2. 
Abbess  of  Glensechis,  in  Ireland.  Bntler. 

St.  Bronfinnia,  Uanfinnia. 

B.  Bronislavia.  13th  century.  A 
relation  of  St.  Hyacinth,  O.S.D.,  a  canon 
of  Cracow.  In  1857  the  six  hundredth 
anniversary  of  St.  Hyacinth  was  cele- 
brated with  an  eight  days'  festival, 
special  indulgences  being  granted  in 
connection  with  it  by  Pius  IX.  On  this 
occasion  the  picture  of  the  Blessed 
Bronislavia  was  carried  in  procession  in 
the  church  of  the  Dominicans.  Her 
relics  repose  in  the  church  of  the  canon- 
esses  of  St.  Norbert.  Civilta  Cattolica, 
Nov.,  1857. 

St.  Broteva,  Brettiva. 

St.  Bruinech,  Burian. 

St.  Bruna,  Alda. 

St.  Bruncecha,  or  Brunech,  May 
2'J,  V.  Ancient  Irish.  Either  St. 
Mochua,  daughter  of  Crimthan,  or  her 
sister.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Brussia.  Once  worshipped  in 
Attica. 

St.  Bryde,  Brigid  (2). 

St.  Brykke,  Brettiva. 

St.  Bublasa,  June  1,  M.  with  St. 

TJCEGA. 

St.  Bucella,  or  Lucella,  May  10,  M. 
in  Africa.  AA.8S. 

St.  Bugga  (1),  Ethelburga. 

B.  Bugga  (2),  Edburga  (5). 

B.  Bullona,  Margaret  Agullone. 

St.  Bunette,  patron  of  a  church  in 
Berry.    Mas  Latrie,  Tresor. 

St.  Buolaie,  patron  of  a  church  in  the 
diocese  of  Lucon.  P.B.  Migne.  Stadler. 

B.  Burgunda,  July  8.   A  noble 


matron  at  Wurtzburg,  in  Franconia. 
There  is  no  authority  for  her  worship, 
although  Arturus  calls  her  Blessed.  She 
is  mentioned  in  the  Acts  of  St.  Kilian. 
He  was  an  Irish  monk,  who,  with  SS. 
Coloman,  or  Colonatus,  and  Totnan,  went 
to  preach  the  Christian  religion  in  Fran- 
conia. They  converted  the  duke,  and 
made  him  put  away  his  wife  Geilana, 
who  had  been  his  brother's  widow.  She 
was  so  angry  that,  during  the  absence  of 
the  duke,  she  had  the  three  missionaries 
murdered  and  their  bodies  concealed. 
Burgunda,  who  lived  near  the  oratory  of 
the  three  monks,  knew  what  had  hap- 
pened, but  did  not  dare  to  reveal  it. 
She  told  it,  however,  before  she  died. 
Meantime,  first  the  executioners  and  then 
the  duchess  were  seized  by  the  devil  and 
died  in  torments,  calling  out  the  names 
of  their  victims.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Burgundofora  is  mentioned  in 
the  Boman  Martyrology,  April  3,  as  an 
abbess  in  England,  and  in  Guerin's 
Dictionnaire  Hagiographique,  Jan.  3.  Pro- 
bably St.  Fara  is  meant.  So  many 
English  ladies  attained  great  perfection 
under  her  rule,  that  she  was  doubtless 
highly  venerated  in  England. 

St.  Burian,  May  1,  29,  June  4,  19 
(Beriona,  Bruinech,  Buriena).  6th 
century.  One  of  the  Irish  saints  who, 
like  Bridget,  Ita,  and  Briga,  set  up 
great  schools  for  girls.  This  soon  raised 
the  status  of  women,  which  until  then 
was  very  low.  She  migrated  to  Corn- 
wall, and  settled  near  the  Land's  End. 
Athelstane  founded  a  collegiate  church 
in  her  honour.  Smith  and  TV  ace.  Baring- 
Gould,  Book  of  the  West.  Wilson,  Eng- 
lish Mart.    AA.SS.  Brit.Sancta. 

Buriena,  Burian. 


St.  Cacola,  Gaiola. 

St.  Cacra,  Cecra. 

St.  Cael,  Oct.  26,  V.  Sister  of 
Darbeun. 

St.  Caentigern,  Kentigerna. 

St.  Caesaria,  or  Cjssarius.  (See 
Carmilla.) 

St  Caia,  or  Caja,  Jan.  19,  M.  in 


Africa,  with  more  than  six  hundred  others. 
AA.SS. 
St.  Caila,  Piala. 

St.  Cain.  First  half  of  6th  century. 
Patron  of  Llangain,  Caermarthenshire. 
Daughter  of  St.  Caw.  Sister  of  SS. 
Gwenafwt,  Cwtllog,  Peillan,  and 
Peithien.    Bees,  228. 


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ST.  CALLISTHENE 


HI 


St.  Cainder,  or  Kennere,  Nov.  5, 
daughter  of  Caelan  of  Einnh  Allaid. 
Irish.    Forbes,  Kalendars. 

St.  Cainner,'or  Kennere,  Jan.  28, 
Daughter  of  Cruithnechan,  worshipped 
at  Kilcullen,  Kildare.  Forbes,  Kalen- 
dars, "  Kennere,"  from  Colgan. 

Caintigerna,  Kentigeuna. 

St  Caiola,  Gaiola. 

St.  Cairecha,  Kairecha. 

St  Calamanda,  or  Calamandra, 
Feb.  5,  V.  of  Catalonia,  M.  Represented 
holding  a  palm-branch,  in  a  picture  in 
the  church  of  St.  James  at  Calaffum, 
where  an  altar  was  dedicated  to  her. 
She  is  invoked  with  success  when  rain 
is  wanted.  Some  authors  suppose  her 
to  have  been  a  companion  of  St.  Ursula. 
Henschenius,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Calamandra,  Calamanda. 

Ven.  Calefaie,  or  Calrfagia.  Teacher 
of  St.  Ausonius,  first  bishop  of  Angou- 
leme.  Guerin. 

St.  CaliS.    (See  Chariessa.) 

St  Calista,  Jan.  .19,  M.  in  Africa, 
with  more  than  six  hundred  others. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Callinica  (1),  or  Callinicus, 
March  22.  "f  c.  252.  In  the  reign  of 
the  Emperor  Decius,  St.  Basilissa  (2), 
a  rich  woman  of  Galatia,  employed 
Callinica  to  carry  gifts  of  money,  food, 
and  other  necessaries  to  the  imprisoned 
Christians ;  at  the  same  time,  she  used 
to  entreat  them  to  pray  that  her  faith 
and  courage  might  not  fail  in  time  of 
need.  One  day  Callinica  was  caught 
ministering  to  the  prisoners.  Her  exami- 
nation and  confession  led  to  the  arrest 
of  Basilissa.  Both  avowing  their  belief 
in  Christ,  and  steadfastly  refusing  to 
sacrifice  to  the  idols,  were  tortured  and 
beheaded.  In  some  of  the  old  calendars 
they  are  called  two  holy  women ;  in 
others,  Callinicus  is  called  a  man.  Other 
accounts  place  them  in  the  reign  of 
Trajan,  and  describe  them  as  two  of  the 
fire  companions  of  his  daughter  Drozella, 
or  Drosis.  Another  account  says  they 
wore  companions  of  St.  Beryllus,  a  native 
of  Antioch,  appointed  first  Bishop  of 
Catania,  in  Sicily,  by  St.  Peter  the 
apostle.    B.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Callinica  (2).  (See  Niceta.) 

St.  Calliope  Lerama,  June  8,  V.  M. 


Represented  with  a  hot  iron  held  to  her 
breast.  She  is  honoured  in  the  Greek 
Church,  and  believed  to  have  been  put 
to  death  with  tortures  of  peculiar  atrocity 
in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Decius. 
The  Spanish  hagiologists  say  her  martyr- 
dom took  place  in  the  reign  of  Nero  and 
at  the  town  of  Triboraci,  called  in  her 
honour  Lerma.  There  is  a  great  deal 
more  about  her  in  Salazar  which  Hen- 
schenius leaves  to  those  who  are  greedy 
of  such  inventions.  B.M.,  AA.SS.  Callot. 
Husenbeth. 

SS.  Callista  (l)  and  Christa,  Feb. 
5,  MM.  They  were  hired  to  induce  St. 
Dorothy  (1)  to  follow  their  example 
and  apostatize.  They  not  only  failed  to 
pervert  her,  but  were  influenced  by  her 
to  repent  and  return  to  the  true  religion, 
and  were  martyred  by  being  plunged 
into  a  boiling  caldron.  They  are  com- 
memorated with  SS.  Dorothy  and  Theo- 
philus.  Legend  says  they  were  sisters 
of  Dorothy,  but  Tillemont  does  not 
mention  this.    Tillemont,  v.  498. 

St  Callista  (2),  with  her  brothers,. 
SS.  Evodius  and  Hermogenes,  April  25, 
Sept  2,  M.  c.  304.  She  encouraged 
them  to  endure  martyrdom  at  Syracuse. 
B.M. 

St  Callisthene,  Oct.  4.  4th  century. 
Lived  at  Ephesus  with  her  father,  St. 
Audactus,  a  Christian  duke.  She  un- 
wittingly attracted  the  admiration  of 
Maximianus  (afterwards  Emperor).  As 
he  was  a  monster  of  wickedness,  Audac- 
tus sent  her  out  of  the  way.  Maximianus 
revenged  himself  for  her  disappearance 
by  confiscating  the  goods  of  the  family, 
and  banishing  them  to  a  neighbouring 
province.  There  the  local  authorities 
were  ordered  to  compel  Audaotus  to 
sacrifice  to  the  gods,  and,  as  he  resisted, 
he  was  beheaded.  Callisthene,  to  escape 
from  further  persecution,  cut  off  her  hair 
and  dressed  herself  as  a  man,  and  under 
this  disguise  lived  for  several  years  at 
Nicomedia.  During  this  time  she  appears- 
to  have  maintained  herself  by  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine.  We  next  hear  of  her 
in  Thrace,  attending  a  girl  who  had  a 
disease  of  the  eyes  and  was  threatened 
with  blindness.  She  recovered,  and  her 
grateful  parents  were  so  pleased  with 
their  young  doctor  that  they  proposed 


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142 


ST.  CALLODATA 


to  marry  him  to  their  daughter.  Cal- 
listhene  then  confided  her  story  to  them, 
and  she  seems  to  have  remained  with 
them  until  she  heard  of  the  death  of 
Maximianns.  The  same  year  an  edict 
was  published  in  favour  of  the  Chris- 
tians, and  Licinius  succeeded  to  the 
power  and  dignities  of  his  colleague  and 
rival.  Callisthene  applied  to  Constantia, 
the  Christian  empress,  who  received  her 
into  her  house,  placed  her  children  under 
her  care,  and  persuaded  Licinius  to 
restore  the  property  of  Audactus  to  his 
daughter.  She  next  obtained  permission 
to  remove  her  father's  body  from  the 
place  of  his  martyrdom  to  Ephesus,  where 
she  lived  righteously,  and  died  in  peace. 
The  father  and  daughter  are  honoured 
together.  Menology  of  Basil.  AA.SS. 
Smith  and  Wace.  Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Callodata,  Calodata. 

SS.  Callwen  and  Gwenfyl,  Nov.  l. 
•5th  century.  Commemorated  at  Defynog 
and  Llanddewi  Brefe.  Descendants  of 
Brychan.  See  Almhkda.  Baring-Gould. 
.  Bees. 

St.  Calodota,  or  Callodata,  Sept.  6. 
M.  c.  250,  at  Alexandria,  with  Thecla, 
Andbopelagia,  and  several  others.  Wife 
of  one  Cyrus.  AA.SS. 

St.  Calonica,  May  19,  M.  Buried  in 
the  catacomb  of  Calixtus,  Via  Appia, 
Rome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Calpurnia  (l),  June  2.  One  of 
the  227  Roman  martyrs  commemorated 
together  in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Calpurnia  (2),  commonly  called 
Roman  a  op  Todi. 

St.  Calricia,  May  0  (Carica,  Caricia, 
-Carisia,  (2)),  M.  at  Milan,  supposed 
under  Maximian.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cama,  June  4,  M.  in  Cilicia,  or 
Sicily.  AA.SS. 

St.  Camela,  Sept.  16  (Camelia,  Ca- 
mella,  Camilla),  V.  Specially  honoured 
at  Toulouse,  and  in  the  diocese  of  Mire- 
poix,  in  Aquitaine,  where  a  church  and 
village  bear  her  name.  Supposed  to 
have  been  martyred  by  the  Albigeois 
heretics,  or  to  have  lived  earlier  than 
that  time — perhaps  8th  or  9th  century. 
Stilting,  in  AA.SS.  Mas  Latrie.  Guerin 
calls  her  Camilla  or  Camilib,  a  Cister- 
cian at  Carcasonne. 


St.    Camilla    (1),  March   3,  V. 

J 437.  Disciple  of  St.  Germanus.  SS. 
amilla,  Magnentia,  Palladia,  Maxima, 
and  Porcaria  accompanied  the  body  of 
their  master  on  its  journey  from  Ravenna 
to  Auxerre,  in  France ;  but,  overcome 
by  the  fatigues  aud  difficulties  of  the 
way,  Camilla,  Magnontia,  and  Palladia 
died,  at  different  places,  before  its  arrival 
at  Auxerre.  Palladia's  death  took  place 
at  Ste.  Palaye,  so  called  in  her  honour. 
Camilla  was  buried  at  Ecoulives.  Her 
body  and  that  of  Palladia  were  burned 
by  the  Calvinists.  Maxima  built  a 
church  over  the  tomb  of  St.  Germanus, 
and  was  buried  there  herself.  Porcaria 
was  buried  in  another  church  dedicated 
in  her  honour,  about  nine  miles  from  the 
town.  It  is  uncertain  whether  these 
four  saints  were  sisters  or  only  fellow- 
disciples.  Camilla  is  mentioned  with 
St.  Germanus  in  the  Viola  Sanctorum, 
and  in  a  MS.  Life  of  St.  Magnentia, 
quoted  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Camilla  (2),  Camela. 
B.  Camilla  (3),  Lucy  Bartolini  Ru- 
cellai. 

St.  Camilla  ( 4),  Baptista  Varani. 

B.  Camilla-Pia,  March  31,  O.S.F. 
Founder,  in  1504,  of  a  convent  of  Claris- 
san  nuns  at  Carpi,  near  Modena,  in  Italy. 
P.B. 

St.  Camiona,  or  Canniona,  one  of 
the  twelve  companions  of  St.  Benedicta 
(7).  Honoured  at  Le  Mensil-Saint- 
Laurent,  near  Origny. 

St.  Candedia,  May  10,  M.  at  Tarsus, 
in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Candia,  Candida  (11). 

St.  Candida  (1)  the  Elder,  Sept.  3. 
1  st  century.  Patron  of  Naples.  When 
St.  Peter,  the  apostle,  was  on  his  way  to 
Rome,  after  he  had  founded  the  Church 
in  Antioch,  he  passed  through  Naples, 
where  he  was  kindly  received  by  an  old 
widow  named  Candida.  When  he  spoke 
to  her  of  the  Christian  faith,  she  said  she 
would  believe  in  his  God  if  he  could 
cure  her  of  excessive  pains  in  her  head, 
from  which  she  had  suffered  for  many 
years.  He  cured  her  and  instructed  and 
baptized  her.  She  then  besought  his 
aid  for  a  good  old  man  who  was  helpless 
and  suffering  much  from  a  grievous 
disease.  St.  Peter  gave  her  his  staff,  and 


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ST.  CANDIDA 


143 


bade  her  go  and  touoh  her  friend  with  it 
in  the  name  of  Christ.  She  cured  her 
friend,  and  the  staff  was  long  preserved 
in  the  church  at  Naples.   R.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Candida  (2),  Dec.  1.  1st  cen- 
tury. M.  at  Home,  in  the  time  of  Trajan, 
with  Lucius  her  husband,  Bogatus  and 
Cassian.  Candida,  Lucius,  Sergius Paulus, 
and  many  others  were  converted  by  St. 
Paul  at  Paphos,  in  Cyprus.  R.M. 
(rynecseum. 

St.  Candida  (3),  June  6.  M.  with 
her  husband,  St.  Artemius,  a  jailor,  and 
their  daughter,  St.  Paulina  (6),  in  the 
Diocletian  persecution,  at  the  end  of  the 
3rd  or  beginning  of  the  4th  century. 
Paulina  was  vexed  with  a  devil.  B. 
Peter,  a  prisoner  in  the  custody  of  Ar- 
temius, healed  her  by  his  prayers,  and 
was  thus  the  means  of  converting  Arte- 
mius, Candida,  and  their  daughter.  They 
with  all  their  house  and  many  others — 
at  least  three  hundred  men, besides  women 
— were  baptized  by  B.  Marcellinus,  a  pres- 
byter. When  the  judge  Serenus  heard 
this,  and  Artemius  refused  to  sacrifice  to 
idols,  he  ordered  him  with  his  wife  and 
daughter  to  be  buried  under  a  mighty 
pile  of  stones.  As  they  were  being  led 
to  the  place,  so  many  Christians  met 
them  that  the  murderers  fled  affrighted, 
only  to  be  pursued,  caught,  and  detained 
as  prisoners  until  Marcellinus  had  cele- 
brated Mass  in  the  crypt  where  the 
saints  were  to  suffer.  Marcellinus  said 
to  them,  "  Lo,  we  had  it  in  our  power 
to  injure  you,  and  to  take  away  from 
you  Artemius  and  his  daughter ;  but  this 
we  have  not  done.  What  say  you  to 
this  ?  "  Gnashing  with  their  teeth  upon 
the  men  of  God,  they  slew  Artemius 
with  the  sword ;  Candida  and  Paulina 
they  cast  headlong  from  the  crypt — 
probably  a  cave — and  overwhelmed  them 
with  stones.  Another  account  says 
"  into  the  crypt,"  and  adds  that  Artemius 
was  beaten  with  "  lead-weighted  thongs." 
The  commemoration  of  St.  Artemius  is 
prescribed  in  the  Breviary  of  Tours, 
1636.  R.M.  AA.SS.,  from  a  very 
ancient  MS.  belonging  to  the  church  of 
St.  Saviour  at  Utrecht. 

St  Candida  (4),  Sep.  20,  V.  M. 
according  to  the  Roman  Martyrology,  at 
Carthage,  under  Mazimian,  but  claimed 


by  the  Church  of  Carthagena,  in  Spain,  as 
a  martyr  there.  Patron,  with  St.  Chari- 
tina  (1),  of  Carthagena. 

St.  Candida  (5),  Aug.  99,  V.  M. 
whose  body  was  translated  by  Pope 
Pascal  I.  (811-824)  into  the  church  of 
St.  Prazedis  at  Borne.  R.M.  This  is, 
perhaps,  the  same  as  Candida  (4). 

St.  Candida  (6),  Jan.  7,  M.  in  Greece. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Candida  (7),  Jan.  7.  AA.SS. 
St.  Candida  (8),  Sept.  28,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

.  St.  Candida  (9),  Aug.  31.  4th 
century.  Lived  in  Rome  with  her 
intimate  friend,  St.  Marcellina  ( 1 ),  and 
followed  her  to  Milan.  Candida  was 
buried  in  the  basilica  of  St.  Ambrose, 
and  has  been  venerated  with  the  title  of 
"Saint"  ever  since  the  9th  century. 
Her  portrait  in  mosaic  is  in  the  choir 
with  those  of  Marcellina  and  Satyrus. 
Her  name  is  in  the  oldest  manuscript  of 
the  Litany  used  on  Rogation  days.  In 
very  ancient  times  she  was  included  in 
the  Catalogue  of  Milanese  Saints,  and 
honoured  by  a  special  service  on  Aug. 
31.    Lady  Herbert,  Marcellina. 

St.  Candida  (10),  wife  of  a  general 
named  Trajan.  She  and  her  daughter, 
a  holy  virgin,  who  predeceased  her,  were 
much  given  to  manual  labour,  because 
Candida  said  that  fasting  was  not  enough 
to  keep  the  devil  out,  hard  work  also 
was  necessary.  St.  Gelasia  was  a 
disciple  of  Candida.    PaUadil  Lamiaca. 

St.  Candida  (11),  or  Candia,  Oct.  22, 
V.  M.  Native  of  Tortosa,  in  Spain. 
Companion  of  St.  Ursula.  AA.SS. 

St.  Candida  (12)  the  Younger, 
Sept.  4.  Of  Naples,  t 586-  A  yer7 
pious  woman,  who  loved  God  better  than 
her  husband  and  only  son.  She  died 
beforo  them  and  was  buried  in  the 
church  of  St.  Andrew,  in  a  place  called 
Ad  Nidum,  in  or  near  Naples.  Some 
time  afterwards  a  miraculous  liquid 
flowed  from  her  tomb,  and  was  found 
to  be  a  cure  for  various  diseases.  R.M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Candida  (1 3),  Jan.  27.  Towards 
the  end  of  the  8th  century.  Worshipped 
at  the  monastery  of  Bafioles  and  village  of 
Gujalbes,  near  Gerona,  in  Spain.  Wife 
of  a  devout  nobleman  named  Bandilo. 


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144 


B.  CANDIDA 


To  their  regret,  they  had  no  children. 
At  last  God  told  them  that  they  should 
have  a  son,  who  would  be  one  of  His 
great  servants.  When  he  was  born  they 
called  him  Emerins. 

The  Christians  in  the  north  of  Spain, 
being  oppressed  by  the  Moors,  sent  to 
ask  help  of  Charles,  king  of  France.  (It 
is  uncertain  whether  it  was  Charles 
Martel  or  his  grandson  Charlemagne.) 
They  lost  many  battles,  and  their  resist- 
ance ceased.  After  some  years  it  was 
revealed  to  the  king  that  the  time  had 
come  for  him  to  renew  the  war  against 
the  Moors,  and  that  Emerins,  who  was 
then  a  hermit,  was  destined  to  help  him. 
The  king  accordingly  took  him  for  his 
guide.  During  this  campaign,  Emerius 
procured  bread  for  hungry  Christians 
and  restored  to  life  those  who  died  of 
famine.  The  king  besieged  the  city  of 
Querquens  for  seven  years,  and  then  he 
resolved  to  raise  the  siege  and  go 
into  Catalonia.  As  he  began  to  draw  off 
his  army,  Emerins  cried  out,  "O  king, 
come  to  Querquenssona."  He  returned 
and  took  the  city,  and  it  was  called 
Carcassonne.  Then  he  went  into  Cata- 
lonia, to  a  marshy  place  called  Balneoli, 
infested  by  a  lion,  the  terror  of  the 
people.  Emerius  caught  it  by  pouring 
holy  water  on  it.  He  built  a  church 
and  monastery  on  the  place,  and  dedicated 
them  in  the  name  of  St.  Stephen.  The 
king  and  army  did  not  want  to  part  with 
him ;  but  as  he  was  determined  to  leave 
all  secular  concerns,  they  made  him 
abbot,  to  establish  the  Benedictine  rule 
there.  Some  time  after,  Candida  having 
become  a  widow,  went  in  search  of  her 
son,  and  found  him  in  the  island  of 
Fargat.  Great  was  the  joy  of  both,  but 
after  a  few  days  Emerius  realized  that 
the  delight  of  his  mother's  society  was 
winning  his  heart  back  to  earth,  and  as 
he  had  decided  to  give  it  all  to  God,  he 
requested  her  to  go  and  leave  him.  She 
said,  "  Oh,  my  son,  we  have  had  so  little 
happiness  and  comfort  together :  let  me 
stay  with  you  and  serve  God  and  lead  a 
life  of  poverty."  He  said  it  could  not 
be,  but  he  would  send  her  away  only  as 
far  as  he  could  throw  his  stick.  She 
consented,  thinking  it  would  be  only  a 
few  yards ;  but  he  threw  it  a  very  long 


way.  She  kept  her  promise  and  took  up 
her  abode  in  the  place  he  had  assigned 
to  her,  and  there  she  ended  her  days. 
AA.SS.    Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 

B.  Candida  (14),  Blanche,  queen  of 
France. 

St.  Canna,  Oct.  25.  6th  century. 
Native  of  Bretagne.  Wife,  first,  of  St. 
Sadwrn,  also  a  Breton,  and  by  him 
mother  of  St.  Crallo.  She  migrated  to 
Wales  with  her  first  husband,  and  there, 
secondly,  she  married  Gallgu  Bieddog, 
and  was  by  him  mother  of  St.  Elian 
Geimad.  Elian  is  in  Latin  Hilarius. 
Sadwrn  was  nephew  of  Canna's  great- 
uncle,  St.  Germain  of  Auxerre.  They 
were  related  to  many  Welsh  and  Ame- 
rican saints.  They  give  names  to  several 
places  in  Wales.  AA.SS.  Bees,  Welsh 
Saints,  p.  222,  says  she  founded  Llan- 
ganna,  in  Glamorgan,  and  Llangan  in 
Caer  mart  hen. 

St.  Cannera,  or  Canneria,  Jan.  28, 
V.  6th  century.  A  native  of  Bentraig, 
near  Bantry  Bay.  Her  kinsman,  St. 
Senan,  founded  and  ruled  a  small  com- 
munity of  monks  in  Scattery,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Shannon.  One  of  his  most 
important  rules  was  that  no  woman 
should  enter  that  island.  Cannera,  how- 
ever, was  determined  to  be  buried  there, 
and  to  receive  the  last  sacrament  from  the 
hands  of  Senan.  Guided  there  by  an  angel 
or  by  a  vision,  she  begged  him  to  allow 
her  to  land.  He  positively  refused  to  let 
her  set  foot  on  the  place  consecrated  to* 
the  use  of  his  community.  He  told  her 
to  go  to  his  mother  Comgella  (2),  who 
lived  near.  Cannera  said  she  had  taken 
this  long  journey  on  purpose  to  have  a- 
perpetual  resting-place  in  his  island; 
that  Christ  suffered  for  both  sexes,  and 
opened  the  gate  of  heaven  to  women  as 
well  as  to  men;  and  that  the  apostles 
suffered  women  to  minister  to  them,  and 
did  not  disdain  their  hospitality  or 
society.  After  a  great  deal  of  argument, 
she  said  she  would  only  ask  that  in  her 
life  she  should  receive  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, and  in  death  as  much  earth  on 
the  shore  as  would  cover  her.  Senan 
contended  that  the  sea  would  wash  away 
her  grave.  She  said  it  would  not.  At 
last  he  consented.  He  gave  her  the 
holy  viaticum,  and  she  immediately  died 


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SS.  CAPITOLINA  AND  EROTHEIS 


145 


and  was  bnried  on  the  coast  of  Scattery, 
and  not  only  do  the  waves  never  encroach 
on  her  grave,  but  navigators  in  danger 
near  Ireland  invoke  her  assistance  with 
success.  Lanigan.  Colgan,  AA.SS. 
Hibernise.  Dr.  Ledwick  considers  St. 
Senanus  to  be  the  personification  of  the 
river  Shannon. 

St.  Canniona,  Camiona. 

St.  Cansiona,  patron  of  a  church 
mentioned  by  Innocent  III. 

St  Cantia,  Nov.  20,  V.  M.  Honoured 
at  ToscaneUa,  in  Tuscany.  Ferrarius, 
Catalogue, 

St.  Cantiana  (l),  June  15,  M.  at 
Lucania,  honoured  with  St.  Vitus.  (See 
Cbescentia  (1).)  AA.SS. 

St.  Cantiana  (2),  Cantianilla  (l). 

St  Cantianilla  (1)  or  Cantiana  (2), 
May  31,  M.  304.  She  and  her  brothers 
Oantius  and  Cantianus,  with  their  gover- 
nor St.  Protus,  are  commonly  called  the 
Cantian  Martyrs.  They  were  related  to 
the  Emperor  Carinus,  and  were  of  the 
noble  Roman  family  of  the  Anioii,  as 
illustrious  for  having  given  several 
martyrs  and  confessors  of  both  sexes  to 
the  Church  as  for  having  given  consuls 
and  Emperors  to  Home.  They  were 
brought  up  in  the  Christian  faith,  and 
when  the  persecution  began,  under  Dio- 
cletian and  Maximian,  they  sold  their 
property  in  Rome,  liberated  their  slaves, 
distributed  their  money  to  the  poor,  and 
went  to  Aquileia,  in  Istria,  where  they 
had  other  estates.  They  were  accom- 
panied by  Protus,  their  faithful  friend 
and  adviser.  The  persecuting  ediot 
arrived  before  them  at  Aquileia,  and 
when  they  got  there,  hoping  to  see  their 
friend,  the  venerable  priest  St.  Chryso- 
gonns,  he  had  already  been  put  to  death 
a  month  before  by  the  enemies  of  the 
Church.  Next  day  they  went  to  visit 
the  Christians  who  were  in  prison.  Their 
conduct  was  soon  reported  to  the  Emperor, 
who  sent  orders  for  their  arrest.  They 
left  Aquileia  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  mules, 
intending  to  conceal  themselves  at  the 
tomb  of  St.  Chrysogonus,  at  Aquaa 
Gradata),  a  village,  now  called  San 
Cantiano,  four  miles  from  Aquileia  ;  but 
one  of  their  mules  falling  lame  by  the 
way,  they  were  overtaken,  and  as  they 
utterly  refused  to  obey  the  Emperor's 


command  and  renounce  their  religion, 
they  were  at  once  beheaded.  They  are 
mentioned  in  a  sermon  attributed  to  St. 
Ambrose,  and  in  some  old  martyrologies. 
Baillet  esteems  their  story  to  be  true, 
although  the  Acts  published  by  the  Bol- 
landists  are  not  genuine.  R.M.  Hen- 
schenius,  in  AA.SS.  Butler. 

St.  Cantianilla  (2),  June  15,  M.  in 
Barbary.  Guerin. 

St.  Cantide,  or  Cantis,  Aug.  5. 
Guerin. 

St.  Cantionilla,  Quintianilla. 

St.  Cantis,  Cantide. 

SS.  Capitolina  and  Erotheis  or 
Ebotis,  her  maid,  Oot.  27,  MM.  304,  in 
Cappadocia,  under  Diocletian.  Capito- 
lina was  a  woman  of  high  rank  in  Cap- 
padocia. When  brought  to  trial  as  a 
Christian,  she  was  asked  her  name, 
country,  and  parentage.  She  answered, 
"I  am  a  Christian,  my  country  is  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem,  my  parents  are  the 
teachers  of  Christianity,  and  chiefly  the 
great  Firmilianus,  bishop  of  Cffisarea  in 
Cappadocia."  When  she  had  resisted 
all  the  persuasions  and  threats  used  by 
Zelicinthius,  the  judge,  to  induce  her  to 
renounce  her  faith  and  worship  the  gods 
— particularly  Serapis — she  was  sent  to 
prison.  A  person  who  had  been  present 
at  the  trial  ran  to  her  house  and  told 
her  maid  Erotis,  who  was  baking,  and 
was  just  going  to  put  loaves  in  the  oven. 
She  left  her  work,  and  ran  to  the  prison 
and  kissed  tho  fetters  that  bound  her 
mistress ;  she  congratulated  her  on  the 
prospect  of  martyrdom,  and  begged  her 
to  pray  that  her  maid  also  might  be 
found  worthy  to  share  her  fate.  Capito- 
lina told  her  not  to  fear,  but  be  present 
on  the  morrow  and  witness  her  execution. 
Erotis  went  home,  finished  her  cooking, 
and  took  the  bread  to  the  prison.  Capi- 
tolina bade  her  give  it  to  the  poor,  and 
then  6ell  all  her  mistress's  things  and 
distribute  the  money  to  the  poor.  Erotis 
obeyed  the  order,  and  next  day,  when 
Capitolina  was  brought  before  the  judge, 
her  zealous  servant  assailed  him  with 
stones  and  abuse.  When  she  had  seen 
her  mistress  transfixed  with  a  sword, 
she  was  asked  how  a  person  of  her  mean 
station  could  dare  to  behave  in  this 
manner.    She  replied  by  reviling  the 

L 


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146 


ST.  CAPPA 


judge  and  his  gods  ;  and  was  put  to 
horrible  tortures,  under  which  she  ceased 
not  to  tbank  God.  Her  wounds  were 
miraculously  healed,  and  she  came  un- 
soorched  out  of  a  furnace  into  which  she 
was  cast.  At  length  she  was  beheaded, 
the  day  after  St.  Capitolina.  B.M.  Men. 
Basil  AA.SS. 

St.  Cappa,  Feb.  2,  M.  with  Castula 
(12)  and  many  others,  at  Borne,  supposed 
under  Diocletian.  AA.SS.,  Mart  St 
Jerome. 

St.  Captiva,  Nino. 

St.  Carecha,  Feb.  9.  f  578.  Abbess 
of  a  nunnery  in  Gal  way  or  Roscommon. 
She  was  of  the  illustrious  house  of  the 
princes  of  Orgiel.  Sister  of  St.  Fanchea, 
also  of  Enna,  or  Enda,  founder  and  abbot 
of  a  monastery  at  Arran-of-the-Saints,  in 
the  bay  of  Galway,  where  St.  Brendan 
of  Clonfert  spent  three  days  with  him 
before  setting  sail  on  his  famous  voyage 
in  search  of  the  Earthly  Paradise.  This 
Enna  was  the  son  of  Caial  of  Clogher, 
and  grandson  of  Damen,  and  his  mother 
is  said  to  have  been  Dairine,  a  sister  of 
King  Aengus.  Lanigan. 

St.  Careme,  Carissima. 

St.  Caria.     (See  Acrabonia  and 

ASKAHA.) 

St.  Carica,  Calricia. 

Caricia,  Calricia. 

St.  Cariesse,  Charikssa. 

St  Carina,  Casina. 

St.  Carinia,  March  6,  M.  at  Nicopo- 
lis.  Guerin. 

St.  Cans,  Charis. 

St.  Carisia  (1),  or  Charisia,  March  1, 
M.  Guerin. 

St.  Carisia  (2),  Calricia. 

St.  Carissa,  June  19,  V.  M.  One  of 
the  companions  of  St.  Ursula.  Trans- 
lated from  Cologne  to  Viconia,  in  Hain- 
ault,  June  10,  1157.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Carissima,  or  CHARissiMA,Sept.  7, 
Oct.  11,  V.  6th  or  7th  century.  Called 
in  French  Chrome,  or  Careme.  Honoured 
in  the  diocese  of  Albi.  According  to 
local  legend,  she  was  of  noble  birth, 
persecuted  by  her  parents  to  marry 
Hugolino  of  Chateau  Vieux.  Having  a 
vow  to  the  contrary,  she  fled  and  con- 
cealed herself  in  a  wood  for  three  years, 
her  hiding-place  being  known  only  to 
her  nurse,  who  brought  hor  bread.  She 


raised  the  nurse's  child  from  the  dead, 
and,  fearing  the  miracle  would  cause  her 
to  be  discovered,  she  crossed  the  Tarn, 
and,  after  wandering  long  in  desert 
places,  she  met  St.  Eugenius,  bishop  of 
Carthage,  then  an  exile.  He  founded  a 
monastery  at  Vieux,  on  the  Vere,  and 
seven  years  afterwards  buried  her  in  it. 
The  monastery  of  Vieux  is  proved  not 
to  have  been  founded  by  Eugenius, 
bishop  of  Carthage,  which  casts  doubt 
on  the  story.  Carissima's  translation  is 
celebrated  at  Albi  with  that  of  St.  Eugene 
and  other  martyrs,  on  Oct.  11.  Stilting* 
in  AAJSS.  F.M. 

St.  Carita,  April  13,  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Caritaine,  or  Charitana,  June 
12,  M.  at  Borne.    Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Caritas.  (See  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity/) 

SS.  Carmilla  and  Caesaria,  or 
Cjesarius,  March  23.  Mentioned  in  the 
account  of  SS.  Paul  and  Julian,  MMM 
but  it  is  unknown  whether  they  are  the 
names  of  persons  or  of  places.  Paul 
and  Julian  aro  supposed  to  have  suffered 
under  the  Vandals,  but  no  particulars 
are  known.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Carmundica,  Sept.  10  or  12 
(Bona  (1),  Mundicorda),  V.  Becluse 
in  Egypt.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

B.  Carola,  one  of  the  nine  sisters  of 
St.  Kainfrbde. 

St.  Carpia,  May  27,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Carra,  June  1,  M.  with  St. 
Aucega. 

St.  Casaira,  Jan.  25,  V.  (See  Elvira.) 

St.  Casaria  (1),  Dec.  8  (Cazarie, 
Cesaria  (4)).  f586-  Wife  of  St. 
Valens.  They  made  a  vow  of  virginity 
on  the  day  of  their  marriage,  distributed 
their  goods  to  the  poor,  and  led  an  ascetic 
life  in  the  place  where  afterwards  stood 
the  Benedictine  abbey  of  St.  Andrew  of 
Villeneuve,  near  Avignon.  The  clergy 
and  people  of  Avignon  chose  Valens  for 
their  bishop.  Ho  buried  Casaria  in  a 
little  chapel  on  the  hill  of  Audaon.  He 
died,  aged  eighty,  about  591.  P.B.  Her 
head,  when  placed  on  that  of  a  sick 
person,  eases  pain.    F.M.  Martin. 

St.  Casaria  (2),  May  10,  V.  M.  Her 
worship  was  ordered  in  the  Frislarian  Di- 
rectory in  1670.  Hor  body  was  supposed 


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ST.  CASILLA 


147 


by  Henschenius  to  be  then  recently  found 
in  one  of  the  Roman  cemeteries.  Her 
history  was  unknown  to  him.  AA.SS. 

St.  Casdia,  Casdoa. 

St.  Casdoa,  Sept.  2!>  (Casdia, 
Casdoe).  Wife  of  Didas,  or  Dada/  kins- 
man of  Sapor,  king  of  Persia,  by  whom 
they  and  their  son  Gabdelas  were  de- 
prived of  their  rank  and  property,  and, 
after  a  long  imprisonment,  beheaded. 
By  another  account  she  was  wife  of 
Sapor.    B.M.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Casia,  Philippa,  and  Eutychia 
were  tried  with  Agape  (8),  Chionia,  and 
Irene,  and  remanded  to  prison,  there 
to  be  starved  to  death.  Whether  the 
sentence  was  carried  out  is  not  known, 
but  they  are  accounted  martyrs. 

St.  Casilda,  April  9  (Casilla,  Cas- 
silda).  *f  c.  the  middle  of  the  11th 
century.  Patron  of  Toledo.  Invoked 
against  dysentery.  Represented  carry- 
ing roses  in  her  lap. 

Daughter  of  a  Moorish  king  of  Toledo, 
called  by  different  authors  Alimaymon, 
Aldemon,  and  Cano.  This  king  was  a 
friend  of  Alfonso  VI  He  had  a  palace 
on  the  spot  where  afterwards  stood  the 
monastery  of  Santa  Fe,  and  a  prison  near 
it  where  the  hospital  of  Santa  Cruz  was 
built.  In  that  prison  were  many  Chris- 
tian captives,  whom  Casilda  could  see 
from  her  windows  in  the  palace.  She 
had  a  brother  named  Alimaymon,  who 
was  converted  to  Christianity,  and  took 
the  name  of  Peter  on  his  baptism,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  is  commonly 
remembered  as  the  Infante  Petran,  and 
the  place  where  the  B.  Y.  Mary  appeared 
to  him  is  called  to  this  day  Nuestra 
Senora  de  Sepetran.  His  conversion  led 
to  that  of  his  sister.  He  found  many 
ways  of  alleviating  the  sufferings  of  the 
Christian  prisoners  and  slaves,  and  soon 
Casilda,  although  still  a  Mohammedan, 
joined  him  in  this  charitable  work.  One 
day,  as  she  was  going  to  the  prison, 
attended  by  servants  carrying  baskets  of 
food  and  other  comforts,  she  met  her 
father,  who  asked  her  what  she  had  in 
those  baskets.  She  was  afraid,  and 
answered,  "  Roses."  The  king,  however, 
suspected  the  truth,  and  opened  the 
baskets.  He  found  them  full  of  roses ; 
but  when  distributed  to  the  Christians 


they  were  changed  back  again  to  bread, 
meat,  etc.  The  same  miracle  is  told  of 
SS.  Elizabeth  or  Hungary,  Rose  op 

VlTERBO,  ROSCELINE,  VEREXA,and  MATHIA. 

After  this  Casilda  was  disposed  to 
believe  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Christians, 
and  they  gladly  instructed  her  in  their 
religion.  She  had  dysentery,  and  kept 
growing  worse,  in  spite  of  all  the  care 
and  advice  of  all  the  doctors  in  the  king- 
dom. The  Christians  told  her  she  would 
recover  if  she  went  and  bathed  in  the 
lake  of  San  Vicente,  near  Burgos,  as 
there  were  leeches  in  it  that  would  suck 
away  all  the  bad  blood,  and  completely 
cure  her  complaint.  She  was  extremely 
anxious  to  try  it,  but  it  was  in  Christian 
territory.  King  Alimaymon,  however, 
procured  a  safe  conduct  for  her  from 
Fernando  I.,  king  of  Castile.  She  set 
out,  accompanied  by  two  maids,  and 
taking  a  present  of  Christian  slaves  to 
the  king.  On  the  way,  she  had  to  cross 
a  narrow  bridge.  The  devil,  foreseeing 
that  he  would  lose  a  precious  soul  if 
Casilda  went  to  a  Christian  country  and 
was  baptized,  took  this  opportunity  to 
frighten  her  mule.  She  fell  into  the 
water,  and  would  certainly  have  been 
drowned  but  for  the  timely  interference 
of  an  angel.  At  Burgos  she  recovered, 
and  was  baptized  in  the  church  of  St. 
Vincent.  She  would  not  return  to  Toledo, 
but  remained  among  the  Christians,  and 
lived  as  a  religious  recluse  in  a  hut  on 
the  banks  of  the  lake.  She  attempted 
to  build  a  church  on  its  borders,  but  the 
work  of  each  day  was  mysteriously  re- 
moved by  night  to  tho  top  of  the  hill, 
so  in  the  end  the  church  was  built  there. 
After  some  years  her  illness  returned. 
Feeling  that  death  was  near,  she  entreated 
that  if  any  one  ever  prayed  in  her  name 
for  recovery,  especially  from  the  com- 
plaint of  which  she  was  dying,  the  prayer 
might  be  granted.  Yepez  places  her 
death  about  1047.  Some  accounts  make 
it  later. 

Yepez,  Sermon  25.  Quintadueno, 
Santos  de  Toledo.  Moroni,  Biz.  Eccles.y. 
"Toledo."  Tapebroch,  in  AA.SS.  Cahier. 
Husenbeth,  Emblems.  Florez,  Espaha 
Sagrada,  xxvii.  754,  gives  the  legend  with 
slight  variations. 

St.  Casilla,  Casilda. 


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ST.  CASINA 


St.  Casina,  Nov.  7  (Carina,  Cassine  ), 
M.  at  Ancyra,  362.  Wife  of  St.  Mela- 
sippus,  and  mother  of  St.  Anthony. 
They  were  all  imprisoned  on  account  of 
their  religion.  Anthony  was  thirteen 
when  he  was  brought  from  his  prison  to 
see  his  parents  hung  up  and  cut  to 
pieces.  Casina  had  her  breasts  cut  off ; 
they  both  died  under  the  torture.  An- 
thony kissed  their  wounds,  and  anointed 
himself  with  their  blood.  He  next  spat 
in  the  face  of  the  Emperor  Julian  the 
Prevaricator,  whereupon  he  also  was 
made  to  undergo  cruel  tortures.  His 
courage  and  constancy  and  other  miracles 
caused  the  conversion  of  forty  boys,  all 
of  whom  were  put  to  death  with  him. 
There  is  no  contemporary  account,  but 
it  is  known  that  Julian  the  Apostate, 
although  he  affected  toleration,  hated 
the  Christians,  and  allowed  them  to  be 
persecuted  under  various  pretexts.  B.M. 
Men.  Basil.  Lobeau,  Bas.  Empire,  ii. 
438. 

SS.  Cassia  and  Paula,  July  20,  M. 
with  fourteen  others  at  Damascus.  B.M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Cassilda,  Casilda. 

St.  Cassine,  Casina. 

St.  Casta  (1),  June  1,  M.  with  St. 

AUCEGA. 

St.  Casta  (2),  Feb.  22,  M.  with  St. 
Antioa  and  others  at  Nicomedia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Casta  (3),  Feb.  25,  M.  with 
others,  supposed  in  Pamphylia.  Men- 
tioned in  old  martyrologies.  AA.SS. 

St.  Castell,  Jan.  27.  The  wife  of 
St.  Julian  the  Hospitaller  is  so  called  in 
the  Martyrology  of  Salisbury.  In  some 
editions  of  the  Life  of  St.  Julian,  his  wife 
is  called  Castellana — a  certain  Chate- 
laine.   (See  Ba8ili88A  (6).) 

St.  Castellana,  Castell. 

St.  Castonica,  April  13,  M.  AA.SS. 

B.  Castora,  June  14  or  15.  "f  1391. 
O.S.F.  Widow.  Daughter  of  Petruccio 
Gabrielli,  an  eminent  citizen  of  Gubbio. 
Castora  married  Santuccio  Sanfonerio, 
count  of  Castello,  San  Martino,  and 
Bassinaro,  and  D.C.L.  They  lived  at 
St.  Angelo  in  Yado.  He  was  unkind  to 
her.  She  had  one  son,  whom  she  brought 
up  in  the  fear  of  God.  During  her 
husband's  life  she  devoted  all  her  spare 
time  to  works  of  charity,  and  on  his 


death  she  joined  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis.  She  was  buried  in  the  habit  of 
the  order,  in  the  Franciscan  church  of 
St.  Angelo  in  Vado.  Henschenius, 
AA.SS. 

Castula.  There  are  several  martyrs 
of  this  name,  of  whom  little  is  known ; 
it  is  sometimes  written  Castulus;  the 
sex  is  uncertain. 

St.  Castula  ( 1),  June  5,  M.  at  Borne. 

St.  Castula  (2),  June  2.  One  of 
227  Boman  martyrs  commemorated  to- 
gether in  St.  Jerome's  Martyrology. 

St.  Castula  (3),  or  Catula,  May  28, 
M.  in  Borne  with  St.  Cummin  and  many 
others. 

St.  Castula  (4),  May  31,  M.  at 
Gerona,  in  Spain. 

St.  Castula  (5),  May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 

St.  Castula  (6),  March  25,  M.  with 
more  than  four  hundred  others  at  Nice, 
in  Bithynia. 

St.  Castula  (7,  8,  9),  June  1,  MM. 
commemorated  with  St.  Aucega. 

St.  Castula  (10),  Feb.  17,  V.  M. 
at  Terano,  273.  Disciple  of  St.  Valen- 
tine. 

St.  Castula  (n),  Feb.  22,  M.  with 
St.  Antioa  and  others  at  Nicomedia. 
'  St.  Castula  (12),  Feb.  2,  M.  with 
Cappa  and  many  others. 

St.  Castula  (13),  Feb.  15.  Com- 
panion  of  St.  Agape  (2). 

St.  Castula  (14),  Feb.  15.  Com- 
panion  of  St.  Gemella  (2). 

St.  Castula  (15),  June  2,  M.  at 
Lyons,  not  with  Blandina. 

St.  Castula  (10),  Jan.  25,  of  Capua. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Castulina,  June  1.  One  of  227 
Boman  martyrs  commemorated  together 
in  St.  Jerome's  Martyrology.  AA.SS. 

Catalina,  Catherine. 

Catalla,  Catulla. 

Catelergue,  Catherine. 

Cateline,  Catherine. 

Caterina,  Catherine. 

Catheau,  Catherine. 

Catherine.  The  following  are  some 
of  the  many  variants  of  this  name  : 
uEcatharina,  Greek ;  Catalina,  Spanish ; 
Catelergue,  Cateline,  Catheau,  local 
French  ;  Caterina,  Cattarina,  Italian ; 
Cawth,  Kathleen,  Irish ;  Karen,  Swe- 
dish ;  Katherine,  Kate,  etc. 


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ST.  CATHERINE 


149 


St.  Catherine  (l),  Nov.  25,  V.  M. 
at  Alexandria  about  313.  Perhaps  the 
same  person  who  is  called  Dorothea 
by  Knfinns.  Represented  (1)  being 
married  to  the  Saviour,  the  Infant  Christ 
on  His  mother's  lap,  placing  a  ring  on 
her  finger ;  (2)  a  wheel  armed  with  huge 
thorn-shaped  spikes  standing  beside  her ; 
(3)  sitting  orowned,  with  a  book  on  her 
lap;  (4)  teaching;  (5)  trampling  on 
the  Emperor ;  (G)  dead,  and  carried  by 
angels  to  Mount  Sinai.  Besides  these 
distinctive  representations,  she  generally, 
in  common  with  other  martyrs,  holds  a 
palm  and  a  sword.  She  is  one  of  the 
four  great  virgin  martyrs  who  are  patrons 
of  the  Greek  Church;  the  others  are 
SS.  Barbara,  Margaret,  and  Euphemia. 
Patron  of  Venice,  Guastalla,  Goa,  Scala 
near  Amalfi,  Magdeburg,  Zwickau,  and 
many  other  places;  of  students,  young 
girls,  philosophers,  theologians,  notaries ; 
of  schools  and  colleges;  of  learning, 
education,  and  science ;  of  the  millers  of 
Liege ;  of  the  Barefooted  Order  of  the 
Holy  Trinity.  Often  chosen  by  princesses 
and  high-born  ladies  as  tho  saint  of  their 
special  devotion. 

The  Legend.  St.  Catherine  was  the 
daughter  of  a  king  of  Egypt,  and  was 
related  to  the  Emperor  Constantino. 
She  was  extremely  beautiful,  clever,  and 
learned.  When  she  succeeded  to  her 
father's  kingdom  and  wealth,  she  had 
many  offers  of  marriage,  but  she  declined 
them  all.  Her  tastes  were  all  for  science 
and  study,  and  she  had  no  vocation  for 
married  life.  Her  parliament,  with 
many  compliments  to  her  beauty  and 
wisdom,  urged  her  strongly  to  change 
her  resolve  and  choose  a  husband.  Her 
answer,  in  the  words  of  the  Legenda 
Aurea,  was — 

"We  lete  you  playnelye  wyte  that 
lyke  as  ye  haue  descryued  us  so  wyl  we 
descryue  hym  that  we  wyll  haue  to  our 
lord  and  husbond,  and  if  ye  can  gete 
suche  one  we  wyl  agree  to  take  hym 
wyth  alle  our  hcrte,  for  he  that  shal  be 
lord  of  myn  herte  and  myn  husbond  shal 
have  tho  four  notable  thynges  in  hym 
oner  al  mesure.  Soo  ferforthly  that  al 
creatures  shall  have  nede  of  hym,  and 
he  nedeth  of  none.  And  he  that  shal  be 
my  lord  must  be  of  so  noble  blood  that 


al  men  shal  do  to  hym  worahyp,  and 
therwyth  so  grete  a  lord  that  I  shal  neuer 
thynke  that  I  made  hym  a  kynge  and  so 
riche  that  he  passe  al  other  in  rychesses. 
And  so  ful  of  beaute  that  angellys  haue 
joye  to  beholde  hym,  and  so  pure  that 
his  moder  be  a  virgyne,  and  soo  meke 
and  benygne  that  he  can  gladly  forgyene 
al  offencys  do  on  unto  hym.  Now  I  haue 
descryued  to  you  hym  that  I  wyl  haue 
and  desyre  to  my  lord  and  to  my  husbond, 
goo  ye  and  seke  hym,  and  if  ye  can  fynde 
suche  one  I  wyl  be  his  wyf  with  al  myn 
herte  yf  he  vouche  sauf  to  haue  me,  and 
fynally  but  yf  ye  fynde  suche  one  I  shal 
neuer  take  none.  And  take  this  for  a  fynal 
answer." 

Now,  the  B.  V.  Mary  appeared  to 
Adrian,  a  holy  hermit  in  the  desert,  "  a 
certain  space  of  my  lea"  from  Alexandria, 
and  sent  him  to  Catherine,  with  greetings 
from  the  mother  of  the  husband  she  had 
chosen,  for  "  that  thylke  same  lord  whom 
she  chaas  is  my  sone  that  am  a  pure  vy  rgyne, 
and  he  desyreth  hir  beaute  and  loveth 
hir  chastyte  emonge  alle  the  virgynes 
on  the  erthe."  Catherine  goes  to  the 
hermit's  cell  and  is  baptized,  and  then 
she  has  a  vision,  in  which  the  Child  Jesus 
marries  her  with  a  ring. 

The  Leggendarios  add  another  episode 
before  her  baptism  and  marriage.  She 
had  a  dream,  in  which  the  B.  V.  Mary 
appeared  to  her,  in  great  beauty  and 
splendour,  carrying  her  Divine  Son  in 
her  arms.  The  Child  seemed  to  her 
very  beautiful,  but  His  face  was  towards 
His  mother,  so  that  Catherine  could  not 
see  it.  She  walked  a  few  steps,  first  to 
one  side  and  then  to  the  other,  trying  to 
look  upon  the  face  which  she  knew  must 
be  divinely  beautiful ;  in  vain :  the  Child 
always  turned  His  back  to  her,  to  her 
great  grief.  At  last  His  mother  asked 
Him  to  look  at  Catherine  and  admire 
her,  telling  Him  how  beautiful  and  how 
rich  and  how  wise  and  good  she  was. 
But  He  said,  "  No,  she  is  ugly  and  poor 
and  foolish ;  I  do  not  want  to  see  her." 
The  mother  said,  "What  can  poor 
Catherine  do  to  please  you?"  The 
child  replied,  "  Let  her  go  and  ask  the 
hermit."  Catherine  awoke,  anxious  and 
unhappy,  and  went  and  told  her  dream 
to  Adrian,  who  instructed  her  in  the 


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ST  CATHERINE 


Christian  religion,  and  soon  baptized  her. 
Then  came  the  vision  of  her  marriage. 

At  this  crisis  the  Emperor  Maximums 
ordered  a  grand  sacrifice  to  the  heathen 
gods,  and  commanded  all  the  Christians 
in  Alexandria  to  assist.  Every  man  was 
to  bring  one  beast  or  more,  according 
to  his  ability.  The  sacrifices  were  so 
numerous  that  the  altars  smoked  con- 
tinually. The  Emperor  resolved  to  finish 
the  solemnity  by  a  great  sacrifice  of  one 
hundred  oxen.  Catherine  went  with  a 
retinue  of  servants  to  the  temple,  and  de- 
manded an  audience  of  the  Emperor,  who 
was  amazed  at  her  beauty,  and  encouraged 
her  to  speak.  She  argued  with  him  in 
favour  of  the  Christian  doctrines.  He 
ordered  fifty  of  the  most  learned  heathen 
philosophers  and  rhetoricians  to  dispute 
with  her,  promising  them  great  rewards 
if  they  could  convert  her.  They  were 
at  first  indignant  at  being  asked  to  argue 
with  a  young  woman,  but  soon  not  only 
consented  to  listen  to  her  opinions,  but 
were  converted  by  her.  The  Emperor 
then  appointed  fifty  others,  whom  also 
she  converted.  Ho  condemned  them  all 
to  be  burnt.  They  fell  at  Catherine's 
feet,  asking  her  how  they  could  be  saved, 
as  they  had  not  time  to  be  baptized.  She 
assured  them  that  their  martyrdom  would 
be  to  them  instead  of  baptism.  Some 
Christians  who  came  to  bury  their  ashes 
found  their  bodies  entire,  not  a  hair  hav- 
ing perished  in  the  fire.  This  miracle 
caused  more  conversions.  Catherine  was 
beaten  and  otherwise  tortured,  and  thrown 
into  a  dungeon.  Her  wounds  were  mi- 
raculously healed,  and  a  dove  brought 
her  food.  The  Empress,  who  is  called  in 
different  versions  of  the  legend  Helen 
and  Faustina,  visited  her  in  prison, 
through  the  connivance  of  Porphyry, 
captain  of  the  Emperor  s  guard.  Both 
were  converted  by  Catherine,  and  when 
they  attempted  to  plead  her  cauee,  they 
were  put  to  death.  The  Emperor  then 
offered  to  make  Catherine  Empress  if  she 
would  abjure  her  religion.  Exasperated 
by  her  refusal,  he  devised  an  engine  con- 
sisting of  four  wheels  armed  with  spikes, 
which  were  to  tear  her  in  pieces.  As 
soon,  however,  as  she  was  bound  between 
the  wheels,  fire  fell  from  heaven,  and 
destroyed  them,  the  pieces  flying  among 


the  people,  and  killing  three  thousand 
of  them.  Catherine  was  then  beheaded. 
Her  dying  prayer  was  that  her  body 
might  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
pagans;  accordingly,  angels  carried  it 
to  Mount  Sinai,  whore  it  remains  to  this 
day. 

The  earliest  mention  of  St.  Catherine 
in  the  Eastern  Church  is  in  the  8th  or  9th 
century,  when  the  Christians,  then  groan- 
ing under  the  rule  of  the  Saracens,  dis- 
covered her  body  in  Egypt.  It  was 
translated  to  a  monastery  on  Mount 
Sinai,  built  by  the  Empress  Helen,  and 
enlarged  by  Justinian.  The  legend  of 
its  being  carried  there  by  angels  is  said 
by  Falconius,  archbishop  of  San-Severino, 
to  mean  that  it  was  taken  by  the  monks 
of  Sinai  to  enrich  their  dwelling  with 
this  treasure.  After  the  Crusades  the 
legend  and  the  worship  of  Catherine 
were  widely  spread  in  Western  Europe. 
Her  popularity  is  extraordinary,  con- 
sidering the  small  historical  foundation 
on  which  it  rests.  Eusebius  tells  that  a 
Christian  lady,  the  richest  and  noblest 
of  the  women  of  Alexandria,  and  very 
learned  and  discreet,  excited  the  licen- 
tious admiration  of  Maximums  (the 
legend  says  Maxentius :  both  were  living 
at  the  time),  and  as  she  would  not  listen 
to  him,  he  banished  her  and  confiscated 
her  property.  Eusebius  does  not  mention 
her  name.  Rufinus  calls  her  Dorothea. 
Baronius  conjectures  that  this  was  her 
name  before  her  conversion,  and  that 
she  may  have  returned  from  her  exile 
and  suffered  martyrdom. 

E.M.  Villegas.  Assemani.  Mrs.  Jame- 
son, Sacred  and  Legendary  Art.  Baillet, 
Vies.  Butler,  Lives.  Neale,  Eastern 
Church.  Baronius,  Annates.  Le  Beau, 
Hist.  Bos.  Empire,  i.  73. 

St.  Catherine  (2),  or  Rachel,  May  4, 
Sept.  30,  of  Louvain;  called  also  "of 
Brabant,"  "  the  Jewess,"  and  by  different 
authors, "  Saint,"  "  Blessed,"  and  "  Vener- 
able."   13th  century. 

Between  1124  and  1288  there  was  a 
rich  Jew  of  Cologne  who  cared  only  for 
his  trade  and  the  money  he  made  by  it. 
He  had  a  little  daughter,  named  Rachel, 
who,  although  scarcely  more  than  a  baby, 
always  listened  attentively  when  her 
father  argued  and  disputed  on  religious 


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doctrines  with  a  Christian  priest  who 
sometimes  visited  at  the  house.  She 
said  nothing,  but  it  always  seemed  to 
her  that  the  Christian  had  the  best  of  the 
argument.  When  she  was  five  years  old, 
her  parents  went  to  live  at  Louvain,  and 
there  Eachel  sometimes  played  with 
Christian  children.  She  began  to  think 
Christian  names  much  prettier  than 
Jewish  ones ;  the  name  of  Mary  in  par- 
ticular pleased  her  very  much,  and, 
although  a  Jewish  name,  it  was  much 
more  general  among  Christians  than 
Jews.  Sometimes  she  went  with  her 
little  friends  to  the  house  of  a  good 
priest  named  Heynier.  He  and  his 
servant  Martha  taught  her  for  a  year 
and  a  half,  and  she  wearied  them  with 
her  insatiable  desire  to  learn.  At  last 
her  parents  looked  up  from  their  money- 
bags, and  began  to  perceive  what  their 
daughter  was  doing  under  their  very 
eyes.  They  were  very  angry,  but  as 
most  of  the  persons  in  authority  in  the 
place  were  Christians,  they  tried  to  pro- 
ceed quietly,  and  made  a  plan  to  take 
Eachel  away  and  marry  her,  although 
she  was  only  eight  years  old.  Eachel 
determined  to  leave  her  home.  Having 
made  her  little  plan,  she  lay  down  and 
slept  so  long  and  soundly  that  the  time 
of  her  intended  flight  passed  by.  Next 
night  she  thought  she  would  stay  awake, 
but  sleep  again  overcame  her.  However, 
the  Virgin  Mary  awoke  her,  and  said, 
"Get  up,  Eachel,  and  go  to  Father 
Eeynier."  She  did  so,  and  he  took  her 
to  the  Cistercian  monastery  called  the 
Pare  des  Dames,  near  the  city  of  Louvain. 
Here  she  was  christened  by  the  name  of 
Catherine.  Her  parents  complained  to 
the  Duke  of  Brabant  and  to  Pope  Ho- 
norius,  saying  their  daughter  was  not  of 
an  age  to  take  any  important  step  with- 
out their  permission,  and  begging  that 
she  might  be  restored  to  them  until  she 
should  complete  her  twelfth  year,  when 
they  promised  that  if  she  persisted  in 
her  wish  to  be  a  Christian,  they  would 
give  their  consent.  At  the  same  time, 
they  tried  bribery  and  every  underhand 
means  to  obtain  a  decision  in  their  favour, 
and  there  were  not  wanting  wicked  theo- 
logians, who,  for  the  sake  of  money, 
Javoured  the  claim  of  the  Jews  to  have 


their  child  given  back  to  them  at  least 
until  her  twelfth  year.  The  duke  in- 
clined to  give  up  the  child,  but  was 
talked  over  by  the  Abbot  Gauthier  de 
Villars.  The  bishop  ordered  the  nuns 
to  give  her  up  ;  and  the  abbess,  fearing 
to  disobey  him,  said,  "Catherine,  your 
father  wants  to  see  you."  Catherine 
flatly  refused  to  go  to  him.  The  bishop 
continued  to  worry  the  nuns  until  the 
caso  was  referred  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Cologne,  who  decreed  that  they  were  not 
to  be  molested  any  more.  The  bishop 
then  ordered  Catherine  to  appear  before 
his  tribunal,  that  it  might  be  finally 
settled  whether  she  had  a  true  vocation 
for  a  Christian  and  religious  life  or  not. 
The  Jew  engaged  a  clever  advocate. 
Catherine  relied  solely  on  the  protection 
of  Christ  and  the  Virgin  Mary,  who  had 
again  appeared  to  her,  and  promised  to 
befriend  her.  The  Abbot  of  Clairvaux 
interfered,  as  the  head  of  the  Cistercian 
Order,  to  which  the  Pope  belonged ;  he 
threatened  the  advocate  that  he  would 
.have  him  suspended  from  the  exercise  of 
his  profession  for  his  impiety,  but  the 
lawyer  whispered,  "  I  will  not  say  a  word 
against  the  Jewess.  Let  me  but  gain 
this  money  from  the  Jew."  Accordingly, 
as  soon  as  he  had  the  fee  in  his  hand,  ho 
refased  to  proceed  with  the  case.  Several 
learned  clergymen  asked  questions  of  the 
young  convert,  and  were  convinced  that 
her  call  was  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  bishop,  however,  continued  to  take 
the  Jew's  part  from  time  to  time  for  two 
years.  In  five  years  more  Catherine 
took  the  veil  in  the  same  monastery,  and 
spent  the  rest  of  her  life  there,  distin- 
guished by  great  holiness,  and  honoured 
after  her  death  by  miracles.  Soon  after 
she  had  taken  the  veil,  a  young  man,  who 
was  related  to  her,  asked  for  an  inter- 
view, on  pretence  that  he  also  wished  to 
be  converted.  Catherine  declined  to  see 
him,  or  address  a  single  word  to  him. 

Analecta,  ii.  1455.  Bucelinus,  Men. 
Ben.  AA.SS.,  May  4.  Manrique,  Annals 
of  the  Cistercians,  took  the  story  from  the 
writings  of  Thomas  Cantipratensis  and 
Cesarius,  both  of  whom  knew  Catherine, 
and  heard  the  details  from  her  own  mouth. 

St.  Catherine  (3)  of  Siena,  April  30, 
V*    1347-1380.    Called  at  Siena,  "  Tho 


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ST.  CATHERINE 


Beloved  Sienese,"  "  La  Beata  Popolana," 
"  The  Blessed  Plebeian  or  Daughter  of 
the  People,"  "The  People's  Catherine," 
«  Our  Lady  of  the  Contrada  d'Oca,"  etc. ; 
sometimes  called  EuPHBOSYNE,t.e.  gracious 
or  charming.  The  greatest  woman  saint 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  Patron  of 
Siena. 

Kepresented  (1)  wearing  a  crown  of 
thorns,  and  a  rosary,  because  she  was  a 
Dominican;  (2)  with  a  heart  in  her 
hand ;  (3)  with  St.  Dominic,  at  the  feet 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,  as  if  both  were  re- 
ceiving the  mission  to  promote  the  devo- 
tion of  the  rosary.  St.  Maby  Magdalene 
de'  Pazzi  is  also  represented  with  a  crown 
of  thorns,  bnt  she  has  no  rosary. 

One  of  the  youngest  of  twenty-five 
children,  and  a  twin,  Catherine  was  the 
daughter  of  James  Benincasa,  a  rich  dyer 
of  Siena,  and  Lapa  Piagenti,  his  wife. 
They  belonged  to  the  middle  class,  the 
popolanii  which  then  ruled  the  republic 
of  Siena,  and  Benincasa  at  one  time  held 
the  office  of  chief  magistrate.  They  lived 
in  the  Contrada  d'Oca,  where  their  house, 
called  the  Fullonica  (the  dye-works),  is 
still  shown.  It  is  separated  by  a  valley 
from  the  hill  on  which  stands  the  Do- 
minican church  frequented  all  her  life 
by  Catherine,  and  visible  from  her  house* 
When  Catherine  was  six  years  old,  she 
and  her  brother  were  one  day  sent  to 
visit  a  married  sister  on  the  other  side 
of  the  hill.  On  their  way  home,  they 
had  crossed  the  hill  and  the  Valle  Piatta, 
and  were  just  turning  into  the  street  now 
called  the  Cortone,  when  Catherine's  steps 
were  arrested  by  a  vision  of  Paradise. 
Looking  up  to  the  sky,  she  saw,  just 
above  the  church  of  St.  Dominic,  a  ma- 
jestic throne,  whence  the  Lord  Jesus,  in 
splendid  robes,  extended  His  hand  to- 
wards her  in  blessing.  Beside  Him  stood 
SS.  Peter,  Paul,  and  John,  and  around 
them  were  angels  and  glorified  souls. 
Soon  her  brother  missed  her  from  his 
side,  and,  looking  back,  saw  her  standing 
still  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  gazing  up 
into  heaven.  He  called  her,  but  she 
took  no  notice ;  he  went  back,  and  asked 
her  what  she  was  doing,  and  as  she  did 
not  seem  to  hear,  he  took  her  by  the 
hand,  to  lead  her  away.  She  looked 
down  at  him  for  a  moment,  and  when 


she  again  turned  her  eyes  heavenward 
the  vision  was  gone.  The  child  wept 
disconsolately,  and  said,  "Ah!  if  you 
could  have  seen  what  I  saw,  you  would 
never  have  disturbed  me."  But  the  light 
she  had  seen  through  the  gates  of  Para- 
dise shone  evermore  in  her  soul.  From 
that  time  forth  she  considered  herself 
consecrated  to  God,  and  in  every  detail 
of  her  daily  life  she  had  a  great  fear  of 
offending  Him.  With  this  in  view,  she 
prayed  long  and  earnestly,  set  herself  to 
root  all  self-love  out  of  her  own  heart, 
and  practised  fasting  and  mortification 
of  various  sorts.  Her  great  talent  for 
converting  and  influencing  others  early 
,  manifested  itself  by  her  collecting  chil- 
dren around  her,  and  persuading  them 
to  use  the  same  sort  of  self-denial,  and 
say  certain  prayers.  When  she  was 
twelve  years  old  her  parents  began  to 
busy  themselves  about  a  suitable  marriago 
for  her;  but  as  she  objected  to  every 
plan  of  the  sort,  they  applied  to  a  relation, 
who  was  a  Dominican  friar,  and  begged 
him  to  advise  her  to  consent  to  their 
wishes.  Instead  of  doing  so,  he  recom- 
mended her  to  cut  off  her  hair,  in  token 
that  all  schemes  for  marriage  were  to  be 
given  up.  Catherine's  hair  was  very 
abundant,  and  of  a  golden  brown  hue 
that  has  always  been  much  admired  in 
Italy,  so  that  when  Lapa  found  what  her 
daughter  had  done  she  was  very  angry. 
This,  added  to  her  general  neglect  of 
dress  and  appearance,  and  her  prolonged 
prayers  and  meditations,  so  displeased 
her  family  that  they  dismissed  their 
servant,  and  made  Catherine  do  all  the 
work  of  the  house ;  at  the  same  time,  they 
deprived  her  of  the  much- valued  privilege 
of  having  a  room  to  herself.  She  laboured 
cheerfully  to  perform  all  the  services  re- 
quired of  her,  carrying  burdens  up  and 
down  stairs  lightly,  and  working  in  the 
kitchen  so  well  and  so  quickly  that  she 
still  had  time  for  her  devotions.  Her 
father  before  long  recognized  her  voca- 
tion, and  when  she  declared  herself 
vowed  to  a  religious  life,  he  said  no  one 
should  interfere  with  her  pious  observ- 
ances, and  he  helped  her  liberally  in  her 
charities.  A  small  room  under  the  house 
was  given  up  to  her,  and  here,  with  a 
plank  for  a  bed  and  a  stone  for  a  pillow, 


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she  had  leisure  and  seclusion  for  her 
fervent  prayers.  She  allowed  herself 
less  and  less  food  and  sleep.  In  after- 
years  she  said  that  the  hardest  struggle 
of  her  life  had  been  to  overcome  the 
desire  and  the  necessity  for  sleep.  She 
persuaded  her  mother  to  ask  the  Sisters 
of  Penance  (Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic), 
then  commonly  called  Mantellate  (cloaked 
sisters),  to  receive  her  into  their  number. 
They  refused,  on  the  ground  that  they 
had  never  taken  young  girls,  and  had  no 
cloister  to  keep  them  in ;  they  were  al- 
most all  widows  of  ripe  age,  living  each 
in  her  own  home ;  they  hod  no  vows,  and 
in  their  liberty  they  daily  renewed  the 
offering  of  their  lives.  By-and-by 
Catherine  caught  small-pox  of  a  virulent 
type,  and  while  Lapa  was  trembling  for 
the  life  of  her  child,  the  young  saint 
besought  her  to  apply  again  to  the  Man- 
tellate, and  beg  them  to  accept  her  as  a 
sister.  They  said  they  would  receive 
her,  provided  she  was  not  strikingly 
pretty.  As  she  was  now  so  disfigured 
as  to  be  scarcely  recognizable,  there 
remained  no  obstacle,  and  as  soon  as 
possible  on  her  recovery,  she  was  the 
first  virgin  to  be  clothed  with  the  habit 
of  the  Sisters  of  Penance.  Tommaseo 
says  it  was  in  1302  ;  Mrs.  Drane  follows 
those  authors  who  place  it  a  little  later. 
Catherine  loved  her  mantle,  the  symbol 
of  her  consecration  ;  she  patched  it  when 
necessary,  and  took  care  of  it  as  long  as 
she  lived.  The  next  three  years  she 
spent  in  the  strictest  solitude  and  silence, 
communing  with  God,  and  learning  to 
subdue  every  natural  inclination,  some- 
times afflicted  by  frightful  temptations, 
often  consoled  by  heavenly  visions,  which 
continued  more  or  less  during  the  whole 
of  her  wonderful  life.  At  the  end  of 
those  three  years  she  was  commanded 
by  the  Saviour  to  go  and  sit  at  table 
with  her  family;  as  she  regretted  the 
solitude  in  which  her  Lord  had  deigned 
to  converse  with  her,  He  told  her  she 
could  have  a  coll  within  her  heart,  where 
He  would  dwell,  so  that  while  she  was 
ministering  to  others,  she  would  still  be 
alone  with  Him.  This  constant  realiza- 
tion of  the  presence  of  Christ  lifted  her 
above  all  small  considerations,  all  fears 
and  difficulties,  and  gave  her  that  clear 


discernment,  that  deep  humility,  ready 
courage  and  helpfulness,  by  which  she 
earned  the  love  and  reverence  of  her 
contemporaries.  It  was  about  the  same 
time  that  she  had  the  vision  in  which  sho 
was  married  to  the  Lord,  and  she  ever 
afterwards  saw  His  ring  on  her  finger, 
although  it  was  invisible  to  others. 

St. Catherine  is  remarkable  for  the  many 
and  difficult  conversions  she  effected. 
Her  earnestness  gave  her  wonderful  in- 
fluence over  all  whom  she  addressed. 
When  she  was  preaching,  those  who 
conld  not  come  near  enough  to  hear  her 
words  were  stirred  to  /contrition  and 
conversion  by  her  look.  One  of  her 
converts  was  Nicolas  de  Toldo,  a  young 
knight  of  Perugia,  who  was  condemned 
to  death.  He  cursed  his  fate  and  his 
judges,  and  although  as  yet  he  felt 
neither  penitence  nor  resignation,  he  sent 
to  beg  Catherine  to  visit  him  in  prison, 
and  by  her  affectionate  remonstrances 
she  brought  him  to  a  better  way  of  feel- 
ing. She  persuaded  him  to  make  a 
general  confession,  and  he  received  the 
Holy  Communion  for  the  first  time  in 
his  life.  He  made  her  promise  to  stand 
beside  him  at  the  block.  She  met  him 
on  the  scaffold,  and,  kneeling,  prayed 
with  and  for  him  until  the  axe  fell,  when 
she  received  his  head  in  her  hands,  and 
saw  his  soul  ascend  to  heaven. 

She  was  requested  to  try  to  convert 
Nanni  di  Ser  Vanni,  a  very  troublesome, 
worldly,  and  irreligious  man.  Finding 
all  her  exhortations  fruitless,  she  ceased 
to  speak,  and  began  silently  praying  for 
him.  He  immediately  repented  of  his 
sins,  humbly  made  peace  with  his  neigh- 
bours, and  embraced  a  penitential  life. 
He  gave  St.  Catherine  his  castle  of  Bel- 
caro,  near  Siena,  which,  in  1377,  she 
converted  into  a  convent. 

There  was  a  poor  leprous  woman 
named  Cecca  in  one  of  the  hospitals  at 
Siena.  The  institution  was  so  poor  that 
it  could  hardly  supply  its  inmates  with 
the  necessaries  of  life.  As  she  grew 
worse,  and  became  a  source  of  danger  as 
well  as  disgust  to  others,  no  one  liked 
to  attend  upon  her,  and  it  was  decided 
that  she  should  be  sent  to  the  lazaret 
outside  the  gates.  Catherine  heard  of 
the  case,  and  went  to  the  hospital.  She 


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ST.  CATHERINE 


kissed  the  poor  sufferer  whom  others 
were  afraid  to  touch,  and  said  that  if 
they  would  allow  her  to  remain  she 
would  supply  her  with  everything  she 
required,  and  would  eome  daily  and 
minister  to  her  with  her  own  hands. 
Prom  that  day  she  came  every  morning 
and  evening,  dressed  the  wounds  of  the 
patient,  and  attended  to  all  her  wants 
with  as  much  care  and  reverence  as  if 
it  had  been  her  own  mother.  At  first 
Cecca  was  pleased,  but  she  soon  became 
very  ungrateful  and  insolent,  and  reviled 
her  charitable  nurse  with  unseemly  words. 
Catherine  bore  it  all  with  her  usual  un- 
ruffled sweetness,  overcame  the  objec- 
tions of  her  mother  to  the  risk  she  ran, 
and  assisted  not  only  with  her  hands, 
but  with  prayers  and  exhortations  until 
Cecca  died.  Meantime,  this  saintly  nurse 
had  caught  leprosy  in  her  hands.  She 
washed  the  body  and  reverently  carried 
it  to  the  grave,  laid  it  in,  and  covered  it 
with  earth.  When  this  was  done,  the 
hands  that  had  served  God  in  the  person 
of  His  afflioted  one  were  cleansed  of  their 
leprosy,  and  were  ever  after  very  fair 
and  delicate-looking. 

It  was  probably  late  in  the  year  1373, 
after  another  such  great  victory  over 
the  rebellion  of  body  and  spirit  against 
loathsome  labours  and  slanderous  in- 
sinuations, that  she  had  the  blessed  vision 
of  the  Saviour  offering  her  two  crowns. 
He  bade  her  choose  between  one  decked 
with  precious  stones  and  one  made  of 
very  sharp  thorns,  and  asked  which  would 
she  have  in  this  life  that  she  might  have 
the  other  in  the  life  to  come.  "  I  choose 
in  this  life  to  be  ever  more  conformed 
and  made  like  to  Thee,  my  Lord  and 
Saviour,  and  cheerfully  to  bear  crosses 
and  thorns  for  Thy  love,  as  Thou  hast 
done  for  mine."  Thus  saying,  she  took 
from  His  hands  the  crown  of  thorns, 
placed  it  on  her  head,  and  pressed  it 
•down  so  forcibly  that  she  felt  for  a  long 
time  a  sensible  pain  in  her  head  from 
the  pricking  of  the  thorns. 

In  1374  the  pestilence  called  in  Eng- 
land the  "black  death"  raged  in  Tuscany, 
and  Catherine  devoted  herself  to  the  care 
of  the  bodies  and  souls  of  the  victims  in 
her  native  city.  Among  the  patients 
whose  lives  she  saved  by  exertions  and 


prayers  was  her  biographer  Raymond  of 
Capua. 

When  her  services  were  no  longer 
urgently  needed  in  Siena,  the  people  of 
Pisa  sent  for  her.  There  she  healed 
many  and  converted  such  numbers  that 
Pope  Gregory  XL,  who  was  then  at 
Avignon,  commissioned  three  Dominican 
friars,  of  whom  Raymond  was  one,  to 
hear  the  confessions  of  Catherine's  con- 
verts. They  were  occupied  day  and 
night  in  shriving  penitents,  many  of 
whom  had  never  confessed  before.  It 
was  at  Pisa,  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Chris- 
tina, that  Catherine  received  the  stigmata 
while  praying  before  the  crucifix  painted 
by  Guinta  Pisano  in  1260. 

Her  sanctity,  charity,  and  discretion 
were  now  so  well  known  as  to  procure 
for  her — a  tradesman's  daughter,  without 
health,  wealth,  beauty,  or  ambition — an 
influence  in  the  ecclesiastical  and  politi- 
cal world,  which  has  often  been  bought 
too  deadly  or  sought  in  vain  by  queens 
and  princesses.  One  use  she  made  of  it 
was  to  preach  a  Crusade  against  the 
Turks.  But  she  saw  that  the  discords 
at  home  must  first  be  healed.  Florence 
was  in  open  revolt  against  the  Church, 
and  in  1374  the  Pope  laid  the  city  under 
an  interdict  The  people  of  Florence 
sent  for  Catherine,  and,  after  fully  in- 
structing her  in  the  case  from  their  point 
of  view,  appointed  her  ambassador  ex- 
traordinary to  go  to  Avignon  and  effect 
a  reconciliation  with  the  Pope.  He 
received  her  with  the  greatest  respect, 
but  she  did  not  succeed  in  concluding  a 
solid  peace.  However,  she  took  advantage 
of  her  visit  to  His  Holiness  to  urge  him 
to  go  to  Eome,  where,  for  lack  of  a  ruler, 
anarchy  and  great  misery  prevailed,  and 
grew  daily  worse.  Many  writers  have 
asserted  that  the  return,  of  the  Popes 
from  Avignon  to  Rome  was  brought  about 
by  Catherine,  but  Gregory  XL  had 
already  perceived  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  take  this  step,  and  had  resolved  to  do 
it.  She  encouraged  him  in  his  pious 
intention,  and  adjured  him  not  to  be 
turned  from  it  by  any  difficulty,  nor  to 
listen  to  the  persuasions  of  those  whose 
interest  it  was  to  keep  him  away  from 
the  holy  city. 

After  three  months  at  Avignon,  she 


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went  back  to  Siena,  and  resumed  her  life 
of  charity  and  devotion.  The  Pope  at 
the  same  time  made  the  long-deferred 
journey  to  Borne.  Soon  afterwards  he 
desired  her  to  go  to  Florence,  where  she 
lived  for  some  time  amid  daily  crimes, 
riots,  and  confiscations.  During  this 
period  there  occurred  an  insurrection  of 
the  people,  chiefly  directed  against  the 
Guelphs.  The  houses  of  some  of  Cathe- 
rine's friends  were  sacked  and  burnt. 
A  mob  of  some  of  the  lowest  of  the 
populace  suddenly  took  the  fancy  to 
blame  Catherine  as  the  author  of  all 
their  misfortunes.  They  cried  out,  "  Let 
us  take  Catherine  and  bum  her ;  let  us 
cut  that  wicked  woman  in  pieces." 

Those  who  had  given  her  hospitality 
were  afraid,  and  some  of  her  friends 
tried  to  get  her  away  secretly  from  the 
house  where  she  was  living.  As  she 
was  praying  in  the  garden,  she  heard 
the  cries  of  the  rioters,  and  went  joyfully 
forward.  The  first  man  she  met  was  a 
furious  ruffian,  brandishing  a  sword  and 
shouting,  "Where  is. Catherine?"  She 
knelt  down  before  him  and  said  quietly, 
"I  am  Catherine.  Do  to  me  whatever 
God  may  permit."  The  man  was  em- 
barrassed, and  could  only  adjure  her  to 
fly.  She  said,  "  Why  should  I  fly? 
Where  would  you  have  me  go  ?  I  ask 
nothing  better  than  to  be  sacrificed  for 
God  and  the  Church,  so  if  you  are  going 
to  kill  me,  I  will  not  resist."  The  man 
and  his  followers  withdrew  in  confusion. 
This  happened  in  1378.  On  the  death 
of  Gregory  XI.,  in  the  same  year,  began 
the  Great  Schism.  Catherine  considered 
Urban  VI.  duly  elected,  and  influenced 
the  Florentines  to  come  to  terms  with 
him  and  to  reject  the  claims  of  the  anti- 
pope  Clement  VIL  She  wrote,  however, 
to  Urban,  exhorting  him  to  restrain  a 
temper  that  made  him  so  many  enemies, 
and  tended  to  perpetuate  the  scandal  of 
the  schism.  He  took  her  advice  in  good 
part,  and  sent  for  her  to  Borne.  She 
went  there  with  her  mother  and  several 
of  her  friends.  The  Pope  proposed  to 
send  her  with  St.  Catherine  of  Sweden, 
to  bring  over  to  his  party  Joan,  queen 
of  Sicily.  Catherine  of  Siena  was  eager 
to  go,  but  the  project  was  set  aside. 
Catherine,  however,  helped  to  keep  Urban 


on  the  throne  by  writing  to  Queen  Joan, 
to  the  King  of  France,  the  King  of 
Hungary,  and  other  personages,  entreat- 
ing them  to  return  to  their  righf  ul  master. 
While  she  was  working  in  the  cause  of 
the  Church,  she  died  at  Borne,  1380,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-three,  and  was  buried 
in  the  church  of  the  Minerva. 

She  was  canonized  by  Pius  II.  in 
1461.  Her  house  in  the  Contrada  d'Oca, 
at  Siena,  is  still  shown  with  reverent 
love,  and  many  pilgrims  resort  to  the 
little  chapel  attached  to  it,  and  delight 
to  see  the  stone  that  served  her  for  a 
pillow,  her  veil,  and  other  mementoes  of 
this  holy  woman. 

It  is  counted  for  righteousness  to 
some  of  the  saints  that  they  never 
looked  anybody  in  the  face ;  Catherine, 
on  the  other  hand,  looked  straight  at 
any  one  she  spoke  to.  Her  countenance 
was  frank,  her  eyes  very  bright,  her 
chin  and  jaw  very  strong  and  somewhat 
prominent.  She  had  considerable  mus- 
cular strength  and  immense  energy,  but 
during  the  greater  part  of  her  life  she 
suffered  from  a  complaint  of  the  stomach, 
which  made  it  impossible  for  her  .to  eat 
without  suffering  great  pain  and  sick- 
ness. But  neither  pain  nor  weariness 
ever  prevented  her  being  on  the  alert  to 
seize  any  opportunity  of  winning  a  soul 
to  God  or  doing  any  corporal  act  of 
mercy.  She  would  go  as  simply  and 
readily  to  a  royal  palace  or  a  plague- 
infested  slum,  to  meet  a  friendly  depu- 
tation or  a  hostile  mob.  During  the 
last  year  of  her  life  she  went  with 
unflagging  energy  about  the  streets  of 
Rome,  so  emaciated  that  she  looked  like 
one  who  had  returned  from  the  grave. 

She  comes  into  contemporary  history 
as  a  quite  exceptional  and  important 
personage.  She  was  a  mediator  not  only 
between  Florence  and  the  Pope,  but  also 
between  Eome  and  Venice,  and  between 
Venice  and  Hungary.  Families  who 
cherished  hereditary  feuds  as  points  of 
honour,  and  regarded  the  vendetta  as  a 
duty,  were  reconciled  by  her. 

Niccolo  Tommaseo  publishes  373  of 
her  letters.  Among  these  are  a  dozen 
to  Gregory  XL  and  nine  to  Urban  VI. ; 
others  are  to  the  King  of  France,  the 
King  of  Hungary,  the  Queen  of  Naples, 


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ST.  CATHERINE 


Sir  John  Hawkwood,  and  other  condot- 
tieri,  the  "  Eight  of  War,"  bishops,  nuns, 
citizens. 

Her  reproofs  were  wonderfully  gentle 
and  respectful,  yet  forcible  and  undis- 
guised. She  was  severe  towards  the 
clergy,  "having  her  eye,"  says  Tom- 
maseo,  "on  a  Church  higher  than  the 
Vatican,  the  universal  Church  built  in 
the  Word  of  God."  She  says  that  "  self- 
love  has  poisoned  tho  whole  world  and 
the  mystic  body  of  the  Church."  She 
speaks  of  the  immoral  and  neglectful 
chief  pastors  as  "  lepers  puffed  up  with 
pride,  insatiable  in  grubbing  up  the 
riches  and  delights  of  the  world,  which 
are  the  death  of  the  soul."  She  wrote 
to  two  priests  who  had  an  inveterate 
quarrel,  "  Has  the  earth  not  yet  opened 
and  swallowed  you  up?"  In  one  of 
her  letters  to  Gregory  she  calls  herself, 
"Your  unworthy  daughter  Catarina, 
servant  and  slave,"  etc.,  and  winds  up, 
"Pardon  my  ignorance,  and  may  the 
love  and  grief  that  make  me  say  these 
things  excuse  me  to  your  benignity. 
Give  me  your  blessing.  Remain  in  the 
holy  and  sweet  love  of  God." 

Besides  her  letters,  she  was  the  author 
of  a  book  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue 
between  God  and  the  soul,  and  of  several 
poems.  It  was  not  until  she  was  much 
over  twenty  that  she  learnt  to  read,  and 
writing  never  became  easy  to  her.  She 
dictated  her  letters  to  one  or  other  of 
her  disciples,  who  were  proud  to  act  as 
her  amanuenses.  Yet  Italian  writers 
rank  her  with  Petrarch  and  Boccaccio, 
as  one  of  the  makers  of  the  Lingua 
Toscana,  which  became  modern  Italian. 
She  had  a  clear  head,  and  could  dictate 
to  her  secretaries  three  letters  at  once, 
addressed  to  three  different  important 
personages. 

Her  name  is  in  the  Boman  Martyrs 
logy;  she  appears  in  every  collection 
of  Lives  of  Saints,  and  every  history  of 
her  time.  Her  secretaries,  Stephen 
Maooni  and  Raymond  of  Capua  wrote 
their  recollections  of  her.  More  than 
forty  Lives  of  this  saint  have  been 
written  in  various  languages.  There 
are  two  very  interesting  modern  English 
biographies  of  Catherine — one  by  Mrs. 
Drane,  a  Roman  Catholic,  the  other  by 


Mrs.  Josephine  Butler,  a  Protestant.  I 
have  drawn  largely  from  both  and  from 
Tommaseo.  Le  Lettere  di  S.  Caterina 
da  Siena  .  .  .  con  proemio  e  note,  etc., 
Florence,  1860;  Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred 
and  Legendary  Art  and  Legends  of  the 
Monastic  Orders;  and  tho  Contemporary 
Beview,  March,  1883,  "Siena,"  by  S.  J. 
Capper. 

St.  Catherine  (4)  of  Sweden,  June 
25,|March  22,  f  1380.  Princess.  Abbess. 
Invoked  for  safe  delivery  by  pregnant 
women. 

Represented  with  a  stag  by  her  side. 

Catherine  was  second  daughter  and 
fourth  child  of  Pulk  or  Wulf  Gudmars- 
son  and  St.  Brioid  (19).  Her  education 
was  entrusted  to  a  holy  abbess  of  Ris- 
berg,  in  Nericia.  Her  parents  married 
her  to  Eggard  Lydersson  de  Kyren,  a 
devout  soldier.  They  lived  together  in 
the  greatest  harmony  and  affection, 
under  a  vow  of  perpetual  celibacy,  con- 
firmed by  sacraments.  Her  brother, 
Charles  Ulfsson,  a  soldier,  councillor, 
and  logman  of  Nericia,  opposed  her 
piety,  and  was  very  angry  because  she 
converted  his  wife  to  wear  very  plain 
and  old-fashioned  clothes,  instead  of 
such  as  were  then  worn  by  ladies  of 
their  rank  in  Sweden. 

In  1344,  soon  after  Catherine's  mar- 
riage, her  father  died  and  was  buried 
in  the  monastery  of  Alvastro.  His 
widow  Brigid,  by  Divine  direction,  went 
to  Rome.  Catherine  wished  ardently 
to  go  to  Rome  too.  Her  husband  would 
have  given  her  leave  to  do  so,  but 
her  brother  Charles  wrote,  threatening 
to  kill  him  if  he  allowed  Catherine  to 
leave  the  country.  Eggard  happened 
to  be  out  when  the  letter  arrived,  and 
Catherine  opened  it.  She  appealed  to 
her  uncle  Israel  Birger,  lagman  of  Up- 
land, who  encouraged  her  to  go.  Accord- 
ingly, she  went  with  two  Swedish  ladies 
and  Gustav  Thunason,  who  seems  to 
have  been  her  uncle  by  marriage.  They 
arrived  in  Rome  in  August,  1350. 
Brigid  was  then  at  Bologna,  where  she 
went  by  the  guidance  of  Christ  to  reform 
the  abbot  and  monks  of  Parpensi. 
Meantime,  Catherine  sought  her  anxi- 
ously in  Rome  for  eight  days.  At  the 
same  time,  Peter  Olaf,  Brigid's  spiritual 


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ST.  CATHERINE 


157 


father,  was  seized  with  a  great  longing 
to  go  back  to  Home.  His  mind  was  in 
a  state  of  restless  excitement ;  he  could 
neither  eat  nor  sleep,  feeling  that  some- 
thing important  demanded  their  imme- 
diate return.  So  he  set  off  in  advance 
of  the  rest  of  the  party,  and  no  sooner 
arrived  at  St.  Peter's  Church  than  he 
saw  Catherine.  He  took  her  to  her 
mother  at  Bologna,  where  she  was 
received  by  the  reformed  abbot  and 
brethren  with  great  devotion  and  joy. 
They  then  went  back  to  Borne.  Catherine 
visited  the  stations  and  the  holiest 
places,  and  after  a  few  weeks  she  pur- 
posed to  return  to  Sweden.  Her  mother 
begged  her  not  to  leave,  and  Catherine 
yielded,  saying  that  in  order  to  stay 
with  her,  she  would  renounce  her 
country,  and  even  her  husband,  whom 
she  loved  more  than  her  life.  Brigid, 
who  had  pined  and  prayed  for  a  com- 
panion, was  now  told  by  Christ  that  this 
was  the  companion  He  had  promised 
her.  Together  they  visited  the  sick  and 
relieved  the  poor,  as  Brigid,  by  her 
example,  had  taught  Catherine  to  do  in 
her  childhood.  Catherine's  beauty, 
wisdom,  and  kindness  soon  made  her 
very  popular.  Her  extreme  fairness  and 
bright  colouring  were  uncommon  in 
Italy,  and  her  comeliness  was  the  more 
conspicuous  from  her  unusual  height. 
She  cared  so  little  for  fashion  or  splen- 
dour that  she  wore  ragged  old  clothes. 
With  her  mother's  permission,  she 
accompanied  some  of  the  noblest  ladies 
of  Rome  on  an  excursion  outside  the 
walls.  They  were  tempted  by  some 
beautiful  grapes  that  hung  over  the  wall 
of  a  vineyard.  The  other  ladies  asked 
Catherine,  as  the  tallest  of  the  party,  to 
try  to  reach  them  and  pick  one  of  the 
bunches.  When  she  stretched  up  her 
arms,  her  cloak  foil  back,  and  she 
showed  her  sleeves,  patched  and  ragged ; 
but  they  looked  to  her  friends  like 
hyacinth  and  purple,  and  they  said, 
"  Oh,  Lady  Catherine,  what  magnificent 
sleeves !  Who  would  have  thought  you 
wore  such  splendid  clothes!"  It  was 
the  same  with  her  straw  bed;  a  pious 
friend  who  came  to  see  her  when  she 
was  ill,  thought  she  was  lying  on  a 
sumptuous  couch,  with  coverings  of  scar- 


let and  gold.  Once  when  Brigid  prayed 
for  grace  to  love  Christ  more,  the  Virgin 
Mary  advised  her  to  wear  an  old  petti- 
coat of  Catherine's,  who  loved  old  better 
than  new,  and  serge  better  than  silk. 
A  woman  who  was  Catherine's  maid  for 
five  years,  and  afterwards  a  nun  at 
Wadstein,  testified  that  Catherine  had 
never  said  an  angry  or  impatient  word. 

After  Catherine  had  promised  to  stay 
in  Borne,  she  became  homesick,  and 
longed  to  see  her  own  country,  her  own 
house,  and  her  husband.  She  com- 
plained to  her  mother  of  these  feelings. 
Brigid  sent  for  her  confessor.  They 
agreed  that  scourging  was  the  only  thing 
to  expel  the  temptation  to  regret.  While 
Catherine  was  undergoing  this  discipline, 
she  said  to  the  priest,  "  Go  on,  strike 
harder ;  you  have  not  reached  the  hard- 
ness of  my  heart."  At  last  her  sorrow- 
ful countenance  cleared,  and  with  a 
joyful  accent  she  said,  "  Now  I  feel  my 
heart  changed." 

The  Pope  being  at  Avignon,  many 
sons  of  Belial  infested  the  streets  and 
public  places  of  Borne,  and  annoyed 
peaceable  citizens  and  respectable  women 
by  their  insolence  and  violence  to  such 
an  extent  that  they  could  not  visit  the 
stations  and  indulgences.  Young  women 
in  particular  were  not  safe.  Catherine 
was  forbidden  by  her  mother  to  go  out 
without  a  numerous  suite.  For  several 
days  she  stayed  in  the  house  with  her 
maids,  while  her  mother  went  to  the 
indulgences,  until  she  began  to  say  to 
herself,  "I  lead  a  miserable  life  here, 
sitting  brutally  at  home,  while  others  go 
and  feed  their  souls  at  the  services.  My 
brothers  and  sisters  in  my  own  country 
can  serve  God  in  peace."  She  fell  into 
low  spirits,  and  soon  had  a  dream  which 
depressed  her  still  more.  As  her  mother 
saw  her  weeping,  she  asked  what  was 
the  matter.  Catherine  told  her  that  she 
dreamt  she  was  surrounded  with  fire, 
and  could  not  get  away.  She  saw  the 
Virgin  Mary,  and  cried  out  to  her  for 
help.  The  Blessed  Virgin  replied, 
"  How  can  I  help  you  while  you  cherish 
a  sinful  longing  to  return  home  ?  "  Her 
mother  reasoned  with  her,  and  they 
prayed  that  she  might  have  grace  to 
keep  her  good  resolutions. 


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ST.  CATHERINE 


She  was  about  twenty,  and  had  been 
more  than  a  year  in  Borne  when  her 
husband  died.  Many  suitors  speedily 
applied  for  the  hand  of  the  beautiful 
young  widow.  Once  on  a  festival,  when 
St.  Brigid  was  engaged  elsewhere, 
Catherine  went  to  the  church  of  St. 
Sebastian  outside  the  walls,  to  obtain 
indulgences.  A  certain  count,  with  a 
numerous  retinue,  hid  among  the  vine- 
yards through  which  she  had  to  pass ; 
he  ordered  his  servants  to  be  ready  to 
seize  her  the  moment  he  should  give 
the  signal.  A  stag  appeared,  and  while 
they  were  all  looking  at  it  Catherine 
passed  safely  by  unnoticed.  Brigid 
knew  of  it  by  revelation,  and  from  that 
day  Catherine  never  dared  to  go  openly 
to  the  stations  outside  the  walls,  nor 
even  about  the  streets,  but  frequented 
the  nearest  church.  At  last,  one  even- 
ing, Brigid  said,  "  To-morrow  is  the 
feast  of  St.  Lawrence;  we  will  go 
together  to  his  church."  Catherine  was 
afraid,  but  her  mother  was  confident 
that  they  would  be  protected  by  God 
and  St.  Lawrence.  In  the  morning, 
when  they  went  out,  they  fortified  them* 
selves  five  times  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  and  commended  themselves  to  the 
protection  of  the  five  wounds  and  of  St. 
Lawrence,  and  so  got  safe  to  church. 
The  count  who  had  annoyed  them  was 
hiding  about  on  the  road  before  it  was 
light,  hoping  to  waylay  them.  When 
the  sun  had  risen,  and  was  high  in  the 
heavens,  one  of  the  servants,  being  very 
tired,  said,  "  Master,  why  are  we  waiting 
here  ?  "  "  To  catch  that  lady  for  whom 
we  watched  in  vain  before."  "  She 
passed  by  hours  ago,  and  is  in  the 
church."  "But,"  said  the  count,  "it 
is  not  yet  day."  "On  the  contrary," 
said  the  man,  "  the  sun  is  high ! "  Then 
the  count  became  aware  that  he  had  been 
struck  blind  for  his  temerity.  He  bade 
his  people  lead  him  to  the  church  and 
inquire  for  the  Swedish  ladies.  When 
they  were  found,  he  fell  at  their  feet 
and  confessed  his  fault.  His  sight  was 
restored  by  their  prayers. 

Once  when  Catherine  was  praying 
before  the  altar  of  St.  John,  in  the 
church  of  St.  Peter,  a  pilgrim  stood 
besido  her  and  desired  her  prayers  for  a 


woman  of  Nericia.  "  Who  are  you  ?  " 
asked  Catherine.  "A  pilgrim  from 
Sweden."  Catherine  courteously  invited 
her  to  come  to  her  mother's  house.  The 
stranger  excused  herself,  saying  she  had 
not  time  to  stay,  but  again  urged  Cathe- 
rine to  pray  earnestly  for  the  soul  of  her 
countrywoman,  adding,  "  You  will  soon 
hear  news  from  home,  and  receive 
valuable  help  from  the  Norse  woman, 
and  she  will  place  a  crown  of  gold  on 
your  heads."  Therewith  she  disappeared. 
When  Catherine  questioned  her  com- 
panions, they  said  they  had  heard  her 
talking,  but  had  seen  no  one.  Next  day 
oame  the  news  that  Guda,  the  wife  of 
Charles,  was  dead,  and  in  due  time  a 
friend  brought  her  will  and  the  gold 
crown  which,  according  to  the  custom  of 
her  country,  she  always  wore.  The 
proceeds  of  its  sale  provided  for  the 
household  of  these  two  saintly  women 
for  a  whole  year.  They  lived  together 
for  twenty-five  years  in  Rome,  and  then 
went  to  Jerusalem.  While  there,  Brigid 
was  taken  ill.  She  lived  to  get  back  to 
Rome,  but  died  soon  after  her  arrival,  in 
1373*  By  her  own  wish  she  was  buried 
first  at  the  monastery  of  Parnisperna, 
and  was  translated  the  same  year  to  her 
own  monastery  of  Wadstein.  Catherine 
made  all  the  arrangements,  and  con- 
ducted the  funeral  party.  One  of  the 
difficulties  of  the  journey  was  the  law- 
lessness of  the  Crucifers,  a  military 
religious  order  who  had  become  corrupt. 
Miracles  accompanied  the  cortege  all  the 
way.  They  sailed  from  Dantzig,  landed 
at  Osgocia,  and  proceeded  to  Suder- 
copensem,  where  a  great  crowd  met 
them.  Nobles  and  clergy,  rich  and 
poor,  men  and  women,  accompanied 
them  to  Wadstein,  with  all  the  relics 
that  had  been  given  by  the  queen  of 
Naples  and  other  great  personages,  to 
the  new  monastery.  At  Lincopen, 
Catherine  was  well  received,  and  the 
whole  population  attended  a  grand  func- 
tion in  the  cathedral.  They  arrived  at 
Wadstein,  July  4.  Among  the  nuns 
was  Brigid's  granddaughter,  Ingigerda, 
afterward's  abbess.  Catherine  gave  her 
pious  advice,  and  told  her  that  both  the 
detractor  and  the  listener  carry  the  devil 
in  their  tongues.    She  therefore  prayed 


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that  God  would  avert  from  the  Brigit- 
tines  the  pestiferous  bite  of  detraction. 

In  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the 
whole  community,  Catheriae  went  to 
Borne  to  procure  the  canonization  of  her 
mother.  She  set  off  in  Easter  week, 
between  April  22  and  29,  1375,  and 
travelled  to  that  city.  She  also  went  to 
Naples  to  collect  evidence  about  her 
mother's  miracles.  Gregory  XI.,  Urban 
VI.,  the  magnates  of  Sweden,  and  all 
the  grandees  and  cardinals  who  had 
known  Brigid  in  Borne,  favoured  her 
efforts.  But  in  those  troubled  times 
there  were  so  many  affairs  in  the  eccle- 
siastical world  more  pressing  than  the 
canonization  of  the  noble  Swede,  that  it 
could  not  be  carried  on  at  once,  and 
Catherine  saw  that  it  must  be  left  until 
the  future.  Accordingly,  she  decided 
to  return  home.  All  the  way  she  was 
treated  as  a  person  of  great  sanctity,  and 
her  progress  was  again  marked  by 
miracles.  She  was  taken  ill  when  she 
left  Borne,  and  gradually  became  worse. 
She  arrived  at  Wadstein  in  July,  1380, 
and  died  March  24,  1381.  She  could 
not  take  the  last  sacraments  because  of 
the  state  of  her  stomach,  and  could  not 
speak,  but  she  silently  prayed,  and  made 
an  act  of  devotion  to  the  sacrament,  and 
so  departed.  Instantly  a  wonderfully 
bright  star  appeared  above  the  house, 
and  remained  there,  hanging  like  a  flame 
over  the  bier,  and,  as  soon  as  she  was 
buried,  it  disappeared.  To  her  funeral 
came  all  the  bishops  and  abbots  of 
Sweden,  Norway,  and  Denmark,  also 
Eric,  son  of  Albert,  king  of  Sweden,  and 
many  barons. 

Catherine  wrought  miracles.  She 
twice  cured  servants  who  had  dangerous 
falls — one  from  a  cart,  and  one  from  the 
top  of  the  house  at  Wadstein.  A  woman 
who  had  had  seven  dead  children  begged 
her  help,  as  she  was  expecting  another, 
and  feared  it  would  also  be  born  dead. 
Catherine  prayed  for  her,  gave  her  a 
piece  of  a  dress  that  Brigid  had  worn, 
told  her  to  keep  it  about  her  constantly 
until  her  confinement,  and  promised  to 
come  if  she  would  send  for  her  as  soon 
as  she  was  taken  ill.  Accordingly,  she 
went  at  the  critical  time,  and  prayed 
with  the  mother  until  she  was  delivered 


of  a  living  daughter,  who  was  called 
Brigid  in  recognition  of  the  assistance 
of  the  two  holy  women. 

For  about  a  hundred  years  after  her 
death  her  festival  was  kept  on  March  23 
in  Poland  and  Sweden.  As  it  often  fell 
in  Holy  Week,  Leo  X.,  in  1512,  changed 
it  to  June  25. 

She  compiled  a  devotional  book  called 
Sielinna  Troest  (Consolation  of  the  Soul) ; 
it  is  written  on  vellum. 

JR  Jf.,  Maroh  22.  AAJ3S.  Fant  and 
Annerstet,  Script.  Berum  Suecicarum 
Medii  JEvi,  iii.  244,  etc.  Butler.  Bail- 
let.    Villegas.    Mrs.  Jameson.  Cahier. 

B.  Catherine  (5)  Colombini,  Oct. 
20.  f  1387.  First  nun  of  the  Order 
of  Jesuates  of  St.  Jerome,  and  founder 
of  their  first  convent  at  Yalpiatta. 

When,  about  1365,  St.  John  Colom- 
bini of  Siena  had  founded  the  Order  of 
Apostolic  Clerks  or  Jesuates  of  St. 
Jerome  for  men,  he  wished  to  establish 
a  congregation  of  women  to  serve  God 
in  poverty  as  great  as  that  he  imposed 
on  his  disciples.  He  looked  around  for 
a  pious  woman  to  begin  the  undertaking, 
and  chose  his  cousin  Catherine,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Colombini,  a  knight  of  the 
Order  of  the  Holy  Virgin  Mother  of 
God,  popularly  called  the  Jovial  Bro- 
thers, because  they  were  married  and 
lived  in  considerable  splendour.  Cathe- 
rine was  willing  to  be  a  virgin  nun,  but, 
accustomed  to  wealth,  she  did  not  like 
the  idea  of  poverty,  privation,  and  beg- 
ging barefooted  from  door  to  door. 
However,  St.  John  Columbini  soon 
persuaded  her  to  follow  his  example. 
She  began  by  giving  away  all  she  had, 
and  making  herself  a  plain  coarse  serge 
gown.  She  was  joined  by  several  widows 
and  single-women,  who  had  been  much 
impressed  by  his  preaching.  He  gave 
them  the  habit  of  his  order,  with  the 
addition  of  a  white  veil.  They  lived  in 
the  house  of  Catherine,  and  when,  about 
1368,  she  built  the  convent  of  Yalpiatta, 
they  chose  her  for  their  superior.  They 
lived  by  the  work  of  their  hands,  and 
admitted  no  member  who  had  not  first 
divested  herself  of  all  her  worldly  goods. 
Catherine  set  an  example  of  the  utmost 
humility,  asceticism,  and  all  other 
virtues  for  twenty-two  years,  and  died 


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wo 


B.  CATHERINE 


Oct.  20,  1387.  Helyot,  Ordrea  Monaa- 
iiques,  part  iii.  chap.  55,  56;  Drane, 
Catherine  of  Sienna. 

B.  Catherine  (6)  Carreria,  Aug.  l, 
of  Mantua,  O.SJX  Michele  Pio,  the 
historian  of  the  Dominican  Saints,  says 
that  at  the  age  of  forty-two,  after  a  very 
pious  life,  she  shut  herself  up  in  a  narrow 
oell,  or  rather  between  two  walls,  and 
never  came  out  for  thirty-eight  years,  to 
the  great  admiration  of  all  good  people. 
She  was  buried  near  the  spot.  When 
the  cathedral  of  Mantua  was  built  on 
the  ground  where  her  cell  and  grave 
had  been,  her  body  was  placed  in  a 
handsome  tomb  in  the  chapel  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary  in  the  cathedral. 
An  inscription  setting  forth  her  sanctity, 
and  telling  that  she  was  of  the  Third 
order  of  Preachers,  was  seen  there  by 
Serafino  Bazzi,  another  historian  of  the 
Order,  but  the  date  of  her  death  is  un- 
known.   AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Catherine  (7),  Nov.  20,  V.  of 
Tartary.  + 1414.  Carried  captive  to 
Naples,  and  presented  by  the  queen  to 
St.  Catherine  (4),  who  gave  her  her 
own  name  in  baptism,  and  eventually 
took  her  to  Wadstein.  She  lived  there 
as  a  Brigittine  nun  until  her  death. 
€atilburnus,  a  holy  priest,  saw  her  soul 
carried  to  heaven  in  the  form  of  a  very 
bright  star;  at  the  same  time  it  was 
revealed  to  him  that  she  was  the  daughter 
of  a  prince  of  Tartary.  Vastovius,  Vitis 
Aquilonia.  Oynecseum. 

B.  Catherine  (8)  Mancini,  Maby 
(54)  Mancini. 

St.  Catherine  (9),  March  9,  of  Bo- 
logna. 1413-1403.  O.S.F.  Abbess, 
painter,  and  author.  Patron  of  artists 
and  of  the  Academy  of  Painters  at  Bo- 
logna. Only  child  of  John  de'  Vigri, 
or  Vegri,  a  member  of  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal families  of  Ferrara ;  it  became  ex* 
tinct  in  161 9.  Her  mother  was  Benvenuta 
Mammolini.  John  being  at  Padua  in 
the  autumn  of  1413,  Benvenuta  went  to 
stay  with  her  own  relations  at  Bologna 
for  her  confinement,  and  there  Catherine 
was  born,  Sept.  8.  When  she  was  nine 
or  ten  years  old,  she  was  placed  at  the 
court  of  the  Marquis  of  Ferrara,  and 
educated  with  his  daughter,  the  Princess 
Margaret  of  Este.   It  was  during  her 


residence  thero  that  the  tragedy  occurred 
which  Byron  has  described  in  his  poem 
"Parisina."  This  may  have  deepened 
her  mistrust  of  worldly  life,  and  accen- 
tuated her  inclination  for  that  of  the 
cloister.  She  placed  herself  under  the 
care  of  a  devout  woman  named  Lucia 
Mascheroni,  who  had  already  edified  all 
Ferrara  by  her  virtuous  training  of  many 
secular  young  women.  About  this  time 
Lucia,  with  all  her  pupils,  went  to  live 
in  a  house  which  had  been  partly  built 
for  a  monastery,  but  had  never  been 
finished.  At  first  they  followed  the  rule 
of  St.  Augustine,  without  any  vow  of 
seclusion.  Here  Catherine  lived  for 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years ;  here  she  endured 
those  horrible  struggles  with  the  devil, 
and  obtained  those  graces  and  heavenly 
visions  which  are  described  in  her  book, 
Spiritual  Combats.  In  1432,  when  Lucia 
and  her  disciples  adopted  the  rule  of  St. 
Clara,  the  convents  of  Assisi  and  Mantua 
were  the  only  communities  of  that  order. 
The  life  was  so  ascetic  that  few  women 
were  able  to  endure  it :  some  died,  and 
nearly  all  were  more  or  less  dangerously 
ill.  Pope  Eugenius  IV.,  in  1446,  modi- 
fied their  austerities,  authorizing  the 
nuns,  among  other  indulgences,  to  wear 
wooden  sandals  and  woollen  socks ;  their 
fasts  also  were  to  be  less  rigorous. 

In  1456  Catherine  was  chosen  superior 
of  fifteen  or,  by  some  accounts,  twenty- 
three  of  her  companions  to  go  and  settle 
in  the  new  convent  of  Corpo  di  Cristo, 
at  Bologna,  where  she  established  the 
rule  of  St.  Clara  in  its  original  severity. 
Two  years  later,  Julius  II.  permitted 
her  to  take  her  mother  into  the  convent 
to  give  her  the  attention  her  age  and 
blindness  required.  Catherine  resigned 
the  government  of  the  convent  in  1460, 
but  was  reappointed  the  following  year, 
and  remained  in  office  until  her  death, 
March  9,  1463.  Nineteen  days  after- 
wards her  body  was  disinterred  and  found 
warm,  and  with  a  look  of  youth  and 
freshness  it  had  not  worn  of  late  years. 
It  was  set  up  in  the  choir  for  the  vene- 
ration of  the  public,  and  there  worked 
miracles.  The  people  of  Bologna  revered 
her  as  a  saint  from  that  time.  Her  canoni- 
zation took  place  about  two  hundred 
years  later. 


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ST.  CATHERINE 


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In  her  convent  of  Corpo  di  Cristo  are 
preserved  several  miniatures  painted  by 
her  with  great  care  and  delicacy.  One  pic- 
ture of  the  Infant  Christ — her  favourite 
subject — used  to  be  sent  to  sick  persons 
to  cure  them  of  whatsoever  disease  they 
had.  She  is  6aid  to  have  been  a  pupil 
of  Lippo  Dalmasio.  In  the  Pinacoteca 
at  Bologna  is  a  small  picture  on  wood, 
of  St.  Ursula,  standing,  and  gathering 
her  kneeling  companions  under  her 
mantle.  It  is  signed  "  Caterina  Vigri  /. 
1452."  It  was  given  to  the  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts  by  Count  Charles  Marescalchi. 
Baruffaldi  says  his  most  treasured  pos- 
session was  the  daily  Psalter  Catherine 
used  and  read  ;  it  was  written  on  parch- 
ment. In  the  margin  of  the  first  page 
was  the  Bambino  in  swaddling-bands, 
very  minutely  drawn  and  most  beauti- 
fully painted  in  pure  and  brilliant  colour- 
ing. After  his  time  it  became  one  of 
the  treasures  of  the  cathedral  at  Ferrara. 

One  book  was  undoubtedly  written  by 
this  saint;  it  is  entitled,  Libro  deUe 
Battaglie  Spirituali  e  delle  sette  arme  per 
vincerle.  Another  book  of  revelations 
has  been  attributed  to  her.  Some  Latin 
verses,  called  "The  Rosary,"  are  said 
to  have  been  dictated  to  her  by  the 
Saviour.  Two  portraits  of  her  are  still 
to  be  seen — one  by  Zuccheri,  formerly 
in  the  church  of  Sta.  Maria  delle  Grazie, 
now  in  the  Casa  Hercolani;  the  other, 
and  better  painted,  by  Julio  Morina, 
represents  the  vision  she  had  of  Christ 
and  the  Blessed  Virgin  with  SS.  Stephen 
and  Lawrence.    It  is  in  the  Pinacoteca. 

B.M.  Her  Life,  by  Grassetti,  is  in 
the  Bollandist  collection,  and  was  trans- 
lated into  English  for  the  London  Ora- 
tory. Barotti,  Memorie  Istoriche  di 
Leiterati  Ftrraresi.  Ticozzi,  Dizionario 
degli  Architetti,  etc.  Amorini,  Vite  de* 
Pittori  Bologncsi.  Baruffaldi,  Pittori 
Ferraresi.  Mrs.  Jameson,  Legends  of  the 
Monastic  Orders. 

B.  Catherine  (10)  Morigia,  April 
6,  V.  of  Pallanza.  f  1478.  Founder 
and  first  abbess  of  the  nuns  of  St.  Am- 
brose ad  Nemus,  and  of  the  convent  of 
Santa  Maria  del  Monte,  at  Varasio. 
Born  at  Pallanza,  a  little  town  on  Lake 
Maggiore.  On  the  appearance  of  the 
plague  there,  in  1437,  her  father,  mother, 


and  twelve  children  fled  to  Ugovia, 
where  they  all  died  of  it  except  Catherine. 
She  was  then  consigned  to  the  care  of 
Catherine  di  Silenzo,  a  lady  of  rank  and 
of  great  reputation  for  sanctity.  After 
her  death,  Catherine  lived  for  a  short 
time  with  some  pious  women  at  Monte 
Varaiso,  near  Pallanza,  and  tended  them 
during  the  plague,  of  which  they  all 
died.  She  afterwards  had  it  herself, 
and  was  miraculously  cured  on  her 
return  to  her  native  place.  She  then 
went  back  to  Varasio,  and  was  joined  by 
B.  Juliana,  B.  Bivia,  and  two  others. 
After  living  in  great  piety  and  austerity 
for  some  years,  they  obtained  permission 
to  adopt  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine,  the 
dress  of  the  monks  of  St.  Ambrose  ad 
Nemus,  with  the  black  veil,  and  to  have 
a  garden  and  cemetery  attached  to  their 
retreat,  which  then  became  a  regular 
convent.  Each  abbess  was  to  be  ap- 
pointed for  three  years,  but  Catherine 
did  not  live  to  finish  her  term.  Her 
body  remained  uncorrupt  and  flexible 
many  years  after  death.  Helyot,  Hist. 
Ord.  Mon.j  iv.  chap.  9.  Her  name  is  in 
the  Calendar  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augus- 
tine. A.B.M. 

B.  Catherine  (11),  O.S.D.,  nun  in 
the  convent  of  Monteregio,  at  Siena. 
fl498.  Pio. 

St.  Catherine  (12),  or  Catterina 
Fieschi  Adorno,  March  20,  Sept.  14,  15, 
March  22,  of  Genoa.    1 447-1 5 1 0. 

Eepresented  holding  a  burning  heart 
and  a  crucifix. 

For  several  centuries  the  Fieschi  were 
counts  of  Lavagna,  and  among  the  most 
illustrious  families  in  Italy.  They  were 
vicars  of  the  empire,  and,  with  other 
privileges,  enjoyed  the  right  of  coining 
money  in  the  republic  of  Genoa.  Popes 
Innocent  IV.  and  Adrian  V.,  as  well  as 
many  cardinals  and  famous  Genoese 
generals,  were  of  this  family.  Catherine's 
father  was  Giacomo  Fieschi,  viceroy  of 
Naples,  under  Bene  of  Anjou,  king  of 
Sicily.  From  her  infancy  she  was  re- 
markable for  her  gentle  and  submissive 
disposition,  and  from  a  very  early  age 
for  her  piety  and  self- denial.  At 
thirteen  she  wished  to  become  a  nun, 
but  when  she  applied  for  admission  at 
the  convent  of  Our  Lady  of  Grace,  they 


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B.  CATHERINE 


would  not  receive  her  because  she  was 
too  small  and  delicate.  She  then  gave 
up  for  the  time  her  project  of  a  religious 
life,  to  which  her  parents  were  opposed, 
and  at  sixteen  was  given  in  marriage  to 
J ulian  Adorno,  a  young  nobleman,  whose 
ambition,  extravagance,  and  profligacy 
caused  her  much  affliction.  Her  prayers 
for  him,  her  patience  and  her  example, 
at  length  converted  him,  and  he  died  a 
penitent  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis.  When  Catherine  became  a 
widow,  after  ten  years  of  marriage,  she 
resolved  to  dedicate  herself  to  the  service 
of  God,  and  after  long  deliberation 
decided  on  choosing  an  active  rather 
than  a  contemplative  life,  and  devoted 
herself  to  the  service  of  the  sick  in  the 
great  hospital  of  Genoa,  where  she  lived 
many  years  as  mother  superior.  She 
tended  the  sick  with  the  greatest  kind- 
ness, and  did  not  shrink  from  rendering 
them  the  most  painful  and  revolting 
vservices.  She  extended  her  charity  to 
all  lepers  and  other  indigent  and  suffer- 
ing persons  in  the  city,  and  employed  fit 
agents  to  discover  and  relieve  them. 
She  died  in  her  sixty-third  year,  Sept. 
14,  1510.  Both  during  her  married  life 
and  afterwards,  she  made  it  a  rulo  never 
to  excuse  herself  when  blamed,  and  took 
for  her  motto  a  sentence  from  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as 
it  is  in  heaven." 

She  wrote  several  treatises,  the  chief 
of  which  are  entitled  respectively,  "  On 
Purgatory"  and  "A  Dialogue;"  the 
subject  of  the  latter  is  Divine  love  and 
the  happiness  it  imparts  to  the  devout 
soul.  Bailie t  says  that  her  writings 
were  never  thoroughly  approved  by  the 
Church — a  fact  which  delayed  her  ca- 
nonization. Pope  Benedict  XIV.  placed 
her  name  in  the  Roman  Martyrology. 
B.  Catherina  Genuensis  lllustrata,  Genoa, 
1G82,  by  Parpera  the  oratorian,  contains 
an  account  of  her  doctrine  and  a  pane- 
gyric on  her  holy  life.  EM.  Sticker, 
in  AA.SS.,  Sept.  15.  Butler,  Lives, 
Sept.  14.    Baillet,  Vies. 

B.  Catherine  (13)  of  Genoa,  one  of 
seventy- two  nuns  who  died  in  the  odour 
of  sanctity  between  1439  and  1715. 
They  were  of  the  Order  of  St.  Ambrose 
and  St.  Marcelline,  commonly  called  the 


Annunciation  of  Lombardy.  Helyot, 
Ord.  Mon.y  iv.  chap.  10. 

B.  Catherine  04)  of  Racconigi, 
Sept.   5.      1480-  1547.      3rd  O.S.D. 
Catherine  was  the  daughter  of  George 
Mattei,  a  locksmith  of  Piedmont.  At 
the  time  of  her  birth  her  family  were 
reduced  to  great  poverty  by  a  war  be- 
tween the  Duke  of  Savoy  and  the  Marquis 
of  Saluzzo.    She  made  her  first  acquaint- 
ance with  life  in  cold  and  penury,  but 
heavenly  gifts  and  graces  were  bestowed 
on  her  from  her  earliest  childhood.  She 
had  visions  of  saints  and  angels,  and 
commended  herself  especially  to  the 
guardianship  of  St.  Stephen,  because  in 
the  early  Church  he  had  the  care  of 
women  who  were  in  need  of  alms.  While 
still  a  child,  she  received  the  Holy  Ghost 
four  times  in  visible  forms,  namely,  of  a 
dove,  rays  of  light,  a  cloud,  and  tongues 
of  fire.    On  the  last  occasion  she  made 
her  first  confession,  was  absolved  by  a 
saint,  and  received  the  gift  of  knowing 
true  from  false  visions.    Between  her 
sixth    and    twenty-sixth    year  Christ 
appeared  to  her  three  times,  and  married 
her  with  a  different  ring  each  time.  He 
several  times  took  her  heart  out  of  her 
body  and  put  it  back ;  once  He  kept  it 
forty-five  days,  during  which  she  lived 
without  a  heart,  and  with  a  great  open 
place  in  her  side.    She  had  the  stigmata. 
She  described  the  personal  appearance 
of  saints  she  had  seen  in  visions.  St. 
Agnes  (2),  she  said,  was  little  and  plump, 
with    rosy    cheeks   and    curly  hair. 
Although  poor,  she  was  very  charitable. 
She  deemed  it  better  to  be  without 
clothes    than    without    charity.  At 
thirteen  she  gave  her  chemise  to  Christ 
under  the  form  of  a  beggar,  and  He  gave 
her  a  beautiful  white  robo  in  its  stead. 
St.  Catherine  (3)  of  Siena,  who  had 
been  dead  more  than  a  hundred  years, 
appeared  to  her  as  a  beggar.  Devils 
persecuted  her,  disguised  as  men,  beasts, 
birds,  and  corpses.    She  was  defended 
against  them  and  against  sin  by  saints 
and  angels.    She  was  taken  to  purgatory, 
where  she  comforted  the  souls  and  felt 
the  fire.    She  also  visited  heaven  and 
hell,  and  recognized  some  of  her  friends 
in  each  of  the  three  places.    She  released 
many  souls  from   purgatory  by  her 


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prayers,  and  by  the  same  means  saved 
her  native  town  from  fire  and  storms. 
She  fought  and  vanquished  a  devil  who, 
under  the  form  of  a  serpent,  was  carrying 
off  a  wicked  woman.  She  released  and 
converted  the  woman.  She  went  great 
distances  to  help  those  to  whom  she 
could  be  useful.  She  was  carried  by 
angels  from  place  to  place;  she  once 
went  three  hundred  and  twenty  miles  in 
four  hours.  From  this  miraculous 
power  she  was  called  by  the  peasants  of 
Piedmont  La  Masca  [i.e.  Sorceress]  di 
Dio.    She  died  at  Caramagna. 

Her  life  was  written  by  Francesco 
Pico  della  Mirandola,  count  of  Con- 
cordia ;  he  knew  her  well,  and  heard  her 
relate  many  of  her  visions.  He  died 
before  her,  and  his  work  was  finished  by 
Father  Peter  Martyr,  of  Garescio,  who 
also  knew  her  very  well,  and  was  only 
a  mile  from  her  at  the  time  of  her  death. 

She  has  a  double  festival  in  the 
Martyrology  of  her  order.  A.R.M. 
Modern  Saints,  published  by  the  Fathers 
of  the  Oratory.    Pio.  Castillo. 

B.  Catherine  (15)  Tomas,  April  l, 
Aug.  3.  "f  1574.  Canoness,  O.S.A. 
Daughter  of  Jacob  Tomas  and  Mar- 
quetta  Gallart,  honest  peasants  at  Valde- 
muza,  in  Majorca.  She  was  brought  up 
to  hard  work  in  house  and  field.  From 
her  seriousness  and  contempt  of  pleasure, 
the  neighbours  gave  her  the  nickname  of 
Viejecita>  tbe  little  old  woman.  At  seven- 
teen she  entered  the  service  of  a  noble 
family  in  Palma,  where  she  was  taught 
to  read  and  embroider.  Notwithstanding 
her  great  piety  and  extraordinary  asce- 
ticism, lack  of  dowry  made  it  very  diffi- 
cult for  her  to  gain  admittance  to  a 
convent.  At  last  that  of  St.  Mary 
Magdalene,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augustine, 
consented  to  receive  her.  She  had  ecs- 
tasies, she  was  attacked  by  the  devil  in 
visible  shape,  she  was  succoured  and 
comforted  by  divers  saints,  she  talked 
with  souls  in  purgatory,  prophesied  future 
events,  and  wrought  miracles.  She  was 
elected  prioress  of  her  convent,  but  im- 
mediately resigned.  On  her  death  the 
inhabitants  of  Majorca  honoured  her  as 
a  saint  for  fifty  years,  when  a  decree  of 
Urban  VIII.  forbade  the  public  worship 
of  saints  not  recognized  by  the  Church. 


An  appeal  was  then  made  to  Borne  to 
have  the  worship  of  Catherine  legalized. 
The  process  went  on  at  intervals  for 
many  years,  until  the  decree  of  her  beati- 
fication was  promulgated  by  Pius  VI.  in 
1 792.  Her  hat,  thimble,  and  other  relics 
are  kept  as  sacred,  and  her  body  is  pre- 
served in  a  marble  sarcophagus  with  a 
glass  front,  and  shown  by  the  nuns  of 
her  convent.  Her  name  is  in  the  Mar- 
tyrology of  her  order,  A.R.M.,  April  1. 
AA.SS.,  Prater.,  April  5.  Bidwell, 
Balearic  Islands. 

St.  Catherine  (16)  Cantona.  f  c- 
1574,  of  the  rule  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo. 
Bepresented  holding  a  cross  to  which  a 
nail  is  fastened.  Guenebault. 

B.  Catherine  (17),  or  Catalina  Car- 
dona,  May  11,  12, 18,  21.  1519-1577  or 
1 579.  A  recluse  of  the  Order  of  our  Lady 
of  Mount  Carmel.  Daughter  of  Don 
Ramon,  a  member  of  the  ducal  house  of 
Cardona,  descended  from  the  kings  of 
Aragon.  She  had  a  vision  of  her  father 
in  purgatory;  he  told  her  his  release 
would  be  the  fruit  of  her  penance.  She 
mortified  and  disciplined  herself  until 
she  obtained  his  deliverance.  The  Prin- 
cess of  Salerno,  a  near  relation,  who  took 
charge  of  her  on  her  father's  death, 
brought  her  to  Spain,  where  St.  Thkbesa 
(7)  was  beginning  her  reform;  and 
Catherine  was  moved  to  undertake  the 
life  of  austerity,  of  which  Theresa  speaks 
with  admiration.  On  the  death  of  the 
princess  of  Salerno,  Catherine  governed 
the  household  of  Buy  Gomez  de  Silva, 
prince  of  Eboli,  and  had  under  her  care 
the  Princes  Don  Carlos  and  Don  Juan  of 
Austria.  Carlos  she  could  not  influence, 
but  for  Juan  she  always  had  a  most  tender 
affection.  Buy  Gomez  and  his  wife  went 
to  see  an  estate  he'  had  bought.  Catherine 
begged  to  accompany  them.  She  did  so, 
and  from  their  house  in  Estremera, 
dressed  as  a  man,  she  made  her  way  to 
the  desert  of  La  Boda,  where  she  spent 
many  years  in  a  small  cave.  Her  only 
clothing  was  very  coarse  sackcloth.  She 
lived  on  herbs  and  roots,  until  a  poor 
shepherd  supplied  her  with  bread  and 
meal.  She  used  the  discipline  of  a  heavy 
chain  for  an  hour  and  a  half  or  two  hours 
at  a  time.  Sometimes  she  went  half  a 
mile  on  her  knees  to  Mass  in  a  monastery 


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164 


ST.  CATHERINE 


of  the  Mercenarians.  The  fame  of  her 
devotion  spread  to  such  a  degree  that 
she  suffered  much  from  the  fatigue, 
interruption,  and  crowding  caused  by 
those  who  went  to  see  her.  There  came 
a  day  when  the  whole  plain  was  full  of 
carriages.  The  friars  of  the  neighbour- 
ing monastery  were  compelled  to  raise 
her  up  on  high,  that  she  might  give  the 
crowd  her  blessing,  and  so  get  rid  of 
them.  She  was  so  impressed  by  the 
sanctity  of  St  Teresa,  and  the  impor- 
tance of  her  reform,  that,  after  eight  years 
of  solitude,  she  left  her  cave  to  found  a 
monastery  of  Barefooted  Carmelites.  In 
1571  she  went  to  Pastrana,  where  the 
Prince  of  Eboli  and  the  Duke  of  Gandia 
had  promised  to  found  a  monastery  for 
her.  She  took  the  habit  of  a  lay-brother, 
fearing  that  if  she  became  a  nun,  she 
would  be  deprived  of  her  solitude  and 
extreme  austerity.  She  had  to  go  to 
Madrid  on  the  business  of  the  foundation. 
While  there  she  continued  to  give  her 
blessing  to  the  people.  A  good  old  man 
did  not  understand  it,  and,  somewhat 
scandalized,  he  told  the  nuncio  that  he 
had  seen  a  Carmelite  lay-brother  in  a 
carriage  with  ladies,  giving  his  blessing 
to  the  people  like  a  bishop.  The  nuncio 
was  very  angry,  but  on  the  circumstances 
being  explained,  he  left  Catherine  in 
peace.  At  Madrid  and  other  places  tbo 
people  gave  her  funds,  and  in  1572, 
when  she  had  obtained  the  licence,  she 
built  a  monastery  over  her  cave.  In  a 
trance  in  that  church,  St.  Theresa  saw 
Catherine  in  glory,  accompanied  by 
angels;  Catherine  told  her  not  to  grow 
faint,  but  to  persevere  with  her  founda- 
tions. Another  cave,  containing  a  solid 
tomb,  was  mado  for  her.  There  sho 
lived  five  years,  leaving  it  only  to  be 
present  at  the  divine  office.  She  died 
May  11,  1577.  In  1003  the  monastery 
was  moved  to  Villanueva  de  la  Jara. 
The  friars  took  with  them  the  body  of 
their  founder,  and  three  years  later  they 
laid  it  in  a  distinguished  place  in  the 
church. 

St.  Theresa  calls  her  "the  saintly 
Cardona  "  and  "  that  holy  woman."  She 
is  called  "  Saint "  by  some  authors,  and 
was  so  considered  in  her  own  country 
and  community,  both  before  and  after 


her  death,  but  is  not  canonized.  P.B. 
St.  Theresa.  Foundations. 

St.  Catherine  (18),  or  Sandrina  dei 
Ricci,  Feb.  13.  1522-1589.  3rd  O.S.D. 
Sometimes  represented  with  a  crown  of 
thorns.  Of  an  ancient  family  of  Florence. 
She  was  christened  Sandrina,  and  edu- 
cated in  the  convent  of  Monticelli.  In 
1535  she  took  the  name  of  Catherine, 
and  became  a  novice  in  the  convent  of 
St.  Vincent,  at  Prato.  While  very  young 
she  was  appointed  mistress  of  the  novices, 
and  at  five-and-twenty,  prioress. 

This  nunnery  was  built  in  1 502  by  tho 
Dominicans  of  Savonarola's  Convent  of 
St.  Mark,  in  Florence.  The  nuns  of 
Prato  were  distinguished  not  only  for 
holiness,  but  for  skill  in  the  arts  of 
painting,  sculpture,  and  poetry.  The 
Order  of  Preachers — commonly  called 
of  St.  Dominic — were  exempted  from 
strict  seclusion. 

Fra  Angelo  Diacceto,  prior  of  the 
Minerva  in  Homo,  had  a  great  affection 
for  his  niece  Catherine,  and  was  present 
at  her  profession.  He  acted  as  a  medium 
for  the  intense  interest  which  existed  be- 
tween her  and  his  friend  Philip  Neri, 
and  consequently  between  the  holy  com- 
munities of  Dominicans  at  Prato  and 
Home.  One  of  the  chief  ties  between 
them  was  their  ardent  love  and  admira- 
tion for  Fra  Girolamo  Savonarola.  Ca- 
therine treasured  relics  of  him,  studied 
his  writings,  and  in  a  serious  illness, 
recommended  herself  to  him,  and  was 
cured.  Her  eager  desire  for  the  refor- 
mation of  the  Church  in  general,  and  of 
the  everyday  life  of  Home,  also  appealed 
strongly  to  the  heart  of  Philip.  She 
used  to  say,  "  That  poor  city  of  Rome  I 
what  sins  are  committed  there!  What 
lives  men  live  there  I"  From  corre- 
spondence by  letter  there  grew  up  in  tho 
hearts  of  these  two  saints  a  great  desire 
to  see  each  other;  but  Philip  had  resolved 
never  to  leave  Rome,  and  Catherine  was 
a  cloistered  nun  at  Prato,  and  not  likely 
to  travel.  Yet  they  met  in  spirit,  passed 
some  time  in  holy  converse,  and  each  saw 
the  face  of  the  other  as  plainly  as  if  they 
were  together  in  the  flesh.  This  incident 
is  represented  in  a  picture  by  Antonio 
Marini,  and  is  mentioned  in  the  bull  of 
the  canonization  of  Philip  Neri.  Thero 


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B.  CATHERINE  105 


remains  but  one  of  their  many  letters : 
it  is  from  Catherine  to  Philip. 

Such  was  her  reputation  for  sanctity 
and  wisdom,  that  she  was  visited  by  many 
of  the  great  men  of  the  day,  among  whom 
were  three  cardinals,  afterwards  popes, 
namely,  Marcellus  II.,  Clement  VIII., 
and  Leo  XI.  She  was  one  of  those 
medieval  saints  who  had  the  stigmata. 
She  had  also  a  red  mark  on  her  finger, 
caused  by  the  ring  with  which  she  was 
espoused  to  Christ.  Many  saints  ap- 
peared to  her  in  her  cell.  She  died 
after  a  loDg  illness,  Feb.  2,  1589,  and 
was  canonized  by  Benedict  XIV.  in 
1744. 

B.M.  Modem  Sainte,  published  by 
the  Fathers  of  the  Oratory.  Capecelatro, 
Life  of  St.  Philip  Neri,  ii.  207,  etc. 
Her  letters  were  edited  by  Cesare  Guasti 
in  1861.  Civilta  Cattolka,  series  iv. 
vol.  12,  p.  370. 

B.  Catherine  (19),  May  6.  f 1596- 
A  Dominican  nun  in  the  convent  of  the 
Mother  of  God  at  Seville,  where  she  was 
made  sub-prioress  at  a  very  early  age. 
She  imitated  the  virtues  of  the  great  St. 
Catherine  (3)  of  Siena,  and  had  a 
special  gift  for  reproving  kindly  and 
effectually.  She  was  sent,  with  others, 
to  the  convent  of  Maria  de  Gracia,  to 
instruct  the  nuns;  she  was  a  great 
favourite  with  her  pupils,  and  during 
her  various  sojourns  in  that  convent,  was 
three  times  chosen  prioress  by  them, 
but  the  superiors  of  the  order  annulled 
the  elections,  because  they  wanted  her 
for  work  in  other  places.  She  was  sent 
to  reform  the  convent  of  Ubeda,  to  act 
as  prioress  to  that  of  St.  Florentina  de 
Ecija,  and  to  found  that  of  Gibraleon. 
She  took  with  her  her  dear  friend,  Sister 
Mary  of  the  Cross,  who  was  first  prioress 
there,  and  died  in  1595.  Catherine  died 
on  the  eve  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist, 
Doc.  26,  1596.  AA.SS.,  Prseter.  Ra- 
chack,  Dominican  Nuns. 

B.  Catherine  (20),  of  Fingo,  Sept. 
1 0,  M.  1 622.  A  widow,  aged  forty-eight, 
beheaded  at  Nagasaki,  in  Japan,  on  the 
same  day  as  Spinola  was  burnt.  It  is 
said  by  Pages  that  when  her  head  was 
cut  off  it  rebounded  three  times,  pro- 
nouncing each  time  the  names  Jesus  and 
Mary.  \See  Lucy  Freitas.) 


B.  Catherine  (21),  July  1 2,  M.  1 620. 
Wife  of  a  poor  labourer  named  John 
Mino  Tanaca.  They  were  imprisoned 
for  six  months,  and  then  condemned  to 
death  for  lodging  the  missionary,  Father 
Torres.  John  was  burnt  and  Catherine 
beheaded  at  Nagasaki,  in  Japan.  When 
his  bonds  were  destroyed  he  walked 
through  the  fire  to  salute  John  Naisen 
and  his  other  fellow-martyrs.  They  all 
expired  invoking  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Authorities,  same  as  for  Lucy  Freitas. 

B.  Catherine  (22),  Protector  of 
Canada.  Her  name  among  her  own 
people  was  Tegahkouita.  1656-1678. 
A  red  Indian  of  the  Iroquois  tribe,  born 
at  Gandahouague  or  Gandehouhague 
(later,  Cauhnawaga,  a  village  in  Mo- 
hawk canon,  New  York  state).  Left  an 
orphan  very  young,  and  nearly  blind 
from  the  effects  of  small-pox,  she  lived 
in  the  darkest  corner  of  her  aunt's  cabin. 
As  soon  as  she  was  able,  she  did  all  the 
hard  work  of  the  family.  She  first  heard 
of  Christianity  from  some  missionaries 
who,  travelling  through  the  Iroquois 
territory,  lodged  in  her  uncle's  wigwam. 
They  were  hospitably  received,  and 
Tegahkouita  was  ordered  to  wait  upon 
them.  The  fervour  and  abstraction  with 
which  they  prayed  inspired  in  her  the 
desire  to  join  in  their  worship.  They 
gave  her  what  instruction  they  could  in 
the  short  time  of  their  stay  in  the 
village.  Before  long  her  relations 
thought  it  was  time  she  should  be 
married,  and,  without  consulting  her, 
they  chose  a  young  man,  and  he,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  the  nation,  came 
into  the  cabin  and  sat  down  beside  her. 
She  had  only  to  stay  where  she  was  to 
be  considered  by  her  tribe  the  wife  of 
this  man,  and  this  her  uncle  expected 
her  to  do.  But  instead  she  got  up 
hastily  and  left  the  wigwam.  Her 
friends  were  very  angry,  and  abused  and 
maltreated  her,  but  she  strongly  objected 
to  marriage.  While  they  were  still 
annoyed  with  her  behaviour,  a  missionary 
named  Father  de  Lamberville  came  to 
the  village.  All  the  women  were  busy 
gathering  in  the  maize,  and  he  found  it 
useless  to  attempt  any  preaching  or 
public  instruction,  as  no  one  could  attend. 
He  took  the  opportunity  to  visit  the 


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166  B.  CATHERINE 


houses  and  talk  to  the  aged  and  infirm, 
who  could  not  come  to  the  gatherings  of 
the  community.  In  one  of  the  wigwams 
he  found  Tegahkouita,  who  was  pre- 
vented by  a  wound  in  her  foot  from  going 
to  the  fields  with  the  others.  Ever  since 
the  first  visit  of  the  missionaries  she  had 
been  longing  to  become  a  Christian,  and 
now  she  frankly  told  Father  Lamber- 
ville  her  wish.  She  said  she  would  have 
great  obstacles  to  overcome,  but  that 
they  would  not  frighten  her.  He  saw 
in  her  one  chosen  by  God,  but  his  ex- 
perience among  the  Indians  led  him  to 
take  many  precautions  before  admitting 
them  to  the  sacrament  of  baptism.  At 
last,  at  Easter,  167(3,  he  found  no  further 
cause  for  delay,  and  christened  her  by 
the  name  of  Catherine.  He  was 
astonished  to  find  in  her  so  many  saintly 
qualities.  Those  who  were  least  dis- 
posed to  follow  her  example  were  struck 
by  her  holiness,  and  for  a  time  treated 
her  with  great  respect;  but  by-and-by 
her  modesty  appeared  to  the  young 
people  of  her  village  to  be  a  reproach  to 
tho  libertine  life  they  led.  They  ridi- 
culed her,  and  threw  stones  at  her  on 
her  way  to  church,  while  her  uncle  and 
aunt  starved  her  and  behaved  very  un- 
kindly to  her.  At  this  time  a  number 
of  converted  Indians  had  withdrawn  to 
the  Prairie  de  la  Magdeleine,  and 
amongst  these  new  settlers  was  a  friend  of 
Tegahkouita' s,  whose  husband  helped  the 
missionaries  assiduously.  This  young 
couple  made  a  plan  to  take  her  to  join 
them,  but  her  uncle  was  greatly  incensed 
at  the  depopulation  of  his  part  of  the 
country,  and  tried  to  prevent  any  more 
of  his  people  from  leaving  the  place. 
In  his  absence  the  young  man  with  a 
friend  came  on  a  pretended  hunting 
expedition,  and  took  her  away  with  them. 
The  UDcle  soon  heard  of  it,  and  ran 
furiously  after  them,  resolved  to  bring 
her  back  dead  or  alive.  He  overtook 
the  two  hunters,  but  they  had  hidden 
the  young  convert  in  the  wood,  and  after 
some  futile  conversation  he  concluded 
that  he  had  been  misinformed.  Catherine 
arrived  in  the  Prairie  de  la  Magdeleine 
in  October,  1677.  Her  friends  had  no 
cabin  of  their  own,  but  lodged  with  a 
fervent  Christian  named  An  astasia,  who 


devoted  her  life  to  tho  conversion  and 
salvation  of  women,  preparing  them  for 
baptism ;  and  here  Catherine  gave  her- 
self, without  reserve,  to  God,  and  took 
giant  strides  in  the  path  of  holiness. 
She  had  not  received  her  first  Com- 
munion, and  it  was  tho  custom  not  to 
grant  it  to  neophytes,  but  to  prepare 
them  by  long  trial.  She  expected  to 
have  to  wait  like  the  others,  but  her 
director  soon  discerned  her  fitness  and 
her  fervour,  and  granted  her  this  privi- 
lege, to  "her  great  comfort  and  to  the 
edification  of  others.  Her  best  friends 
urged  her  to  marry,  as  it  was  until  then 
unheard  of  that  an  Iroquois  girl  should 
remain  unmarried.  Even  the  mission- 
aries had  never  suggested  such  a  thing, 
but  at  last  Catherine  received  permission 
to  make  a  vow  of  virginity,  and  was  the 
first  of  her  nation  who  did  so.  Tho 
neophytes  were  declared  by  the  other 
Iroquois  to  be  enemies  of  their  country, 
and  they  expected  to  be  frightfully 
tortured  should  they  fall  alive  into  the 
hands  of  their  compatriots. 

Her  mortifications  undermined  her 
health,  and  she  became  very  ill.  After 
a  long  time  of  suffering  she  received 
"  the  holy  oils  "  on  the  Wednesday  before 
Easter,  1678,  and  she  died  the  same 
afternoon,  aged  twenty- four,  at  the  Sault 
St  Louis.  Her  exemplary  life  and  holy 
death  caused  a  great  increase  of  fervour 
amongst  the  Iroquois  of  the  Sault  St. 
Louis.  Immediately  after  her  death  her 
wasted  features  recovered  their  bloom. 
Her  tomb  was  soon  a  famous  resort  for 
crowds  of  the  faithful,  who  flocked  there 
from  all  parts  of  Canada.  Those  who 
sought  her  intercession  were  singularly 
favoured,  and  miracles  encouraged  the 
general  opinion  which  regarded  and  to 
this  day  regards  her  as  the  protectress 
of  Canada. 

The  inhabitants  of  several  of  the 
neighbouring  parishes  were  in  the  habit 
of  assembling  at  the  Sault  St.  Louis  to 
sing  a  Mass  in  her  honour,  although  she 
had  not  been  canonized.  A  new  parish 
priest  recently  arrived  from  France 
refused  to  conform,  fearing  to  authorize 
by  his  presence  a  public  worship  which 
the  Church  had  not  yet  permitted.  All 
his  hearers  said  he  would  be  signally 


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ST.  CECILIA 


167 


punished  for  slighting  the  saint,  and 
that  very  day  he  fell  dangerously  ill. 
He  understood  the  cause,  and  made  a 
vow  to  follow  the  example  of  his  pre- 
decessors, whereupon  he  recovered. 
There  were  martyrs  of  hoth  sexes  in 
this  persecution,  hut  Tegahkouita  is  the 
only  red  Indian  worshipped  as  a  saint, 
and  although  she  is  not  canonized,  it  was 
found  impossible  to  prevent  her  being 
honoured  and  invoked  as  the  patron  of 
Canada. 

Charlevoix,  Histoire  ct  Description 
General  de  la  Nouvclle  France. 

St.  Cattula,  Catulla. 

St.  Catula  (1),  March  24,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St  Catula  (2),  May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Catula  (3),  June  2(5,  M.  at  Rome. 
Mart,  of  Beichenau. 

St.  Catula  (4),  Castula  (3). 

St.  Catulla,  Catalla,  or  Cattula, 
Maroh  31.  Matron  in  Paris.  Buried 
St.  Denis  and  his  companions,  a.d.  272. 
Catulla  walked  beside  St.  Denis  while 
he  carried  his  head  to  the  place  of 
burial.  Paul  Lacroix,  from  a  manuscript 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  in  the  Biblio- 
ibeque  Nationale.  AA.SS.,  Prseter. 
Butler.    Ferrarius  calls  her  "  Virgin." 

St.  Caw,  Welsh.  Mother  of  SS. 
Cain,  Cwyllog,  Gwenafwy,  Peillan, 
Pejthien,  and  several  sons,  all  saints. 
Rees,  230. 

St.  Cazarie,  Casaria  (1). 

St.  Cebedrude,  or  Cebetrude, 
Gebetrude. 

St.  Cecilia  (1),  Nov.  22  (CiEcrMA, 
Cicely),  V.  M.  180  or  230.  Patron  of 
music,  musicians,  and  musical  instrument- 
makers,  and  one  of  the  four  great  patron- 
esses of  the  Western  Church. 

Represented  (1)  with  a  caldron  ;  (2) 
with  an  organ  or  other  musical  instru- 
ment; (3)  with  a  wreath  of  roses  or 
green  leaves;  (4)  with  an  attendant 
angel. 

St.  Cecilia  was  a  noble  Roman  lady, 
probably  of  the  family  of  Ccecilii  Maximi 
Fausti.  Her  parents  were  secretly 
Christians,  and  brought  her  up  piously. 
She  always  carried  a  copy  of  the  Gospels 
concealed  in  her  clothes.  She  composed 
hymns  and  played  on  all  instruments* 


but  finding  none  worthy  to  express  her 
devotion,  she  invented  tho  organ,  and 
dedicated  it  to  the  service  of  God.  She 
was  married  at  sixteen  to  Valerian,  whom 
she  converted  to  Christianity.  He  de- 
manded to  see  her  guardian  angel,  and 
she  sent  him  to  St.  Urban,  who  was  con- 
cealed in  the  catacombs  on  account  of 
the  persecution,  and  who  completed  the 
conversion  of  Valerian,  and  baptized 
him.  Valerian,  returning  to  his  wife, 
heard  celestial  music,  and,  entering  the 
room,  saw  an  angel  standing  by  her  side, 
with  two  crowns  of  everlasting  roses, 
which  he  placed  on  the  heads  of  Valerian 
and  Cecilia,  telling  Valerian,  as  the 
reward  of  his  obedience  to  his  wife's  holy 
advice,  that  he  might  ask  what  he 
would,  and  it  should  be  granted.  Vale- 
rian asked  the  conversion  of  his  brother 
Tibertius.  This  was  promised,  and  was 
brought  about  by  the  persuasions  of 
Cecilia.  All  three  went  about  doing 
good,  until  they  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  enemies  of  Christianity,  when  the 
two  brothers  were  thrown  into  prison. 
They  converted  their  gaoler  Maximus, 
who  was  put  to  death  with  them,  and 
buried  with  them  by  St.  Cecilia  in  the 
cemetery  of  St.  Calixtus,  on  the  Appian 
Way. 

Almachius,  the  prefect  of  Borne,  con- 
demned her  to  death,  in  the  fear  that 
her  rank,  wealth,  and  charity  should 
promote  the  cause  of  Christianity.  To 
spare  the  ignominy  of  public  punishment, 
an  executioner  was  sent  to  her  house,  a 
common  act  of  courtesy  towards  persons 
of  high  rank  under  sentence  of  death. 
She  was  to  be  stifled  in  her  bath.  She 
suffered  a  whole  day  in  the  heat,  but  as 
it  did  not  even  injure  her,  the  man  tried 
to  behead  her.  His  hand,  however,, 
trembled  so  that  when  he  had  inflicted 
three  strokes  with  his  sword,  as  the  law 
did  not  allow  a  fourth,  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  her  mortally  wounded  and 
bleeding.  She  prayed  that  she  might 
live  until  she  had  bequeathed  her  house 
and  property  to  the.  Church.  She  lived 
thus  for  three  days,  receiving  visits  from 
the  faithful,  who  eagerly  collected  her 
blood  as  a  holy  relic,  while  she  conversed 
with  St.  Urban,  and  gave  him  her  final 
directions.     St.  Cecilia's  is  the  only 


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antique  private  bath  existing  in  Rome. 
The  bath-room  is  now  a  chapel  in  the 
church  of  Santa  Cecilia,  in  Trastevere, 
and  here  are  still  seen  the  metal  pipes 
for  bringing  in  the  water,  a  leaden  con- 
duit for  letting  it  off,  and  the  furnace 
underneath  for  heating  the  bath  accord- 
ing to  the  method  then  in  use.  At  her 
request,  Pope  Urban,  it  is  sidd,  dedicated 
the  house  as  a  church  before  her  death. 
Around  the  original  building  a  more 
stately  church  was  erected  by  Popo 
Pascal  L,  when  the  bodies  of  SS.  Cecilia, 
Valerian,  and  Tibertius  were  found  in 
the  cemetery  now  called  by  her  name, 
and  forming  part  of  that  of  St.  Calixtus. 
The  body  of  St.  Cecilia  was  wrapped  in 
a  cloth  of  gold,  or,  according  to  some 
accounts,  a  silken  robe  embroidered  with 
gold,  and  had  linen  cloths  at  the  feet, 
dipped  in  blood.  In  the  same  year  the 
body  of  Urban  was  found  in  an  old 
church  near  the  Appian  Way,  and  was 
translated  to  the  church  of  St.  Cecilia, 
which  is  still  standing,  but  so  modern- 
ized as  to  be  deprived  of  much  of  its 
interest. 

Her  name  is  in  the  Canon  of  the  Mass, 
in  the  oldest  Martyrologies  attributed  to 
St.  Jerome,  in  the  Breviary  and  Missal 
of  the  church  of  Milan  (4th  century), 
and  the  Sacramentary  of  St.  Gregory. 
Her  legend  is  in  every  collection  of  Lives 
of  the  Saints.  Her  Acta  are  not  authen- 
tic, nor  is  there  any  very  old  authority 
for  the  story  that  she  was  a  musician. 

B.M.  Butler,  Lives.  Baillet,  Vies. 
Smith  and  Wace,  Diet.  Christian  Biog. 
Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art. 
Villegas.  Leggendario  delle  Sante  Ver- 
gini.    Bede.    Hemans,  Monuments. 

St.  Cecilia  (2),  May  31,  M.  at  Ge- 
rona,  in  Spain.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cecilia  (3),  M.  304.  (See  Vic- 
toria OF  AVITINA.) 

St.  Cecilia  (4),  June  1,  M.  with  St. 

Aucega. 

St.  Cecilia  (5),  May  8,  M.  at  Con- 
stantinople with  St.  Acacius.  (See 
Agatha  (2).)  AA.SS. 

St.  Cecilia  (6),  June  2.  One  of  227 
Boman  martyrs  commemorated  together 
in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cecilia  (7),  or  Ckciria,  July  8, 
M.  at  Sirminia,  or  Sirniia,  in  Pannonia. 


Mentioned  in  St.  Jerome's  Martyrology. 
J.  B.  Soller,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Cecilia  (8),  M.  in  Sardinia. 
Patron  of  Cagliari.  Cahier. 

St.  Cecilia  (9),  companion  of  St. 
Ursula,  honoured  in  Spain. 

St.  Cecilia  (io\  Gegoberga. 

SS.  Cecilia  (11)  and  Benedicta 
(13),  Nov.  16.  Abbesses  of  Swestrens. 
Bucelinus,  from  Trithemius. 

B.  Cecilia  (12),  Aog.  4,  6 ;  with  B. 
Diana,  June  10.  O.S.D.  1201-1290. 
First  Dominican  nun.  Called  the  first 
plant  of  the  Second  Order,  and  the  first- 
born of  St.  Dominic. 

When,  in  1217,  St.  Dominic  wont  for 
the  second  time  to  Rome,  HoDorius  III., 
desiring  that  the  Dominicans  should 
have  a  house  there,  gave  him  the  church 
of  St.  Sixtns,  and  had  a  convent  built 
adjoining  it.  At  this  time  there  were 
many  nuns  living  in  Borne,  without 
"enclosure,"  and  almost  without  regu- 
larity— some  in  small  monasteries,  and 
some  in  the  houses  of  their  families. 
Innocent  III.  (1198-1216)  had  made 
several  unsuccessful  attempts  to  assemble 
them  all  in  one  house,  under  a  uniform 
rule  of  seclusion.  His  successor,  Hono- 
rius  III.,  instructed  St.  Dominic  to  bring 
about  this  reformation,  and,  at  his  re- 
quest, appointed  three  cardinals  to  act 
with  him.  In  order  to  remove  some  of 
the  difficulties,  St.  Dominic  offered  to 
give  up  his  new  convent  of  San  Sisto  to 
the  nuns,  and  to  build  a  new  one  for  his 
friars  at  St.  Salina.  The  monastery  of 
Sta.  Maria,  in  Trastevero,  was  the  prin- 
cipal one  where  the  scandal  had  to  be 
put  down,  and  thither  went  the  great 
preacher  and  his  three  colleagues,  and 
exhorted  the  nuns  with  so  much  charity 
and  eloquence  that  first  the  abbess  and 
then  all  the  nuns  but  one,  volunteered 
to  accept  the  stricter  rule  and  obey  the 
Pope.  No  sooner,  however,  had  the 
ecclesiastics  departed,  than  the  parents 
and  friends  of  the  nuns  came  and  re- 
monstrated, and  told  them  they  were 
doing  that  in  haste  which  they  would 
repent  at  lifelong  leisure,  that  their  house 
was  so  ancient  and  honourable,  their 
conduct  so  irreproachable,  their  privi- 
leges so  important,  that  they  were  by  no 
means  bound  to  accept  new  rules,  which, 


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had  they  known  before  they  took  the 
veil,  would  have  deterred  them  from 
monastic  life.  Hearing  all  this  from 
their  natural  advisers,  the  nuns  thought 
their  independence  too  precious  to  be 
renounced,  so  they  determined  not  to 
Bubmit.  St.  Dominic  left  them  alone  for 
a  few  days,  during  which  he  fasted  and 
prayed  and  commended  the  cause  to  God. 
He  then  went  back  to  St.  Mary's,  said 
Mass  there,  and  afterwards  addressed  the 
nuns  with  that  wonderful  gentleness 
which  no  one  could  resist,  asking  them 
if  they  could  repent  of  an  offer  they  had 
made  to  God,  or  refuse  to  give  them- 
selves up  to  Him  with  their  whole  heart 
and  without  reserve.  The  abbess  and 
all  the  nuns  renewed  their  former 
promise  to  him,  and  vowed  to  submit  in 
all  things  to  the  Pope's  wishes.  They 
begged  that  Dominic  himself  would  be 
their  director,  and  give  them  his  own 
rule.  He  agreed,  and  while  the  prepara- 
tions for  their  transfer  to  St.  Sixtus 
were  in  progress,  he  shut  the  gates,  and 
forbade  their  friends  and  relations  to 
come,  with  their  worldly  counsels,  to 
shake  the  pious  resolution  of  the  nuns. 

Early  in  Lent,  1218,  the  abbess  and 
some  of  the  nuns — amongst  them  the 
novice  Cecilia — settled  down  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Sixtus.  St.  Dominic  gave 
them  his  rule  and  his  habit.  They  were 
in  the  chapter  house,  discussing  the 
temporal  arrangements  of  the  community 
with  St.  Dominic  and  the  three  cardinals, 
one  of  whom  was  Stephen  of  Fossa  Nuova, 
cardinal-priest  of  the  twelve  apostles, 
when  a  man  came  running,  in  great 
distress,  to  Cardinal  Stephen,  to  tell  him 
that  his  nephew  Napoleon  had  been 
thrown  from  his  horse  and  killed  on  the 
spot.  Stephen  fell  on  Dominic's  breast, 
unable  to  speak  or  shed  a  tear.  Dominic 
ordered  the  young  man's  body  to  be 
brought  in,  and  prepared  to  say  Mass. 
An  immense  concourse  filled  the  church. 
Dominic,  while  he  held  up  the  host,  was 
himself  raised  in  ecstasy  a  whole  cubit 
from  the  ground,  to  the  wonder  and  edi- 
fication of  all  present.  Mass  being  over, 
he  went  and  stood  by  the  dead  body, 
laid  the  injured  limbs  straight,  shed 
some  tears  over  the  young  man,  and 
then,  after  kneeling  some  time  in  prayer, 


rose  and  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  over 
the  corpse ;  then,  raising  his  hands  to 
heaven,  and  being  at  the  same  time 
miraculously  raised  from  the  ground  and 
suspended  in  the  air,  he  cried  aloud, 
"Napoleon,  in  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  I  say  unto  thee,  Arise ! " 
That  instant  the  young  man  arose, 
healed  of  his  bruises  and  perfectly  well. 
Cecilia  loved  St.  Dominic  with  great 
devotion ;  he  regarded  her  with  fatherly 
affection,  calling  her  his  eldest  daughter. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen,  she  was  the  first 
nun  who  received  the  veil  from  his  hands. 
She  is  therefore  regarded  as  the  first 
Dominican  nun.  She  was  an  eye-witness 
of  several  of  his  great  works.  The  Nar- 
rative of  B.  Cecilia  is  one  of  the  most 
important  sources  for  the  history  of  St. 
Dominic  (Mamachi,  Annals  O.P.). 

The  Dominican  nuns  of  San  Sisto 
were  removed  by  St.  Pius  V.  to  the 
stately  monastery  of  Magnanapoli :  it 
became  a  very  favourite  convent  for 
ladies  of  the  highest  rank.  When  the 
convent  of  St.  Agneso  at  Bologna  had 
been  built  by  B.  Diana  degli  Andalo, 
Pope  Honorius  went  himself  to  the 
convent  of  San  Sisto,  and,  having  ex- 
plained to  the  nuns  how  much  it  grieved 
him  to  send  any  of  them  out  of  Rome, 
said  that  nevertheless  ho  wished  that 
four  of  them  should  go  to  Bologna  to 
instruct  the  new  community  there  in  the 
rule  of  their  blessed  founder.  He 
desired  them,  in  the  name  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  of  holy  obedience,  to  hold  a 
council  among  themselves  and  choose 
the  best  among  them  for  this  pious  work. 
They  obeyed,  and  chose  four  who  had 
received  the  habit  from  the  hands  of  St. 
Dominic.  Two  of  these  were  B.  Cecilia 
and  B.  Amata.  They  went  to  the  new 
convent  in  Bologna  in  1223,  two  years 
after  the  death  of  their  founder.  Cecilia 
did  her  duty  there  with  great  fervour 
and  energy  for  many  years,  and  at  last 
became  infirm  and  decrepit  and  died, 
being  nearly  ninety  years  of  age. 

Michele  Pio,  Predicatori.  AA.SS. 
Butler,  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  "  St. 
Dominic,"  Aug.  4. 

B.  Cecilia  (13)  of  Gubbio.  (See 
Gbnnaia.) 

St  Cecilia  (14)  of  Sweden,  Aug. 


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B.  CECILIA 


26.  t  1390.  Fourth  and  youngest 
daughter  of  St.  Brio  id  of  Sweden,  and 
sister  of  St.  Catherine  of  Sweden.  Her 
life  and  that  of  her  mother  were  in 
extreme  danger  at  the  time  of  her  birth, 
bnt,  owing  to  the  direct  intervention  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  both  were  preserved. 
The  Virgin  Mary  appeared  again  shortly 
afterwards  to  St.  Brigid,  and  exhorted 
her  to  show  gratitude  by  bringing  up 
her  children  piously  and  virtuously. 
Brigid  therefore  contemplated  making 
Cecilia  a  nun  in  the  convent  of  Schening, 
but  Cecilia  married  twice,  and,  as  a 
widow,  spent  her  life,  like  Tabitha,  in 
doing  good  to  the  poor.  Vastovius, 
Vitia  Aquilonia. 

B.  Cecilia  ( 15)  of  Ferrara,  Jan.  25, 
O.S.D.  j"  1507.  Contemporary  with 
another  Dominican,  B.  Cecilia  (16)  of 
Ferrara.  This  Cecilia  was  very  young, 
and  is  said  by  her  biographer  not  to 
have  known  what  sin  was.  She  prayed 
to  have  her  purgatory  in  this  world,  and 
obtained  that  grace  through  the  inter- 
cession of  B.  Beatrice,  one  of  her  fellow- 
nuns.  Accordingly  she  suffered  much 
from  ill  health.  She  broke  a  blood- 
vessel on  the  chest,  and  was  confined  to 
bed  for  six  months,  and  became  extremely 
thin.  During  her  illness,  she  endured 
great  temptations  of  the  devil,  though 
he  had  never  assailed  her  so  fiercely 
when  she  was  in  health.  She  prayed  to 
St.  Catherine  that  she  might  be  married 
to  Christ,  which  prayer  was  answered, 
for  after  her  death  a  ring  was  seen  on 
her  finger  by  B.  Calimeto  and  another 
holy  friar  of  Spain,  although  by  no  one 
else.  She  was  very  constant  in  the 
devotion  of  the  rosary,  and  the  B.  V. 
Mary  showed  her  acceptance  of  this 
service  by  causing  her  hands  to  smell 
of  roses  after  her  death.  She  is  not 
canonized.  Serafino  Bazzi,  Predicatori. 
Pio,  Uomini. 

B.  Cecilia  (16)  of  Ferrara,  March  7, 
May  4,  Dec.  19.  1511.  O.S.D.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  16th  century  there 
were  two  Cecilias,  in  two  convents  of 
St.  Catherine  at  Ferrara ;  they  were  both 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic,  and  both 
considered  saints  in  their  own  city  and 
order.  One  convent  was  under  the 
patronage  of  St.  Catherine  (1);  the 


other  of  St.  Catherine  (8).  To  dis- 
tinguish one  set  of  nuns  from  the  other, 
those  of  the  convent  of  St.  Catherine  (1) 
the  Martyr  were  called  "Le  Martiri," 
and  those  of  the  great  medieval  Siennese 
were  called  "  Le  Sanesi."  The  elder  of 
these  two  Blessed  Cecilias  was  born  about 
the  middle  of  the  1 5th  century,  and  had 
in  her  early  years  no  thought  of  becoming 
a  nun  until  a  holy  man  foretold  to  her 
that  such  was  her  destiny.  Believing 
his  words,  she  opposed  her  parents'  wish 
for  her  marriage  until  they  insisted  so 
much  that  she  had  to  give  way.  She 
married  a  good  young  man,  rich  in  virtues 
as  well  as  in  worldly  goods.  After  eight 
years  of  married  life,  in  I486,  they  parted 
by  mutual  consent.  He  became  a  monk 
in  the  convent  of  St.  Dominic,  and  she 
a  nun  in  that  of  St.  Catherine  the  Martyr* 
She  lived  there  thirty  years,  and  was 
three  times  prioress.  She  set  an  example 
of  great  virtue  and  piety  during  her  life, 
and  wrought  miracles  after  her  death. 
During  part  of  the  time  that  Cecilia  was 
one  of  the  Martin* ,  the  community  was 
ruled  by  B.  Antonia  of  Brescia,  in 
whose  Life  Cecilia  is  mentioned,  Oct.  27. 
AA.SS.,  P.B. 

St.  Ceciliana,  Feb.  16,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Cecilus,  Celedonia. 

St.  Ceciria,  Cecilia  (7). 

St.  Cecra,  Oct.  16  (Cacra,  Cerea, 
Etere).  3rd  or  4th  century.  M.  with 
270  others  in  Africa,  or  at  Tripoli  in 
Asia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cectamaria,  Ethembria. 

St.  Cefronia.  Fbbronia  is  honoured 
by  the  Ethiopians  under  this  name. 

St.  Ceinwen.  Granddaughter  of 
Brychan.  Possibly  same  as  St.  Keyna. 
Some  churches  in  Anglesea  are  dedicated 
in  the  name  of  Ceinwen.  (See  Almheda.) 
Rees. 

St.  Celadoine,  Chelidonia. 

St.  Celedonia,  or  Cecilus,  May  7, 
M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Celerina  (l),  Feb.  3,  M.  at 
Carthage,  early  in  the  3rd  century,  with 
her  son,  St.  Lauren tinus,  and  his  brother- 
in-law  and  fellow-soldier,  St.  Ignatius. 
These  martyrs  are  mentioned  in  several 
of  the  epistles  of  St.  Cyprian,  bishop  of 
Carthage,  to  Celerina's  grandson,  St. 


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Celeriniis,  deacon  and  confessor.  There 
was  a  church  at  Carthage  early  in  the 
5th  century,  whose  dedication  was  in  the 
name  of  St.  Celerina.  AA.SS.  Baillet, 
Vies.    Smith  and  Waco,  Christian  Biog. 

St.  Celerina  (2),  Sept.  28,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Celesta,  April  l<3,  M.  at  Rome. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Celestina  (l),  Digna  (l). 

St.  Celestina  (2),  April  0,  V.  M. 
Commemorated  with  eight  hundred  other 
martyrs  in  the  collegiate  church  of  St. 
Mary  at  Utrecht.  Henschenius.  AA.SS. 

B.  Celestina  (3),  one  of  the  nine 
sisters  of  St.  Rainfrede. 

B.  Celeswintha,  Galswixtha. 

St.  Celine,  Cilinia  (i). 

B.  Celsa.    (See  Berlendis.) 

St.  Cenburg,  Quenbttrga. 

St.  Cenedlon,  a  saint  on  the  moun- 
tain of  Cymorth,  prohahly  near  New- 
X»8tle,  in  Emlyn.  Daughter  of  Brychan. 
(See  Almheda.)  Bees. 

St.  Cenen,  Keyna. 

St  Centolla,  August  13,  V.  M. 
Probably  time  of  Diocletian.  St.  Cen- 
tolla was  put  to  the  torture  to  induce 
her  to  renounce  the  Christian  faith.  St. 
Helen  (2)  (called  in  some  accounts  a 
widow)  came  and  stood  by,  and  com- 
forted and  encouraged  her  in  her  deter- 
mination. Centolla  answered,  "  See  that 
you  also  be  of  good  courage,  for  you  are 
soon  to  be  put  to  death  for  Christ's  sake." 
And  so  it  happened,  for  these  things 
being  told  to  the  governor,  he  had  them 
both  beheaded,  lest  the  number  of  the 
Christians  should  increase.  Some  ac- 
counts say  Centolla  was  a  native  of 
Toledo.  In  the  13th  century  their  bodies 
were  translated  with  great  honour  into 
the  cathedral  of  Burgos.  R.M.  AA.SS. 
Bollandi. 

St.  Cephinia,  Tryphonia. 

St.  Cera,  Jan.  5,  Oct.  16  (C  HERA, 
Chier,  Ciara,  Ctra  (2),  Kiara),  V. 
Abbess.    6th  or  7th  century. 

Under  these  six  names,  and  perhaps 
more,  and  at  dates  a  century  apart,  two 
famous  virgins  of  the  early  Irish  Church 
are  honoured.  They  are  often  confounded 
together,  and  it  may  be  that  only  one 
saint  is  commemorated,  and  that  mis- 
takes in  the  monastic  records  have  placed 


her  sometimes  in  one  century,  sometimes 
in  another.  Supposing,  with  Lanigan, 
that  there  were  two,  the  accounts  are  as 
follows : — 

I.  At  Muscraig,  in  Momonia,  a  great 
fire,  with  a  horrible  smell,  broke  out 
from  the  earth.  The  people  applied  to 
St.  Brendan  to  save  them  from  this 
plague  and  terror.  He  told  them  to  go 
to  Cera,  by  whose  prayers  they  should 
be  delivered.  They  went  to  her.  She 
prayed,  and  the  fire  disappeared. 

II.  The  other  St.  Cera,  or  Cyra,  was 
the  daughter  of  Duibhre,  or  Dubreus,  of 
the  blood  of  the  kings  of  Connor.  When 
St.  Munna,  or  Fintan  Munnu,  had  lived 
five  years  at  Heli,  a  virgin  named  Chier, 
attended  by  five  other  virgins,  came  to* 
him,  and  asked  for  a  place  where  they 
might  serve  God.  He  and  his  monks 
gave  up  their  abode  and  the  work  of  the 
place  to  the  nuns,  and  went  away,  taking 
necessaries  for  the  journey  in  a  cart 
with  two  oxen.  He  gave  his  blessing  to* 
Cera,  but  told  her  the  place  should  not 
be  called  by  her  name,  but  by  that  of  the 
man  who,  on  that  day,  made  three  jubi- 
lations in  Agro  Miodhluachne,  i.e.  St. 
Telle,  the  son  of  Segen.  The  place  was 
called  Tech  Telle.  Cera  died  679.  One 
of  these  SS.  Cera  founded  and  governed 
a  famous  monastery  of  nuns  at  Kilchere, 
orEilorea.  Colgan,  Irish  Saints.  AA.SS. 
Brit.  Sancta.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 
Lanigan. 

St.  Cercyra,  April  29,  V.  M.,  c.  100, 
at  Corfu.  SS.  Jason  and  Sosipater  con- 
verted many  of  the  people  of  Corfu  to- 
Christianity,  and  were  therefore  cast 
into  prison,  with  seven  robbers  who  were 
among  their  converts.  The  robbers 
were  then  thrown  into  a  caldron  full  of 
burning  sulphur  and  pitch.  Cercyra, 
the  daughter  of  Ceroilinus,  king  or 
governor  of  Corfu,  looked  secretly  out  at 
the  gate  to  'see  the  torments  of  the 
Christian  martyrs.  She  was  so  impressed 
that  she  immediately  embraced  the  same 
faith.  Her  father,  enraged,  gave  her  to 
a  savage  Ethiopian,  from  whom  she  was 
defended  by  a  bear.  Whereupon,  the 
Ethiopian  was  converted,  and,  declaring 
himself  to  be  a  Christian,  was  put  to  the 
sword.  St.  Cercyra  was  suspended  over 
a  fire  until  she  was  nearly  choked  with 


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ST.  CEREA 


smoke,  and  was  then  pierced  with  arrows 
and  crashed  with  stones.  She  is  com- 
memorated with  St.  Saturninus,  the  chief 
of  the  seven  thieves.    Men.  of  Basil. 

St.  Cerea,  Cecka. 

St.  Cerentia,  Aug.  10,  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cereta,  April  27.  tc-  1324- 
Nun,  O.S.A.    Disciple  of  B.  Clara  of 

MONTEFALCO.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cerille,  or  Cicercula,  honoured 
from  time  immemorial  in  a  church  of 
Berry.  Migne,  Die.  Hag.  Chatelain, 
French  Mart.  Possibly  one  of  the  SS. 
Oyrilla. 

St.  Cerona  (l ),  Corona. 

St.  Cerona  (2),  Nov.  10,  Feb.  3. 
t4i)u. 

Bepresented  in  a  nun's  dress,  holding 
a  book  in  her  left  hand,  to  imply  that 
she  brought  the  gospel  to  the  district 
where  she  settled. 

Cerona  was  born  at  the  village  of 
Cornillan,  near  Beziers.  Sho  fled  with 
her  brother  Sophronius  from  the  house 
of  their  heathen  parents.  With  great 
fatigue  and  trouble  they  arrived  at 
Bordeaux,  where  they  got  the  bishop  to 
instruct  and  baptize  them,  and  in  time 
to  confer  holy  orders  on  Sophronius  and 
the  sacred  veil  on  Cerona.  They  were 
maligned  by  some  wicked  people,  who 
said  they  were  not  brother  and  sister, 
hut  concealed  an  unholy  love  under  the 
pretence  of  relationship.  So  they  decided 
to  separate.  Sophronius  went  to  Borne 
to  visit  the  tombs  of  the  Apostles,  and 
<3ied  in  odour  of  sanctity.  Cerona  went 
northward,  and,  after  many  dangers, 
arrived  in  the  diocese  of  Seez  about  440. 
Here  she  built  a  little  cell,  in  a  solitary 
wooded  place  near  Mortagne,  between 
the  ancient  town  of  Mont  Cacune  and 
the  hill  of  Mont  Bomigny.  Some  pious 
women  gathered  round  her,  and  with  the 
-consent  of  Hile,  bishop  of  Seez,  she 
founded  for  them  the  first  monastery  in 
that  diocese.  She  built  two  chapels  or 
oratories  near,  one  of  them  on  the  spot 
where  now  stands  a  church  called  by 
her  name.  She  worked  very  assiduously 
At  the  conversion  of  the  inhabitants  to 
Christianity,  building  one  of  her  chapels 
on  a  spot  where  they  used  to  practise 
heathen  rites  as  part  of  their  funeral 
ceremonies.    In  her  old  age  she  became 


blind.  To  help  her  to  visit  her  two 
oratories  every  day,  she  had  wire 
stretched  from  one  to  the  other,  that  she 
might  guide  herself  by  taking  hold  of  it. 
Children  and  shepherds  several  times 
mischievously  broke  this  wire ;  it  was 
as  often  miraculously  joined  again.  She 
died  Nov.  15,  MH).  P.B. 

St.  Cerose,  Sicildis. 

St.  Cerota,  or  Cerote,  Sicildis. 

St.  Cesarea,  May  15,  V.  Born  at 
Villa  Franca,  in  Calabria.  Her  father 
was  a  rich  man  named  Aloysius.  His 
beautiful  wife,  Lucretia,  on  her  death- 
bed, obtained  from  him  a  promise  that  if 
he  married  again,  he  would  choose  a 
wife  equal  to  her,  not  only  in  beauty  but 
in  piety.  None  such  could  be  found, 
except  her  daughter  Cesarea,  whom 
accordingly  Aloysius  wished  to  marry. 
Cesarea,  like  St.  Dympna  of  Gheel,  fled 
from  her  home  to  avoid  so  horrible  a 
crime,  and  took  refuge  in  a  cavern  near 
the  sea,  which  could  only  be  approached 
in  calm  weather,  and  even  then  was  very 
difficult  of  access.  Here  she  lived  in 
holy  seclusion  and  performed  miraculous 
cures,  before  and  after  her  death,  by 
means  of  a  sulphurous  fountain  in  the 
cave.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cesaria  (l),  Nov.  1,  at  Borne. 
Mart.  Reichenan. 

St.  Cesaria  (2),  March  25,  M. 
Migne. 

St.  Cesaria  (3),  Jan.  1 2,  V.  Abbess, 
"f  c.  530.  Sister  of  St.  Cesarius,  arch- 
bishop of  Aries,  a  man  of  great  holiness 
and  charity.  Cesaria  was  born  late  in 
the  fifth  century,  and  brought  up  in  a 
nunnery  at  Marseilles,  probably  that 
founded  by  Cassian.  Cesarius  became 
archbishop  of  Aries  in  501,  and  soon 
afterwards  built  a  monastery  there,  with 
a  very  large  church,  for  his  sister  and  a 
community  of  nuns,  of  which  he  ap- 
pointed her  the  head.  He  worked  at  the 
building  with  his  own  hands.  The  house 
was  at  first  called  St.  John's,  but  after- 
wards came  to  be  called  by  the  name  of 
its  first  abbess,  St.  Cesaria.  In  507 
Aries  was  besieged  by  Theodoric,  king 
of  Italy.  Cesaria  and  her  nuns  fled  to 
Marseilles,  and  their  house  was  destroyed. 
When  peace  was  restored,  Cesarius  re- 
built the  convent.    The  nuns  returned, 


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ST.  CHELIDONIA 


173 


and  there  Cesaria  died,  in  530.  She 
was  succeeded  by  another  Cesaria,  who 
was  living  twelve  years  afterwards,  at 
the  time  of  the  death  of  the  good  arch- 
bishop. By  his  will,  which  is  extant, 
he  left  all  his  property  to  the  nunnery. 
The  rule  which  St.  Cesarius  drew  up  for 
the  nuns  may  be  read  in  his  Life,  by  the 
Bollandists.  It  was  afterwards  changed 
in  this  monastery  for  that  of  St.  Benedict. 
Butler, "  St.  Cesarius,"  Aug.  27.  Baring- 
Gould.    AA.SS.  Baillet. 

St.  Cesaria  (4),  Casaria  (l). 

St.  Cessia,  Nov.  1,  M.  at  Terracina, 
with  seven  women  and  eight  men,  at  the 
end  of  the  1st  century.  Mentioned  in 
the  old  martyrologies.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cetamaria,  Ethembria. 

St.  Cethuberes,  or  Cethubris, 
Ethembria. 

St.  Cetumbria,  Ethembria. 

St.  C  haphte,  or  Ch  apthe,  Agatha  ( 1 ). 

SS.  Chariessa,  or  Cariesse,  Chris- 
tiana ( 1),  or  Christina  (2),  Basilissa 
(4 ),  Galla,  Gallena,  Lota,  Nunechia, 
Calis,  Nice,  Tertia,  and  Theodora, 
April  16.  3rd  century.  These  saints 
were  taken  to  Corinth  and  made  to  walk 
to  the  seashore.  Chariessa  sang  psalms 
and  hymns  loudly  the  whole  way.  They 
were  put  on  board  ship  and,  when  thirty 
stadia  from  the  J  and,  a  stono  was  fastened 
to  the  neck  of  each,  and  they  were  all 
thrown  into  the  water.  AA.SS. 

St.  Charis,  or  Caris,  Jan.  28,  M. 
There  is  a  Greek  distich  saying  that 
when  her  feet  were  cut  off  she  ran  to 
heaven,  her  soul  being  more  nimble 
when  her  body  was  lame.  Date  unknown. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Charisia,  Carisia  (i). 

St.  Charissima,  Carissima. 

St.  Charitana,  or  Caritaine,  June 
12,  M.  at  Rome. 

St.  Charitina  (l),  Oct.  5,  Jan.  15, 
M.  at  Amisus,  in  Pontus,  about  304. 
Patron  of  Venice  and  Carthagena. 

Represented  (1)  with  an  angel  extin- 
guishing a  funeral  pile  ;  (2)  with  a  pair 
of  tongs. 

Charitina  was  servant  to  a  Christian, 
named  Claudius,  who  was  much  grieved 
when  he  was  ordered  to  deliver  her  up 
to  Domitius,  comes  under  Diocletian ; 
but  she  comforted  him,  and  said  she 


would  offer  her  life  as  a  sacrifice  for  his 
and  her  own  sins.  He  begged  her  to 
pray  for  him  in  the  heavenly  kingdom. 
Burning  coals  were  strewn  on  her  head, 
and  after  other  tortures  she  was  thrown 
into  the  sea.  She  considered  that  would 
stand  in  the  place  of  baptism.  She  was 
not  drowned  but  came  safely  out  of  the 
water  and  stood  before  her  persecutor, 
who  inflicted  various  tortures;  finally 
her  teeth  were  pulled  out  and  her  fingers 
and  toes  cut  off,  and  she  died  of  exhaustion. 

B.M.,  Oct  5.  Men.  Basil,  Jan.  15, 
AA.SS.  The  Bollandists,  in  their  account 
of  this  saint,  say  there  is  another  St. 
Charitina,  Sept.  4.  Hosenbeth,  Emblems. 

St.  Charitina  (2),  Oct.  5.  A  mem- 
ber  of  the  family  of  the  dukes  of  Poland. 
Married  Theodore,  a  Russian  prince. 
After  his  death  she  became  a  nun  in  tha 
convent  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul.  Date 
uncertain.  Annual  commemoration  in 
some  places  in  the  province  of  Novgorod. 
Grseco-Slav.  Calendar.  AA.SS. 

St.  Charito,  June  1,  V.  M.  c.  167. 
Scourged  and  beheaded  at  Rome,  with 
St.  Justin  and  two  other  Christians.  A 
short  account  of  their  trial  and  execution 
is  given  in  Greek  and  Latin  by  Pape- 
broch,  from  ancient  judicial  Acts.  The 
narrative  differs  from  many  of  its  class 
in  that  it  contains  no  miracles,  no  theo- 
logical argument,  no  denouncing  of  the 
judge  or  officers  of  justice  by  the 
prisoners,  no  wholesale  conversion  or 
destruction  of  spectators  or  executioners. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Charity  (1).  See  Faith,  Hope,. 
and  Charity. 

St.  Charity  (2),  Deo.  25.  Abbess  at 
Bethlehem.  Ferrarius. 

St.  Chatte,  Agatha. 

St.  Chelidonia,  Oct.  13  (Celadoine, 
Cheladoina,  Clabidonia,  Cleridona 
V.  Anchorite,  t  1152-  0ne  of  the 
patrons  of  Subiaco.  Born  of  a  good 
family  in  the  Abruzzi,  singularly  pious 
from  her  earliest  childhood,  she  lived 
nearly  sixty  years  as  a  recluse  among 
the  mountains  near  Subiaco.  After  she 
had  begun  her  solitary  life,  she  made  a 
pilgrimage  to  Rome.  On  her  return,  she 
took  the  veil,in  the  convent  of  St.  Scholas- 
tics at  Subiaco.  Instead  of  remaining 
there,  she  spent  the  rest  of  her  life  in 


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ST.  CHELIXDRA 


her  hermitage.  People  uged  to  send  her 
food,  and  when  they  neglected  her  she 
was  fed  by  ravens,  like  Elijah.  Many 
persons  resorted  to  her  to  be  cured  of 
divers  diseases.  At  the  hour  of  her 
death,  a  great  light  appeared  around  the 
place,  so  that  people  thought  there  was 
a  frightful  conflagration,  and  some  feared 
the  convent  was  on  fire.  Bucelinus  says 
she  was  born  at  Cellis,  in  Calabria ;  he 
calls  her  Claridonia,  abbess  of  Subiaco. 
There  is  a  fresco  of  her  in  the  monas- 
tery ;  on  the  dress  is  a  curious  inscrip- 
tion, scratched  apparently  by  a  chaplain 
of  Pope  Pius  II.  (1458-1464),  when  he 
was  celebrating  Mass  there.  B.M. 
AA.SS.  Hare,  Cities  of  Italy,  p.  43. 
Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 

St.  Chelindra,  or  Quelindbis,  V.  M. 
Formerly  honoured  at  Utrecht.  Guerin. 

St.  Chendechildis,  Theodbchild. 

St.  Chera,  Cera. 

St.  Ch6rie,  Pulcheria. 

St.  Chiara  O),  Italian  for  Clara. 

St.  Chiara  (2),  Cera, 

B.  Chiaretta.  (See  Illuminata  (2).) 

St.  Chier,  Cira. 

St.  Childechinda,  Childbchindis,  or 
€hilderada.  583.  Daughter  of 
€bilperic  I.  by  his  first  wife,  St.  Audo- 
vera.  Banished  in  her  infancy,  with 
her  mother,  to  the  monastery  of  Le 
Mans,  where  she  spent  nine  years  very 
piously,  and  was  put  to  the  sword  by 
order  of  the  wicked  Queen  Fredegund. 
Her  murder  is  supposed  to  have  procured 
her  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  The  snow 
of  her  innocence,  adorned  with  the  blood 
of  her  martyrdom,  was  more  glorious 
than  the  purple  robes  of  royalty.  Buce- 
linus, Men.  Ben.  Wion,  Lignum  Vitse, 
lib.  iv.  cap.  28. 

St.  Childemara,  Hildemar. 

St.  Childerada,  Childechinda. 

St.  Childomerga,  Hildemar. 

St.  Chilsuinta,  Galsuintha. 

St.  Chimoia,  Feb.  5,  M.  in  Japan. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Chinedrithae,  Kynedride. 

St.  Chinesdre,  Kynedride. 

St.ChinreachaDercain,V.  Abbess. 
Mentioned  in  Life  of  St.  Ita.  Identified 
with  Kairecha,  called  also  Dercain. 
Erroneously  identified  with  Kunera. 
OBanlon. 


St.  Chionia,  sister  of  Agape  (3)  and 
Irene. 

St.  Chlodsendis,  Glodesind. 

Chlotichilda,  Clotilda  (1). 

St.  Chonta,  Quinta. 

St.  Choticlia,  Cotilia. 

St.  Chottia,  Cotilia. 

St.  Chreme,  Carissima. 

St.  Chresta,  Christa. 

St.  Chrischona.  (See  Cunigund  (l).) 

St.  Christa  ( 1).  (See  Callista  (lj.) 

St.  Christa  (2),  Chresta,  or  Crasta, 
June  4.  M.  in  Cilicia,  or  Sicilia,  i.e. 
Sicily.  AA.SS. 

St.  Christeia,  Christie. 

St.  Christes,  V.  Daughter  of  St. 
Thermantia  (q.v.). 

St.  Christeta,  M.  (See  Sarina  and 
Christeta.^) 

St.  Christiana  (l).  (See  Chariessa.) 

St  Christiana  (2),  Feb.  6,  M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Christiana  f3),  Dec.  15  (Chris- 
tiana -  Ancilla,  Christiana  -  Escrava, 
Chribtiana-Captiva,  etc.).  4th  century. 
A  Christian  captive  who  converted  the 
Iberians.  B.M.  Butler.  She  seems  to 
be  more  generally  called  Nino. 

St.  Christiana  (4).   B.M.  Euma. 

St.  Christiana  (5),  or  Chrischona. 
(See  Cunegund  (1).) 

B.  Christiana  (0),  Oringa. 

St.  Christiancie,  companion  of  St. 
Ursula.  BaiUet. 

St.  Christicola,  June  19,  V.  M. 
Companion  of  St.  Ursula.  Her  fete 
held  at  Prague  this  day.  AA.SS. 
Prseter. 

St.  Christie,  or  Christeia,  honoured 
in  the  diocese  of  Auch.  P.B. 

St.  Christina  (l),  July  24,  V.  M. 
c.  302.  Patron  of  Torcello  in  Venice, 
the  Venetian  States,  Bolsena,  Paternio, 
of  children  at  Orleans. 

Represented  (1)  holding  arrows  or  a 
book  and  an  arrow, — a  square  furnace  with 
flames  coming  out  of  it  stands  near  her, 
in  the  distance  a  tower  on  a  hill,  sepa- 
rated from  her  by  a  lake ;  (2 )  tied  to  a 
pillar  and  shot  with  arrows ;  (3)  a  mill- 
stone by  her  side ;  (4)  with  serpents. 

Christina  was  so  called  after  her  con- 
version to  Christianity ;  her  former  name 
is  unknown.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Urbanus,  a  Roman  patrician,  governor 


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of  the  town  of  Tyro,  which  stood  on  ah 
island  in  the  Lake  of  Vnlsininm,  now 
Bolsena.  Urbantts  shut  her  up  in  a  tower 
with  twelve  maids,  who  were  charged  to 
bring  her  back  to  the  worship  of  the 
gods.  Having  no  money,  she  broke  her 
father's  gold  and  silver  idols,  and  gave 
the  pieces  to  the  beggars.  Her  father 
therefore  ordered  her  to  be  beaten  and 
thrown  into  a  dungeon,  where  angels 
comforted  her  and  healed  her  stripes. 
She  was  next  thrown  into  the  lake  with 
a  millstone  round  her  neck.  Angels 
held  up  the  stone,  and  floated  her  safe 
to  land.  UrbanuR  had  a  fire  lighted,  and 
put  her  in  it.  She  remained  five  days 
unharmed,  singing  praises  to  God.  He 
then  had  her  head  shaved,  and  dragged 
her  to  the  temple  of  Apollo,  intending 
to  compel  her  to  sacrifice.  As  soon  as 
she  looked  upon  the  statue  of  the  god, 
it  fell  down  before  her,  and  her  father 
fell  dead  from  wonder  and  rage.  His 
successor,  Julian,  heard  Christina  sing- 
ing in  her  prison.  He  had  her  tongue 
cut  out,  whereupon  she  sang  better 
than  ever.  Then  he  shut  her  up  in  a 
dungeon  with  serpents,  but  they  could 
not  harm  her,  so  he  had  her  bound  to  a 
tree  and  shot  with  arrows ;  and  thus  she 
died. 

The  Spanish  version  of  the  story  of 
St.  Christina  contains  horrid  details  of 
her  martyrdom,  and  fierce  reproaches 
interchanged  between  her  and  her  father: 
When  Julian  had  her  tongue  cut  out, 
she  took  it  and  threw  it  in  his  face  and 
put  out  his  eye. 

It  has  been  believed  in  some  times  and 
places  that  Christina  had  the  privilege 
of  restoring  one  person  to  health  each 
day.  Consequently  it  was  the  custom  to 
commend  a  sick  person  to  her  as  soon  as 
possible  after  midnight,  that  her  favour 
might  not  be  already  bespoken.  The 
Church  of  Eome  retains  the  worship  of 
this  saint,  but  condemns  this  practice 
as  an  idle  superstition,  and  forbids  the 
legend  to  be  read  in  the  churches. 

She  is  said  to  have  been  only  eleven 
years  old  at  the  time  of  her  martyrdom. 
This  is  doubtless  the  reason  she  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  patron  saints  of  chil- 
dren, and  adopted  as  the  patron  of  the 
Congregation  of  Ste.  Cbretienne  for 


Education,  founded  at  Metz  in  1807  by 
Monseigneur  Jauffret,  bishop  of  Metz. 

B.M.  AA.SS.  Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred 
and  Legendary  Art.  Flos  Sanctorum. 
Villegas,  who  quotes  Bede,  Ado,  and 
Usuardus.  Baronius,  Annates.  Men.  of 
Basil.  Butler.  Baillet.  Leggendario  delle 
Sante  Vergini.  Thiers,  Traiti  des  Super. 
stittonSy  i.  258  (1777).  Cahier.  Husen- 
beth. 

St.  Christina  (2).  (See  Chabie'ssa.) 

St.  Christina  (3),  May  30,  M.  burned 
at  Nicomedia.  with  a  great  multitude  of 
Christians.    Papebroch,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Christina  (4),  March  13,  V.  M. 
in  Persia.  R.M. 

St.  Christina  (5)  of  Brittany,  June 
17.  6th  century.  Called  Tinaik  Kristna, 
or  Sanictb  Christiennb  de  Bretagne, 
devoted  servant  and  disciple  of  the  blind 
St.  Hervey  or  Houarne  (June  17).  Mas 
Latrie  and  Guerin  call  her  his  sister; 
but,  according  to  Villemarque,  Legends 
Celtique,  she  was  still  young  when,  in 
his  extreme  old  age,  he  gave  her  his  last 
commands  and  blessing,  and  died  before 
the  altar,  in  his  own  little  church.  Chris- 
tina served  and  obeyed  him  to  the  last 
moment  of  his  life,  and  then  she  lay 
down  at  his  feet  and  died. 

St.  Christina  (6),  July  25,  26.  8th 
century.  Patron  of  Dendermond,  in 
Brabant,  where  her  relics  are  kept  in 
the  collegiate  church.  Legend  says  she 
was  the  only  child  of  Migranimus,  a 
heathen  king  of  England,  and  his  Scotch 
wife  Marona.  They  had  been  childless 
for  many  years  when  this  daughter  was 
born.  She  grew  up  good  and  beautiful 
Her  father  built  a  temple  of  Venus  and 
placed  her  in  it,  with  seven  maids  to 
take  care  of  her.  One  day  a  pilgrim 
begged  for  alms  in  the  name  of  Christ. 
She  asked  who  Christ  was ;  this  led  to 
her  conversion  and  baptism.  The  French 
Martyrology  says  she  was  taken  across 
the  sea,  by  an  angel,  to  Dickelven  on 
the  Scheldt,  to  lead  a  solitary  life ;  was 
martyred  and  buried  there,  and  trans- 
lated to  Dendermond  in  the  following 
century.  The  Analecta  Juris  Pontificii, 
iii.  p.  1834,  calls  her  daughter  of  King 
Trigaminus,  and  says  she  was  led  by  an 
angel  into  Scotland,  and  thence  to  Bel- 
gium, where  she  could  worship  God 


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176 


ST.  CHRISTINA 


better  in  a  poor  little  hut  than  in  marble 
halls.  AA.SS.  Brit.  Sane.  Martin. 
Guerin. 

St.  Christina  (7),  Nov.  20,  Sept  7, 
Deo.  5,  Aug.  11,  March  3,  V.  j"  about 
1100.  Abbess  of  Romsey.  Daughter  of 
Prince  Edward,  and  of  Agatha,  who  was 
a  nun  with  her  at  Romsey.  Grand- 
daughter of  King  Edmund  II.  of  Eng- 
land. Sister  of  St.  Margaret,  queen  of 
Scotland.  She  educated  her  nieces  Edith 
or  Matilda,  queen  of  England,  and  Mary, 
countess  of  Boulogne.  She  compelled 
them  to  wear  the  dress  of  nuns,  but  they 
did  not  take  monastic  vows.  Memorial 
of  Ancient  British  Piety.  Bishop  Forbes, 
Kalendars :  Analecta,  iii.  col.  1834.  Buce- 
linus,  Men.  Ben.,  Aug.  11.  Ferrarius. 
Wion,  Lignum  Vitse.  Eckenstein. 

St.  Christina  (8),  May  18.  12th 
century.  Queen  of  Sweden.  Of  the 
Stenkil  family;  her  father  was  Biorn 
of  Denmark;  her  mother,  Catherine, 
daughter  of  St.  Ingo  IV.  and  St.  Ragn- 
hild,  king  and  queen  of  Sweden  (1118- 
1129).  Christina  married  first,  Jarislav 
Haraldson,  prince  of  Holmgard;  and 
secondly,  Eric  IX.,  callod  "The  Saint," 
and  "The  Lawgiver"  (1155-1161  ac- 
cording to  Haydn ;  1141-1151  according 
to  Butler) ;  also  called  Henry,  a  Swedish 
nobleman,  son  of  Iadward.  He  assisted 
Ingo  to  conquer  the  Finns,  and  sent  St. 
Henry,  bishop  of  Upsala,  an  Englishman 
and  friend  of  Nicholas  Breakspear,  to 
instruct  the  people  and  convert  them  to 
Christianity.  Henry  is  therefore  called 
the  Apostle  of  Finland,  where  he  fell  a 
martyr  to  his  mission.  On  the  death  of 
King  Swerker,  or  Smercher,  Eric  was 
chosen  king  on  account  of  his  virtues 
and  prowess.  Eric  was  content  with  his 
own  property;  he  levied  no  taxes,  and 
would  not  even  accept  the  third  of  the 
confiscations,  which  belonged  to  the  kings. 
He  collected  the  laws  into  a  code  for  his 
people,  and  won  their  lasting  affection 
by  his  wise  and  upright  rule.  His 
cousin,  Henry  Scateler,  son  of  Sueno, 
king  of  the  Danes,  claimed  to  be  heir  to 
the  throne  of  Sweden  through  his  mother, 
and  having  raised  troops  and  bribed  some 
influential  persons  among  the  Swedes, 
devised  the  death  of  the  unsuspecting 
saint.   While  Eric  was  hearing  Mass  on 


Ascension  Day,  his  attendants  came  and 
told  him  that  the  hostile  army  was 
near,  but  he  would  not  go  out  to  battle 
until  the  Mass  was  ended.  Then  he 
went  bravely  against  the  enemy,  and  was 
killed  or  taken  alive,  fighting,  and  be- 
headed next  day.  On  the  spot  where  he 
fell,  a  spring  of  water  arose,  which  works 
marvellous  cures.  He  is  regarded  as  a 
martyr  of  justice  and  order.  He  was 
the  chief  patron  saint  of  Sweden  until 
the  Reformation,  and  is  still  remembered 
with  affection.  His  tomb  is  preserved 
undefaced,  and  King  Eric's  code  is  re- 
garded with  respect.  Christina  survived 
many  years  in  great  sanctity.  She  left 
two  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom 
Knut  was  afterwards  king  of  Sweden, 
and  Margaret  was  queen  of  Norway. 
Vastovius,  Vitis  Aquilonia.  Butler  and 
Baillet  each  give  the  Life  of  St.  Eric, 
but  do  not  call  Christina,  or  her  parents 
or  grandparents,  saints.  Her  worship  is 
probably  local ;  it  is  mentioned  in  Ana- 
lecta  Juris  Pontificii,  iii.  1834.  Benzol- 
stierna's  History  of  Sweden,  by  Olof 
Dalin,  ii.  p.  127,  Dahnert's  German  ver- 
sion. Vita  S.  Erici,  in  Fant  and  Anner- 
stedt,  Script.  Ber.  Suecicarum. 

St.  Christina  (9),  July  24,  "the 
Wonderful."  fc.  1224,  V.  Sometimes 
represented  in  a  font.  She  was  the 
youngest  of  three  sisters  living  at  St» 
Trudonopolis  (St.  Tron),  in  Brabant* 
On  the  death  of  their  pious  parents  the 
three  divided  their  labours  thus:  the 
eldest  was  to  pray,  the  second  to  keep 
the  house,  and  the  third  to  keep  the 
sheep.  Soon  Christina,  the  shepherdess, 
fell  ill  and  died.  Next  day  she  was 
carried  to  the  church  amid  the  lamenta- 
tions of  her  sisters  and  the  sympathy 
of  their  friends.  While  the  Mass  was 
being  said  for  her  repose,  she  sat  up  on 
the  bier,  and  then  went  like  a  bird  on 
to  the  rafters  of  the  church.  All  fled 
in  terror  except  her  eldest  sister.  At 
the  end  of  the  Mass,  Christina  was  com- 
pelled by  the  priest  to  come  down.  She 
returned  home  with  her  sisters,  and  was 
refreshed  with  food.  She  told  her 
friends  that  immediately  after  her  death 
she  was  taken  by  angels  to  purgatory, 
where  she  saw  souls,  many  of  which 
were  those  of  persons  she  knew,  suffering 


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ST.  CHRISTINA 


such  dreadful  pains  that  she  thought 
this  must  be  hell.    She  was  then  shown 
hell,  where  also  she  recognized  some  of 
her  friends.    Afterwards  she  was  taken 
to  paradise,  where  God  welcomed  and 
congratulated  her  on  her  arrival,  and 
bade  her  choose  whether  she  would 
remain  with  Him  in  heaven  for  ever, 
or  return  to  earth  for  some  years  and' 
suffer,  that  her  sufferings  might  avail  to 
release  all  the  souls  she  had  seen  and 
pitied  in  purgatory,  and  also,  by  a  life 
of  penance,  convert  many  persons  still 
living  in  the  world.    She  chose,  with- 
out  hesitation,  to  go  back  and  suffer. 
She  added  that  her  friends  must  not  bo 
astonished  at  the  wonderful  things  that 
would  happen  to  her,  as  they  were 
ordained  by  God. 

From  this  time  Christina  fled  from 
the  presence  of  her  fellow-creatures  with 
horror,  and  abode  in  desert  places,  in 
trees,  or  on  the  tops  of  towers  or  churches 
People  thought  her  possessed  of  devils, 
«nd  caught  and  bound  her  repeatedly, 
but  m  vain;  she  always  escaped  again, 
^hen  she  was  suffering  from  hunger 
«ne  would  on  no  account  return  home, 
but  prayed  God  to  mitigate  her  suffer- 
ings    In  answer  to  her  prayer  she  was 
gabled  to  live  on  milk  from  her  own 
breast  for  nine  weeks.    She  used  to  go 
into  hot  ovens,  and  scream  as  if  in  tor- 
ments, but  always  came  out  uninjured, 
bhe  threw  herself  into  boilers  full  of 
boiling  water,  and  while  remaining 
there  some  time  she   screamed  and 
groaned,  but  no  trace  of  scalding  or 
burning  was  visible  on  her  body  after- 
wards.   She  held  her  hand  in  the  fire, 
spent  days  in  icy  water,  she  was  bitten 
by  dogs,  went  round  in  a  mill-wheel, 
hung  herself  on  a  gibbet  under  the 
corpses  of  robbers,  and  spent  some  time 
m  graves.    Once  in  an  ecstasy  she  span 
round  like  a  wheel,  uttering  an  inarticu- 
late song.    She  ran  so  fast  that  a  man, 
who  was  employed  to  catch  her,  had  a 
very  long  run,  and  at  last  knocked  her 
down  with  a  blow  of  a  stick,  which 
broke  her  shin.    Sometimes  she  would 
roll  herself  up  in  a  ball  like  a  hedgehog. 
When  her  clothes  were  worn  out  she 
begged  others  of  any  one  she  met;  if 
her  gown  wanted  a  sleeve,  sho  begged 


177 


a  sleeve,  and  did  not  mind  if  it  was  of 
another  colour.    If  she  received  bread 
bought  with  unjust  gains  it  caused  her 
the  most  agonizing  pain.    If  any  one 
in  the  town  died  whom  she  believed  to 
be  damned,  she  screamed  and  howled, 
and  twisted  her  arms  and  hands  as  if 
there  were  no  bones  in  them.  People 
thought  there  was  something  demoniacal 
in  her  wish  for  death,  and  her  horror 
of  her  fellow-creatures.  Her  sisters  had 
her  chained  to  a  pillar,  believing  her 
to  be  mad  or  possessed  of  devils.  When 
she  had  broken  loose  repeatedly,  and  was 
tied  tighter,  and  had  sores  from  the 
tightness  of  her  chains,  oil  that  flowed 
from  her  breasts  made  a  healing  oint- 
ment for  her  wounds,  and  also  served 
her  for  food.    Then  her  sisters  wept, 
and  thought  only  the  special  inter- 
ference of  God  could  have  wrought  this 
miracle.   They  prayed,  and  so  did  many 
persons  who  came  to  see  the  miracle, 
that  Christina  might  be  able  to  live 
amongst  other  people.    Their  prayers 
were  heard.    Soon  after,  she  went  into 
a  church,  and,  finding  the  baptismal  font 
open,  she  immersed  herself  entirely  in 
it;  after  this  she  was  better  able  to 
endure  the  presence  and  the  smell  of 
human  beings. 

One  day,  being  providentially  con- 
ducted by  extreme  thirst  to  the  table  of 
a  very  wicked  man,  who  was  sitting  at  a 
sumptuous  banquet,  she  asked  for  some- 
thing to  drink.  The  sinner  was  moved 
with  a  feeling  of  unwonted  pity  and 
charity,  and  entreated  her  to  drink  some 
wine.  She  then  foretold,  much  to  the 
surprise  of  all  who  knew  the  man,  that 
he  would  die  penitent  and  pardoned. 
She  had  a  kind  of  second  sight,  by  which 
she  saw  battles  and  deaths  that  were 
happening  at  a  great  distance,  and  could 
discern  good  people  from  bad.  She 
foretold  the  fall  of  a  nun  of  the  convent 
in  her  native  town,  also  the  taking  of 
Jerusalem  by  Saladin. 

After  a  time  she  left  her  own  people 
and  joined  a  recluse,  named  Ivetta, 
Vetta,  or  Juera,  at  Los,  or  Loen,  on  the 
borders  of  Germany.  There  she  fre- 
quented the  church,  singing  like  an 
angel  at  night,  when  all  the  other  people 
had  gone  away.    She  know  if  the  clergy 


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178 


B.  CHRISTINA 


of  that  church  had  any  secret  fault,  and 
she  used  to  reprove  them  with  respect- 
ful childlike  affection.  Louis,  count  of 
Los,  had  a  great  reverence  for  her,  and 
called  her  "  mother."  When  he  was  guilty 
of  any  injustice  she  afflicted  herself  about 
it  as  if  he  were  her  own  son,  went  to 
his  palace,  remonstrated  with  him,  and 
obtained  a  reversal  of  his  unjust  decree. 
When  he  was  dying  he  sent  for  her, 
confessed  to  her  all  his  sins  from  the 
time  he  was  eleven  years  old,  and  en- 
treated her  to  pray  for  him;  he  then 
disposed  of  his  worldly  goods  according 
to  her  advice.  He  died,  and  she  saw 
his  soul  taken  to  purgatory  and  horribly 
tormented.  His  spirit  returned  to  en- 
treat her  help,  and  she  promised  to  take 
some  of  his  suffering  for  him.  She 
visited  the  places  where  he  used  to  sin, 
and  those  where  he  amused  himself  with 
the  vanities  of  the  world,  and  wept 
bitterly  for  him. 

Towards  the  end  of  her  life  she  again 
took  to  living  in  desert  places,  only 
coming  at  rare  intervals  among  her 
fellow-creatures  to  get  food.  No  one 
dared  to  ask  her  any  questions.  At  last 
she  returned  to  St.  Tron,  and  made  the 
convent  of  St.  Catherine  her  usual  abode. 
The  venerable  Thomas,  priest  of  St. 
Tron,  watched  her  secretly  when  she 
thought  herself  alone  in  the  church. 
He  saw  her  throw  herself  like  a  bag 
of  dry  bones  before  the  altar,  and  beat 
herself,  and  heard  her  revile  her  body 
and  lament  with  tears  and  sobs  that  she 
was  joined  to  it.  After  an  interval  of 
silence  she  began  to  laugh,  and,  taking 
her  feet  in  both  her  hands,  she  kissed 
them,  and  said,  "Oh,  sweet  body,  why 
did  I  abuse  and  maltreat  you,  who  have 
suffered  so  many  torments  with  so  much 
patience  in  obedience  to  the  spirit?" 
Then  she  kissed  herself  all  over.  Sho 
continued  her  life  of  grief,  lamentation, 
and  privation  until  very  shortly  before 
her  death,  when  her  strength  was  ex- 
hausted, and  she  was  wasted  to  a  shadow. 
At  her  request,  Beatrice,  one  of  the  nuns 
of  St.  Catherine's,  made  a  little  bed  for 
her  in  her  room.  There  she  remained 
for  a  time,  and  then,  feeling  death 
approaching,  she  asked  for  the  sacra- 
ments.   After  she  had  received  them, 


Beatrice  fell  at  her  feet,  and  begged 
that  before  she  died  she  would  reveal 
certain  things  to  her.  As  she  did  not 
reply,  Beatrice  thought  she  was  medi- 
tating on  something  else,  and  presently 
left  Christina  alone  in  tho  room.  Be- 
fore she  returned  Christina  died.  Boa- 
trice  threw  herself  on  the  body,  asked 
Christina  why  she  had  dopartod  without 
taking  leave  of  the  sisters,  aud  conjured 
her,  by  the  obedience  she  had  always 
shown  her  in  life,  to  return  and  answer 
her  quostions.  Christina  therefore  re- 
turned to  life,  and,  after  affectionately 
reproaching  Beatrice  for  recalling  her 
from  the  realms  of  bliss,  bade  her  make 
haste  and  say  what  she  had  to  say,  that 
she  might  depart  finally  to  her  rest. 
When  Christina  had  answered  all  Bea- 
trice's questions,  the  nuns,  who  had 
meantime  gathered  round,  took  leave  of 
her,  and  consigned  her,  with  prayers 
and  blessings,  to  her  third  death.  Her 
body  was  translated  a  few  years  after- 
wards, and  miracles  were  wrought  at 
her  tomb. 

AA.SS.  Her  Life  by  Thomas  Canti- 
pratano,  O.S.D.  Preger,  Deutsche  Mystik. 
Azvedo.  Yaughan. 

B.  Christina  (10),  or  Christiana, 
Jan.  21.  f  1258.  Daughter  of  Bernardo 
di  Suppone,  a  nobleman  of  Assisi.  A  girl- 
friend of  St.  Clara  (2)  of  Assisi,  living  in 
the  same  house.  Christina  went,  in  1 2 1 3, 
to  St.  Francis,  who  was  living  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Angels,  and 
received  from  him  the  habit  of  the 
Minors.  She  joined  Clara  at  S.  Damiano, 
outside  Assisi,  and  went  with  her,  in 
1216,  to  build,  at  the  Fonte  di  Carpello, 
a  village  near  Foligno,  a  convent  called 
Sta.  Maria  di  Caritate  (St  Mary  of 
Charity),  or  della  Salute  (of  Salvation), 
and  after  two  years  she  returned  to  St. 
Damian'8,  where  she  lived  for  forty-four 
years  with  the  saint,  and  survived  her 
five  years.  Jacobilli,  Santi  dell1  Umbria, 
iii.  440. 

St.  Christina  (11),  daughter-in-law 
of  St.  Agatha,  grand^princess  of  Kussia. 

St.  Christina  (12),  June  22,  V.  Of 
Stumbela,  or  Stommeln,  in  the  diocese  of 
Cologne.  O.S.D.  Born  c.  1240;  1 1312 
or  1313,  aged  seventy.  Daughter  of 
Heinrich  Bruso,  a  peasant.     At  ten 


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B.  CHRISTINA  VISCONTI 


179 


years  old  Christ  appeared  to  her  in  a 
dream,  and  bade  her  belong  to  Him 
only.  She  was  so  impressed  with  the 
splendour  of  her  vision  that  she  lost  all 
bodily  feeling  for  three  days,  and  never 
rested  until  she  joined  the  Beguines. 
At  thirteen  she  went  to  Cologne,  un- 
known to  her  parents.  When  her  mother 
found  her,  and  entreated  her  to  return 
home,  she  would  not.  The  Beguines 
advised  her  to  go,  but  she  said  she  pre- 
ferred to  suffer  hunger  and  poverty  alone 
with  Christ  rather  than  live  in  comfort 
with  her  parents.  She  fasted  rigorously 
and  prayed  muoh.  After  two  years  of 
this  life,  wonderful  temptations  befell 
her.  The  devil  used  to  take  the  form  of 
St.  Bartholomew,  and  advise  her  to  kill 
herself.  For  six  months  she  suffered 
from  a  constant  desire  to  commit  suicide, 
to  which  succeeded  temptations  to  doubt 
certain  points  of  the  Catholic  faith. 
Her  doubt  of  the  presence  of  Christ  in 
the  sacrament  of  the  altar  was  removed 
by  a  miracle  in  answer  to  her  prayer,  for 
at  the  elevation  of  the  Host  she  saw  in 
the  hands  of  the  priest  a  little  child, 
who  said  to  her,  "  I  am  Jesus." 

Next  came  illusions.  When  she  was 
going  to  eat  she  saw  a  toad,  a  serpent, 
or  a  spider  on  the  bread  or  other  food. 
Her  disgust  at  it  was  such  that  she  could 
not  eat.  In  this  way  she  suffered 
severely  from  hunger.  A  priest,  fearing 
she  would  die  of  inanition,  advised  her 
to  put  the  food  in  her  mouth,  notwith- 
standing her  disgust.  As  soon  as  she 
did  so,  she  felt  on  her  tongue  the  cold 
body  of  a  reptile,  and  excessive  sickness 
was  the  consequence.  If  she  had  broth, 
she  fancied  it  was  full  of  worms,  and 
when  she  was  going  to  drink,  she  heard 
a  voica  from  the  cup  saying,  "If  you 
drink  me,  you  drink  the  devil."  Her 
parents  were  angry  with  her  for  leaving 
them  against  their  will.  The  Beguines 
thought  she  was  mad  and  epileptic,  and 
constantly  ridiculed  her,  thinking  she 
affected  to  be  considered  pious.  When 
she  had  been  with  them  for  five  years, 
they  sent  her  back  to  Stommeln,  where 
she  lived  for  many  years,  still  wearing 
the  dress  of  a  Beguine.  She  had  bleed- 
ing from  the  nose  and  mouth,  and  other 
bodily  ailments,  and  used  to  remain 


rigid  and  apparently  insensible  for  days 
and  sometimes  weeks  together,  during 
which  she  had  visions,  sometimes  of  the 
Passion  of  Christ.  She  was  tempted  by 
the  devil  with  false  consolations,  and 
with  persuasions  to  longer  fasts  and 
severer  penances  than  it  was  possible 
for  so  fragile  a  creature  to  endure. 

Her  Life  is  one  of  the  longest  in  the 
Bollandist  Collection,  and  is  chiefly 
taken  up  by  her  extraordinary  tempta- 
tions and  her  combats  with  devils. 

In  1269  she  was  marked  with  the 
stigmata,  which  her  biographer,  Peter  of 
Dacia,  a  Dominican  friar  of  Cologne, 
declares  that  he  and  other  credible  per- 
sons saw.  She  had  many  ecstasies.  By 
her  sufferings  she  released  the  soul  of 
her  mother  and  several  others  from  pur- 
gatory. Christina's  body  was  translated 
to  Nideck,  and  afterwards  to  Jiilich. 
She  is  commemorated  at  Jiilich,  in  the 
diocese  of  Cologne,  and  claimed  by  the 
Dominicans  as  a  member  of  their  order. 

Her  Life  in  the  AA.SS.,  from  con- 
temporary authors,  and  partly  dictated 
by  herself.  Her  Life,  by  Peter  von 
Dacien,  brought  out  in  German  by  Wol- 
lersheim,  from  the  MS.  preserved  at 
J ulicb,  and  extensively  quoted  in  Prcger's- 
Deutsche  Mystik  der  Mittelalter. 

B.  Christina  (13)  Visconti,  Feb. 
14.  Of  the  Third  Order  of  Hermits  of 
St.  Augustine,  f  c.  1453.  Of  the  noble 
family  of  the  Visconti  of  Milan.  To 
avoid  marrying,  she  fled  from  home  with 
a  confidential  maid-servant.  She  assumed 
the  black  habit  of  the  Augustinians,  which 
did  not  wear  out  in  ten  years  of  very 
hard  usage.  After  living  several  years 
hidden  in  the  woods,  eating  what  they 
could  find,  they  stayed  some  time  in 
Home,  and  visited  the  holy  places  and 
sacred  relics  with  great  delight  and 
devotion.  They  then  went  to  Assisi, 
whero  a  great  festival  was  to  be  held, 
and  an  indulgence  granted  in  the  church 
of  the  Portiuncula.  There  the  crowd 
was  so  great  that  Christina  was  pushed 
and  crushed,  and  could  hardly  get  away, 
and  lost  her  companion.  She  sought  her 
in  vain  all  over  Assisi,  Spoleto,  Monte- 
falco,  Rome,  and  many  other  places. 
She  spent  nearly  a  year  at  Spoleto  with 
a  pious  woman,  from  whom  she  had 


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180 


B.  OR  ST.  CHRISTINA 


received  hospitality  on  her  first  journey  to 
Assisi.  Christina  helped  her  to  tend  the 
6ick,  all  the  time  macerating  her  own 
body  for  penance.  She  drove  a  nail 
through  her  foot,  that  she  might  feel  the 
sufferings  of  Christ.  She  tied  her  head 
to  the  wall,  that  if  it  nodded  during 
sleep  she  might  immediately  be  awak- 
ened. She  died  of  fever,  aged  twenty- 
two.  She  was  credited  with  miracles 
both  before  and  after  her  death.  Hen- 
schenius,  AA.SS.,  says  that  a  contempo- 
rary Life  of  Christina  was  written  by 
Coriolanus.  Her  Life,  by  Cornelius 
Curtius,  1636. 

B.  or  St.  Christina  (14),  Feb.  12, 
Jan.  18.  Of  Aquila.  f  1543.  Of  the 
Order  of  Hermits  of  St.  Augustine. 

Matthia  Licarelli  was  born  of  humble 
parents  at  Lucolo,  in  the  territory  and 
diocese  of  Aquila.  Pious  and  self-deny- 
ing from  her  earliest  years,  she  would 
not  wear  ornaments  or  have  any  trim- 
ming on  her  clothes.  She  disfigured 
herself  with  long  fasts,  and,  thinking 
herself  still  too  pretty,  she  would  not 
wash  her  face  for  months.  In  1496,  by 
special  direction  of  Christ,  she  took  the 
veil  in  the  convent  of  St.  Lucy,  of  the 
Order  of  the  Hermits  of  St.  Augustine, 
and  with  it  the  name  of  Christina.  She 
had  a  little  picture  of  St.  Mark,  which 
she  prized  very  much.  One  of  the  nuns 
asked  for  it.  Christina  was  very  sorry 
to  part  with  it,  but  thought  it  would  be 
wrong  to  refuse.  A  few  days  afterwards 
St.  Mark  appeared  to  a  painter  named 
Silvester,  who  was  painting  a  picture  of 
that  apostle.  He  bade  him  finish  it  with 
great  care  and  diligence,  and  give  it  to 
Christina,  and  it  was  kept  in  her  convent 
long  after  her  death,  and  called  B.  Chris- 
tina's picture.  She  was  a  very  fervent 
novice,  and  was  chosen  prioress  at  an 
unusually  early  age.  Gregory  XVI. 
approved  her  immemorial  worship.  Her 
Life,  by  Cornelius  Curtius,  Cologne, 
1 636.  Torelli,  Secoli  Augustintani,  viii. 
267.  P.B. 

B.  Christina  (15)  Lubomirska. 
17  th  century.  A  beautiful  Polish  lady 
of  the  same  noble  family  as  B.  Sophia 
Lubomirska. 

In  the  family  gallery  of  the  Lubo- 
mirski  at  Janow,  near  Warsaw,  Christina 


is  represontod  (1)  as  a  child,  with  her 
foot  tied  to  the  leg  of  a  table  as  a  punish- 
ment or  to  keep  her  out  of  mischief ; 
(2)  as  a  girl,  kneeling  in  an  ecstasy 
before  an  altar  in  her  room. 

She  was  sister  of  Stanislaus  Lubomir- 
ski,  called,  on  account  of  bis  learning, 
the  Polish  Solomon ;  and  of  Jerome 
Lubomirski,  who  was  a  companion  of 
King  John  Sobieski  in  his  victory  over 
the  Turks  in  1685.  She  married  Felix 
Potocki.  Christina  had  a  rare  talent  for 
music  and  great  skill  in  needlework. 
She  pricked  her  finger  with  a  golden 
needle,  and,  gathering  up  the  blood  on  a 
pen,  she  wrote  with  it  her  resolution  to 
lead  a  saintly  life.  She  founded  several 
convents,  and  was  distinguished  for 
charity  and  all  other  virtues.  Her  con- 
fessor wrote  her  Life,  and  called  her  a 
saint.    Journal  of  Countess  Krasinska. 

Ven.  Christina  ( 1 6 ),  Jan. :]  i .  Born 
at  Cagliari,  1812;  f  1836.  Queen  of 
Naples. 

Mary  Christina  Caroline  Josephine 
Gaetana  Ephisia  of  Savoy,  daughter  of 
Victor  Emmanuel  I.,  king  of  Sardinia. 
Wife  of  Ferdinand  II.,  king  of  the 
Two  Sicilies.  Mother  of  Francis  II., 
last  Bourbon  king  of  Naples.  She  had 
been  married  nearly  four  years  when  she 
died,  fifteen  days  after  the  birth  of  her 
only  child,  and  was  buried  in  the  Francis- 
can church  of  St  Clara  in  Naples.  Very 
pious  and  amiable  all  her  life,  she  dis- 
tinguished herself  by  two  reforms  in  the 
socioty  over  which  she  presided.  She 
would  not  suffer  any  detraction,  swear- 
ing, improper  stories  or  conversation  at 
her  court,  nor  would  she  allow  any  lady  to 
appear  there  in  the  excessivelylow-necked 
dresses  which  were  then  too  fashionable. 

Pope  Pius  IX.,  in  18,">9,  declared  her 
Venerable,  and  signed  the  decree  intro- 
ducing the  cause  of  her  canonization. 
In  1866  the  Congregation  of  Bites  ap- 
proved the  fame  of  sanctity  attached  to 
the  virtues  and  miracles  of  this  venerable 
servant  of  God,  and  the  Pope  confirmed 
their  judgment.  The  cause  was  again 
before  the  congregation  in  1873. 

A  short  Life  of  her  written  in  Italian 
and  translated  into  English  and  French. 
Diario  di  Roma.  Giornale  di  Roma. 
Civilta  Cattolica. 


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ST.  CINTHIA 


181 


St.  Christschon,  Cuxigund  (1). 

St.  Chrothildis,  Clotilda. 

St.  Chrysa  (1 ),  or  Chrysida,  Aug.  24, 
V.  M.  at  Ostia.  Also  called  Aurea. 
AA.S8. 

St.  Chrysa  (2),  Zlata. 

St.  Chrysanthiana,  Feb.  17,  M.  at 
Koine  with  many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Chrysida,  Chrysa  (1). 

St.  Chuchannic,  Susanna. 

St.  Chunegund,  Cunegund. 

St.  Chunhild,  Guntild. 

St.  Chuniha,  Cunegund  (3). 

St.  Ciara,  Cera. 

St.  Cibba,  Tibba. 

St.  Cicely,  Cecilia. 

St.  Cicercula,  Cerille. 

St.  Cilinia  (1),  Oct.  21  (Celine, 
Cilina).  ,r>th  century.  Wife  of  Emilius. 
They  were  of  noble  family  among  the 
Gauls,  and  of  great  piety.  They  had 
three  sons — St.  Principus,  bishop  of 
Soissons ;  another,  who  was  father  of  St. 
Loup,  bishop  of  Soissons  after  his  uncle ; 
and,  in  their  old  age,  St.  Bemi,  arch- 
bishop of  Bheims,  who,  in  496,  baptized 
Clovis,  the  first  Christian  king  of  the 
Franks.  (See  Clotilda  (1).)  R.M. 
Baillet,  Vies.  AA.SS. 

In  the  Chronicle  of  Baldwin  of  Ninove, 
it  is  related  that  Montanus,  a  blind 
monk,  foretold  the  birth  of  Bemi,  and 
when  his  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  he  re- 
ceived sight  by  having  his  eyes  washed 
with  the  milk  of  Cilinia.  Chron.  Beiges, 
ii.  625. 

St.  Cilinia  (2),  Oct.  21  (Celine,  cor- 
rupted into  Edinia),  Y.  Born  at  Meaui, 
about  435 ;  *f"  before  530.  Confided  to 
St.  Genevieve  her  wish  to  lead  a  re- 
ligious life.  A  young  man  to  whom  she 
was  betrothed  would  not  release  her  from 
her  engagement.  One  day,  when  the  two 
saints  were  walking  together,  he  pursued 
them.  They  took  refuge  in  a  church. 
On  his  following  them  there,  the  doors 
of  the  baptistery  opened  at  the  prayers  of 
Genevieve,  and  closed  again  the  moment 
the  two  girls  had  entered,  leaving 
Cilinia's  lover  terrified 'and  converted. 
Cilinia  led  an  exemplary  life  in  Gene- 
vieve's sisterhood.  AA.SS.  Lemaire, 
Vie  de  Ste.  Genevieve.  P.B. 

St.  Cillonia,  May  28,  M.  at  Borne. 
AA.SS. 


SS.  Cineria  (or  Eennere,  or  Emeria), 
V.,  Triduana,  and  Potentia  accom- 
panied St.|Begulus  from  Colosse,  when 
he  took  the  relics  of  St.  Andrew  to  Scot- 
land.   8th  century.    Forbes,  Kalendars. 

St.  Cinna,  Feb.  1  (Cinne-Noem,  i.e. 
Holy  Cinne,  Cinnia,  Kinna,  Kinnia, 
Bichella,  Bichinne,  Bi-Cinne,  i.e.  Boyal 
Cinno).  5th  century.  St.  Hinna  (2) 
is  perhaps  the  same.  Only  daughter  of 
Echu,  or  Echadius,  king  of  Orgiel,  or  the 
land  of  Neil,  in  Ireland.  Her  father 
would  only  consent  to  her  taking  the  veil 
on  condition  that  St.  Patrick  promised 
him  eternal  life  without  compelling  him 
to  be  baptized.  St.  Patrick  promised, 
and,  about  480,  Cinna  was  placed  under 
tho  caro  of  St.  Cetamaria,  at  Druim- 
duchan,  co.  Tyrone.  She  lived  there 
many  years,  and  wrought  miracles  both 
during  her  life  and  after  her  death. 

King  Echu,  being  at  the  point  of  death, 
sent  for  St.  Patrick,  and  gave  strict 
orders  that  he  should  not  be  buried  until 
after  the  arrival  of  the  saint.  St.  Patrick 
lived  at  Sabal,  near  Down,  two  days' 
journey  from  Echu's  residence,  but  was 
miraculously  informed  of  his  death,  and 
set  out  to  visit  him  before  the  messenger 
arrived  at  Sabal.  He  was  distressed 
that  the  king,  to  whom  he  had  promised 
eternal  life,  should  have  died  unbaptized, 
but  he  prayed  in  faith,  and  the  dead  man 
returned  to  life,  was  instructed  in  the 
Christian  religion,  and  baptized.  He 
told  Patrick  that  ho  had  seen  the  happy 
place  prepared  for  him  in  heaven,  but 
had  not  been  allowed  to  enter  because 
ho  had  not  been  christened.  Patrick 
then  asked  him  whether  he  would  remain 
longer  in  the  world  to  which  he  had 
been  miraculously  restored,  or  go  at 
once  to  the  place  of  the  blessed.  He 
chose  the  latter,  and  died  again  in  peace, 
having  received  the  Eucharist.  St.  Cinna 
is  sometimes  said  to  be  sister  of  St. 
Patrick,  but  this  opinion  is  rejected  by 
tho  best  authorities.  Colgan,  AA.SS. 
Lanigan,  EccL  Hist.  Ireland. 

Cinnenum,  Bichella,  or  Bichenna. 
Mother  of  several  bishops,  priests,  and 
deacons.  Called  a  sister  of  St.  Patrick. 
(See  Darerca  (1).)  Compare  with  St. 
Cenna. 

St.  Cinthia,  Feb.  8,  V.   M.  in  one 


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182 


ST.  CIONIA 


of  the  early  persecutions.  Eepresented 
(1)  being  killed  with  a  sword;  (2) 
crowned  with  thorns,  and  holding  a  lily, 
— near  her  a  cross  and  a  skull.  Guene- 
bault,  Diet.  Icon. 

St.  Cionia  ( 1 ),  July  3,  M.  at  Constan- 
tinople; supposed  in  the  time  of  the 
Emperor  Valens.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cionia  (2),  Chionia,  etc.  (See 
Agape.) 

St.  Cipia,  perhaps  St.  Coppa. 

St.  Ciwg,  Kew. 

St.  Clara  (1),  Gegoberga. 

St.  Clara  (2)  or  Chiaka,  Aug,  12,  V. 
c.  1 1 92-1 253,  called  the  Seraphic  Mother. 
First  nun  of  the  2nd  O.S.F.,  known  as 
Clarissans.  Patron  of  the  O.S.F. ;  of 
Iglesias,  in  Sardinia;  of  gilders,  em- 
broiderers, washerwomen,  and  ironers. 
Invoked  against  sore  eyes. 

Represented  (1)  as  a  nun  holding  a 
pyx  or  a  lily ;  (2)  on  the  rood  screen  in 
North  Elmham  Church,  with  a  chaplet 
of  flowers  in  her  hand,  and  a  crown  of 
lilies  on  her  head.  Husenbeth  mentions 
a  French  engraving,  in  which  she  ap- 
pears trampling  on  a  scimitar,  while  a 
Turk  lies  at  her  feet,  a  cross  planted  in 
his  turban.  She  is  the  symbol  of  piety ; 
St.  Catherine  (1)  of  wisdom,  and  St. 
Mary  Magdalene,  of  penitence. 

Clara  was  one  of  three  or  more  beau- 
tiful daughters  of  Favorino  Sciffo,  or 
Ciffi,  and  B.  Ortolana  his  wife,  wealthy 
citizens  of  Assisi.  She  was  at  the  most 
impressionable  age  when  the  preaching 
of  Francis  of  Assisi,  his  numerous  con- 
versions, and  his  love  of  poverty  were 
attracting  a  great  deal  of  attention  and 
beginning  to  revolutionize  religions  life. 
She  longed  to  see  and  speak  with  the 
man  who,  in  the  bad  and  frivolous  world, 
was  pointing  out  a  new  way  of  salvation. 
He  had  heard  of  her  angelic  qualities, 
and  wished  to  see  her.  She  already 
wore  a  cilicium,  and  gently  but  success- 
fully opposed  the  plans  of  her  parents 
to  settle  her  in  marriage.  The  two 
saints  met  and  consulted,  with  the  result 
that  Clara  resolved  to  be  a  nun.  On 
the  night  of  Palm  Sunday,  1212,  in  gala 
dress,  she  left  her  home,  by  a  door  that 
had  long  been  unused,  and  was  barri- 
caded with  wood  and  stone.  Accom- 
panied by  a  woman,  she  went  to  the 


Portiuncula,  where  Francis  and  his 
monks,  in  solemn  order,  met  her  with 
lighted  lamps  in  their  hands.  Francis 
gave  her  the  rough  woollen  gown  and 
rope  of  the  order,  in  token  of  the  poverty 
to  which  she  was  henceforth  dedicated, 
and  then  gave  her  into  the  charge  of  the 
Benedictine  nuns  of  St.  Paul's.  Her 
friends  and  relations  tried  to  persuade 
her  to  return.  She  answered  that  Christ 
had  called  her  to  His  service,  and  showed 
them  that  her  hair  was  cut  off,  in  proof 
of  her  determination  to  take  the  veil. 
They  then  tried  to  drag  her  away  by 
force,  but  she  held  so  fast  by  the  altar 
that  their  efforts  were  unsuccessful. 
They  regarded  the  poverty  and  lowness 
of  a  mendicant  order  as  degradation  to  her 
and  disgrace  to  themselves.  But  Clara 
had  caught  the  spirit  of  her  teacher,  and 
shared  his  admiration  for  poverty,  and 
her  resolve  was  not  to  be  shaken. 

St.  Francis  soon  removed  her  to  an- 
other Benedictine  nunnery — St.  Angelo 
of  Pansa,  near  Assisi.  There  she  was 
joined  by  her  sister  Agnes  (17).  St. 
Francis  gave  them  a  poor  little  new 
house  close  to  the  church  of  St.  Damian, 
outside  the  walls  of  Assisi,  and  ap- 
pointed Clara  the  superior.  Soon  the 
action,  which  had  at  first  provoked 
scandal  and  universal  reprobation,  was 
regarded  as  a  holy  example,  and  the 
two  sisters  were  joined  by  their  mother 
and  sixteen  other  ladies  of  their  kindred 
and  acquaintance,  three  of  whom  were 
of  the  great  family  of  the  Ubaldini  of 
Florence. 

Abstinence,  silence,  and  extreme 
poverty  were  the  distinctive  features 
of  the  Order  of  Poor  Clares.  When 
St.  Clara  inherited  great  wealth  from 
her  father,  she  distributed  it  all  to  hos- 
pitals and  poor  persons,  and  kept  nothing 
for  her  sisterhood,  desiring  to  live  on 
charity.  She  washed  the  feet  of  the  lay- 
sisters  when  they  returned  from  begging. 
All  the  nuns  went  barefooted,  and  slept 
on  the  bare  ground.  So  great  was  the 
sympathy  and  •friendship  between  the 
brethren  of  St.  Francis  and  the  sister- 
hood of  St.  Clara,  that  Francis  warned 
his  monks  lest,  God  having  deprived 
them  of  wives,  the  devil  should  be  found 
to  have  given  them  sisters. 


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ST.  CLARA 


183 


St.  Francis  often  visited  Clara,  teach- 
ing and  advising  her,  while  he  lived  at 
the  P.ortiuncula,  and  she  and  her  nuns 
at  St.  Damian's.  She  often  entreated 
him  to  dine  with  her.  He  always  re- 
fused, nntil  his  disciples  remonstrated, 
representing  to  him  that  Clara  had  re- 
nounced the  world  through  his  preach- 
ing, and  was,  therefore,  his  spiritual 
daughter,  and  that  he  ought  to  do  this 
little  kindness  to  one  so  holy  and  so 
evidently  beloved  of  God.  Francis 
therefore  consented  to  invite  Clara  to 
dine  with  him.  He  thought  she  would 
like  to  see  again  the  church  of  St.  Mary 
of  the  Angels,  where  she  had  made  her 
monastic  vows,  so  he  ordered  a  feast  to 
be  prepared  there.  On  the  appointed 
day  some  of  the  brothers  went  to  St. 
Damian's  to  fetch  Clara  and  one  of  her 
companions.  Before  dinner  they  looked 
•  at  the  church.  The  table  was  spread 
on  the  ground,  according  to  St.  Francis' 
custom.  Clara  sat  beside  him,  and  her 
friend  sat  beside  one  of  the  brethren. 
Soon  Francis  began  to  speak  of  God  so 
well  and  so  sweetly  that  they  forgot  the 
things  of  the  earth.  The  people  of 
Assisi  and  the  surrounding  villages  saw 
that  the  church  and  the  wood,  which 
"then  came  close  up  to  it,  were  wrapped 
in  flames,  but  when  they  came  to  the 
place  they  found  nothing  burning  and 
nothing  injured.  They  went  into  the 
church,  and  saw  Francis  and  Clara  and 
their  companions  sitting  round  their 
humble  table.  Then  they  understood 
that  the  fire  was  tho  love  of  God  burn- 
ing in  the  hearts  of  His  saints.  Clara 
returned  to  her  nuns,  to  their  great 
comfort ;  for  they  had  begun  to  fear  that 
Francis  might  have  sent  her  to  preside 
over  some  other  convent,  as  he  had 
already  sent  her  sister  Agnes  to  Monti- 
celli,  in  Florence ;  they  remembered  that 
he  had  once  bidden  Clara  prepare  her- 
self, lest  he  should  want  her  elsewhere, 
and  she  had  said  she  was  ready  to  go 
wherever  he  might  wish.  Clara  was 
twenty-seven  at  this  time,  and  Francis 
about  ten  years  older. 

When  Francis  died,  he  was  carried 
from  the  Portiuncula  to  the  cathedral. 
The  multitude — who  gloried  in  having 
their  fellow-citizen  honoured  as  a  saint, 


and  his  holy  relics  buried  amongst  them 
— were  more  glad  to  possess  the  body  of 
a  saint  than  sorry  that  his  gentle  spirit 
had  departed.  When  the  procession 
came  to  the  church  of  St.  Damian's,  the 
bier  was  set  down  in  the  chancel,  that 
Clara  and  her  companions  might  once 
more  look  upon  the  faoe  of  their  Father 
Francis.  Clara  kissed  his  hands,  saying, 
"  Father,  father,  what  will  become  of  us 
now?  Who  will  comfort  us?"  The 
nun  who  owed  her  conversion  to  him, 
and  who  had  sympathized  in  his  troubles, 
could  not  join  in  the  exultation  of  the 
people. 

Clara's  austerity  destroyed  her  health 
and  deprived  her  of  the  use  of  her  limbs. 
She  ruled  her  convent  forty-two  years, 
during  twenty-eight  of  which  she  was 
paralyzed,  and  used  to  sit  and  spin  flax 
of  wonderful  fineness.  She  died  Aug. 
11,  1253. 

Her  wisdom  and  piety  were  widely 
known.  Among  the  miracles  recorded 
of  her,  it  is  told  that  once  when  she  had 
only  one  loaf,  she  gave  half  of  it  to  the 
friars,  and,  on  her  blessing  and  dividing 
the  remainder,  it  was  found  to  be  enough 
to  feed  her  whole  community.  Her 
convent  was  once  attacked  by  a  band  of 
Saracens,  who  formed  part  of  the  army 
of  the  Emperor  Frederick.  The  nuns 
came  in  terror  to  their  Mother,  who  was 
now  old,  and  had  not  walked  or  stood 
up  for  years.  She  instantly  rose  up, 
took  the  pyx  from  the  altar,  placed  it 
on  the  threshold,  and,  kneeling  before  it, 
sang  with  a  loud  voice  the  psalm, "  Thou 
hast  rebuked  the  heathen."  The  terrified 
Moors  threw  down  their  arms  and  fled. 

Innocent  IV.  visited  her  immediately 
before  her  death,  and  finding  she  had 
already  received  the  last  sacraments, 
gave  her  the  apostolic  benediction  and 
plenary  absolution.  He  and  all  his  court 
attended  her  funeral  service,  contrary  to 
the  custom  of  Popes.  The  Franciscan 
monks  were  beginning  to  sing  the  usual 
Mass  for  the  dead,  but  the  Pope  stopped 
them,  and  suggested  that  the  Mass  of  a 
sainted  virgin  would  be  more  appropriate. 
The  Cardinal-bishop  of  Ostia  represented 
that  it  would  be  ^irregular,  and  a  bad 
precedent  thus  to  canonize  her  immedi- 
ately after  her  death.    He  preached  her 


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184 


B.  CLARA 


funeral  oration,  and  when  he  succeeded 
to  the  pontificate  as  Alexander  IV.,  he 
canonized  her  in  due  form  two  years 
after  her  death. 

She  was  first  buried  at  St.  Damian's, 
but  in  1260  was  translated  to  St.  George's, 
within  the  walls  of  Assisi,  where  the 
Pope  had  built  a  new  convent  for  her 
nuns.  In  1265  a  new  church  was  built 
there;  her  body  lies  under  the  high 
altar,  which  was  consecrated  in  her  name 
by  Clement  V. 

She  is  regarded  as  the  founder  of  more 
than  twelve  monasteries  of  her  order  in 
Italy,  and  of  many  built  during  her  life 
in  Germany  and  other  countries.  Many 
princesses  became  Poor  Clares.  St. 
Agnes,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Bohemia, 
consulted  her  about  a  nunnery  of  the 
order,  which  she  built  at  Prague,  and 
where  she  took  the  veil. 

For  extracts  from  Clara's  letters,  see 
Agnes  of  Bohemia. 

Branches  of  her  order  are  The  Urban- 
ists,  or  Mitigated  Clares,  so  called  in 
distinction  from  the  Poor  Clares,  Capu- 
chinesses,  Annunciades,  Conceptionists, 
Cordeliers,  or  grey  sisters,  Recollects, 
and  the  austere  reformation  in  Paris 
called  the  Ave  Maria. 

There  are  eighty-five  canonized  saints 
of  the  three  orders  of  Franciscans, 
besides  St.  Francis  himself;  of  these, 
five  are  Clarisses — St.  Clara,  St.  Agnes 
of  Assisi,  St.  Catherine  of  Bologna,  St. 
Colette,  St.  Veronica. 

The  commemoration  of  all  saints  of 
the  Order  of  St.  Francis  is  on  the  29th 
of  November. 

B.M.  Butler,  Lives.  Baillet,  Vies. 
Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred  and  Legendary 
Art,  and  Legends  of  the  Monastic  Orders. 
Montalembert,  Moines  dl Occident.  Vil- 
legas.  Vogt,  Franciskus.  Magliano, 
Franciscan  Order.  Wadding,  Annates. 
Adam  Kiug.  Mrs.  Oliphant,  Francis  of 
Assisi.  Little  Flowers  of  St.  Francis, 
edited  by  Cardinal  Manning. 

The  family  of  the  Counts  of  Fiumi  of 
Assisi  still  exist,  and  are  proud  of  their 
relationship  to  St.  Clara. 

B.  Clara  (3)  Ubaldini,  Feb.  27, 
called  in  the  world  Madonna  Aweg- 
nente.  "f  1264.  Abbess  of  Monticelli. 
Daughter  of  Azzo  degli  Ubaldini.  This 


ancient  and  literary  family  were  lords 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  province  of 
Mugello,  and  gave  twelve  Saints,  Blessed er 
and  Venerables  to  the  Church.  Clara 
married  the  Count  Gallura  dei  Visconti, 
of  Pisa,  brother  of  Ubaldo,  the  archbishop 
who  founded  the  Campo  Santo  at  Pisa, 
in  1200.  She  had  several  children,  one 
was  Nino,  mentioned  by  Dante.  On  the 
death  of  her  husband,  she  left  her  children 
to  some  relations,  who  promised  to  take 
care  of  them.  She  took  the  veil  at 
Florence,  in  the  convent  of  Sta.  Maria 
di  Monticelli,  then  ruled  by  St.  Agnes 
Sciffo.  Clara  had  given  the  land  on 
which  this  convent  was  built,  in  1219, 
in  the  village  of  St.  Vito.  Many  noble 
ladies,  following  her  example,  retired 
from  the  world,  among  the  rest  her  two 
nieces,  BB.  Jane  and  Lucy  Ubaldini. 
Avvegnente  took  the  name  of  Clara,  and 
succeeded  Agnes  as  abbess  when,  in 
1253,  she  was  recalled  to  Assisi  to  help 
her  sister  Clara  (2),  who  was  ill.  St. 
Francis  spent  a  whole  Lent  in  a  cell  not 
far  from  this  convent,  and  left  his  old 
gown  to  the  nuns,  as  they  made  him  a 
new  one.  St.  Clara  (2)  left  them  her 
veil  at  her  death.  Both  were  kept  with 
great  veneration. 

The  country  was  in  a  state  of  war, 
and  the  sisters  found  themselves  too  far 
from  town  to  get  alms  or  protection,  so 
it  was  resolved  to  build  them  a  better 
house  nearer  the  city.  It  was  built  near 
Porta  Bomana  alle  Fonti.  Fifty  nuns 
were  taken  there  in  procession,  witn  the 
mantle  of  St.  Francis,  the  veil  of  St. 
Clara,  and  the  stole  in  which  St.  Francis, 
as  deacon,  had  read  the  Gospel.  Bells 
rang  of  themselves,  and  continued  ring- 
ing, until  the  bones  of  the  nuns  from  the 
old  cemetery  had  been  deposited  in  tho 
new  one.  One  day  there  were  no  pro- 
visions. The  cellarer  came  in  distress 
to  Clara,  and  by  her  advice  knelt  before 
the  cross  and  said,  "Lord,  for  love  of 
you  I  took  these  keys,  having  denied  my 
own  will  to  follow  yours,  trusting  that 
you  would  always  give  me  what  was 
necessary.  Now  I  have  nothing.  .  .  . 
Do  you  provide  for  us."  While  she  was 
yet  speaking,  a  knock  was  heard  at  the 
door,  and  twenty-five  pounds  of  silver 
were  presented  by  an  unknown  person, 


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ST.  CLARA 


185 


who  immediately  disappeared.  Clara 
was  abbess  for  about  ten  years,  and  died 
Feb.  27,  1204.  Brocchi,  Santi  e  Beati 
Forentini.  Razzi,  Etruscan  Saints,  She 
is  mentioned  in  all  the  accounts  of  the 
rise  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  and  in 
the  Life  of  St.  Clara  of  Assisi.  Hen- 
schenius,  AA.SS.  Boll.,  Prseter.,  writing 
in  the  17  th  century,  did  not  consider  her 
worship  authorized. 

St.  Clara  (4),  Aug.  18,  V.,  oalled 
St.  Clara  op  the  Cross,  and  op  Aniri. 
1275-1308.  Abbess  and  patron  of 
Montefalco.  Of  the  Order  of  Hermits 
of  St.  Augustine. 

Represented  (1)  holding  a  pair  of 
scales,  and  a  heart  pierced  with  three 
wounds  or  cut  open  and  showing  the 
instruments  of  the  Passion  of  our 
Saviour ;  (2)  with  a  lily  in  one  hand, 
and  three  balls  or  coins  on  the  palm  of 
the  other, — sometimes  the  balls  aro  on 
the  scales,  two  on  one,  and  one  on  the 
other. 

She  was  born  at  Monte  Falco,  a  little 
town  about  ten  miles  north  of  Spoleto. 
Her  father's  name  was  Damian,  her 
mother  s  Jacquelina.  She  had  an  elder 
sister  Jane,  who,  though  scarcely  more 
than  a  child,  was  leading  the  life  of  a 
nun  at  a  place  called  St.  Leonardo,  with 
a  company  of  young  girls  whom  she  had 
gathered  around  her,  spending  all  their 
time  in  devotional  practices,  though  not 
attached  to  any  order.  From  her  earliest 
childhood  Clara  was  religious  and  self- 
denying,  and  longed  to  join  her  sister's 
li ttle  community.  A£  six  she  was  allowed 
to  do  so,  and  prepared  herself  for  the 
privilege  by  excessive  austerities.  At 
St.  Leonard's  she  fasted  rigorously,  slept 
on  a  plank  on  the  ground,  wore  a  hair 
shirt  and  the  roughest  and  coarsest 
clothes,  and  used  a  scourge.  Her  sister 
gave  her  a  small  oratory,  and  there  she 
had  several  visions.  This  community 
of  devout  children  grew  until  its  first 
habitation  was  too  small.  The  girls  ono 
day  saw  a  cross  of  light  shining  over  St. 
Catherine's,  a  neighbouring  hill,  and  a 
procession  of  nuns  passing  over  the 
summit.  They  therefore  built  a  humble 
monastery  on  the  spot,  which  they  con- 
sidered was  pointed  out  to  them  by  the 
finger  of  God.  They  were  in  the  diocese 


of  Spoleto,  and  they  requested  the  bishop 
to  give  them  a  rule  ;  he  gave  them  that 
of  St.  Augustine.  As  they  had  spent  all 
their  money  in  building,  they  were 
obliged  to  live  by  begging.  Clara 
volunteered  to  be  one  of  the  mendicants, 
notwithstanding  her  extreme  repugnance 
to  the  task.  She  never  would  pass  the 
threshold  of  a  house  where  she  begged, 
but  stood  outside  the  door,  whatever  the 
weather  might  be.  This  was  partly  lest 
she  should  be  tempted  to  break  the  rule 
of  silence.  The  sisters,  finding  her  worn 
out  with  the  fatigue  of  her  expeditions, 
changed  her  duties,  and  kept  her  in  the 
house.  She  sought  the  hardest  and 
lowest  work,  she  helped  any  overworked 
sister.  She  became  more  and  inoro 
detached  from  the  world.  She  imposed 
severe  penances  on  herself  for  every  sin 
into  which  she  fell ;  for  instance,  having 
spoken  without  sufficient  necessity,  she 
punished  herself  by  standing  barefooted 
in  ice-cold  water  while  she  repeated  the 
Lord's  Prayer  a  hundred  times.  Jane 
fell  ill,  and  was  restored  to  health  for  a 
while  by  the  prayers  of  Clara.  Eight 
years  after  the  building  of  the  monastery 
on  St.  Catherine's  Hill,  Jane,  who  had 
been  its  superior  all  that  time,  died. 
Clara  saw  in  a  vision  that  her  sister  had 
entered  into  eternal  life.  Clara  was 
chosen  abbess  in  her  sister's  place.  She 
abated  nothing  of  her  self-mortification, 
nor  of  her  dislike  and  avoidance  of  the 
parlour,  though  this  was  very  grievous 
to  the  ladies  of  tho  neighbourhood,  who 
loved  to  come  and  gossip  to  the  nuns. 
But  she  provided  well  for  the  bodily 
needs  of  her  nuns,  lest  their  spiritual 
life  should  suffer  from  earthly  cares  and 
the  fear  of  too  great  privation.  Once 
when  that  part  of  Umbria  was  suffering 
from  famine,  angels  in  visible  forms 
brought  baskets  of  bread  to  the  sister- 
hood, and  this  supply  lasted  until  the 
famine  was  over.  Her  charity  to  the 
poor  and  the  sick  was  unbounded,  and 
for  love  of  the  faithful  departed  not  yet 
resting  in  peace,  she  had  the  Office  of 
the  Dead  recited  daily  in  the  choir.  Her 
devotion  to  the  Passion  of  our  Lord  was 
the  ruling  motive  of  her  life.  It  was 
always  in  her  thoughts  and  iu  her  in- 
structions to  her  nuns.    She  prayed  thai 


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ST.  CLARA 


she  might  Bee  in  spirit  all  that  He  had 
suffered  on  Calvary  and  on  the  road  to 
Calvary.  Her  wish  to  realize  what  He 
had  undergone  was  fulfilled.  She  felt 
the  thorns  piercing  her  head  with 
Agonizing  sharpness,  the  taste  of  vinegar 
and  gall  was  in  her  mouth,  she  felt  the 
nails  tearing  through  her  hands  and 
feet,  the  pain  and  weariness  of  the 
scourging,  the  shame  of  nakedness,  the 
shrinking  from  death.  All  these  she 
realized,  so  that  more  than  any  other 
saint  she  bore  about  in  her  body  the 
marks  of  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Once  a  nun  interrupted  Clara's  exhor- 
tation by  saying,  "  Ton  promised  that  if 
we  would  meditate  diligently  on  the 
Passion,  we  should  have  the  comfort  of 
realizing  the  sufferings  of  our  Lord  ;  but 
I  have  never  experienced  anything  of 
the  sort"  Upon  this,  Clara  had  a  mo- 
mentary feeling  either  of  vanity  or 
impatience.  She  did  not  consent  to  the 
temptation,  but  she  did  not  repel  it  so 
instantly  and  entirely  as  one  so  favoured 
ought  to  have  done.  That  moment  her 
Lord  withdrew  from  her  the  grace  she 
had  for  a  moment  abused.  An  appalling 
spiritual  desolation  took  possession  of 
her  soul;  she  was  beset  by  scruples, 
weariness,  suggestions  of  the  devil,  blas- 
phemous or  unclean.  In  vain  she  re- 
doubled her  austerities.  In  vain  she 
begged  the  prayers  of  pious  souls.  God 
seemed  to  have  forsaken  her.  She  took 
no  delight  in  prayer,  she  had  no  visions, 
she  had  no  certainty  that  she  was  not  a 
lost  soul.  This  went  on  for  eleven 
years,  and  then  her  punishment  was  over, 
and  there  was  a  great  calm  in  her  soul. 
Visions  and  revelations  were  granted  to 
her;  she  wrought  miracles;  she  pro- 
phesied events  which  afterwards  occurred. 
She  lived  for  months  entirely  without 
food.  She  again  had  those  ecstasies 
which  had  ceased  for  so  many  years. 
One  of  them  lasted  for  twenty-seven 
days.  Sick  and  even  dead  persons  were 
brought  to  be  restored  by  her  prayers. 
Such  was  the  fame  of  her  sanctity,  her 
miracles,  and  the  wonders  she  saw  in 
heavenly  visions,  that  numbers  of  persons 
came  from  all  parts  of  the  country  to 
see  her.  Christ  told  her  He  would  plant 
His  cross  in  her  heart,  and  she  told  her 


nuns  they  would  find  the  cross  of  Jesus 
engraven  there.  She  was  told  in  her 
visions  that  her  years  of  anguish  had 
preserved  many  persons  from  impenitent 
death,  and  that  her  repentance  had  washed 
away  all  stain  of  sin.  In  August,  1308, 
she  lay  dying  for  many  days,  happy  at 
the  gates  of  Paradise.  Twice  during 
her  life  she  received  the  Holy  Com- 
munion from  the  hands  of  Christ  Him- 
self. 

After  her  death  her  dead  body  was 
opened,  and  the  heart  was  found  to  have 
a  skin  of  unnatural  hardness.  On  being 
cut  open,  it  displayed  on  the  right  side 
a  little  picture  of  Christ  on  the  cross, 
about  the  size  of  a  thumb;  on  the 
left,  miniature  effigies  of  the  other 
instruments  of  the  Passion,  not  mere 
pictures,  for  the  lance  was  quite  sharp. 
Berengarius,  the  vicar-general,  commis- 
sioned by  the  Bishop  of  Spoleto  to  assist 
at  the  examination,  pricked  his  finger 
with  it.  In  her  intestines  were  found 
three  globules  of  equal  weight.  This 
phenomenon  showed  her  devotion  to  the 
Holy  Trinity,  as  the  state  of  the  heart 
showed  her  constant  contemplation  of 
the  Passion  of  our  Lord. 

She  was  locally  worshipped  as  a  saint 
from  the  time  of  her  death.  Her  canoni- 
zation was  begun  in  the  14th  century, 
by  John  XXII.  Urban  VIII.  (1623- 
1644)  published  the  bull  for  her  beatifi- 
cation. Her  canonization  was  only  com- 
pleted in  1881,  under  Pius  IX.,  nearly 
600  years  after  her  death.  Her  body  lies 
in  a  shrine  behind  the  high  altar  of  the 
church  dedicated  in  her  name  at  Monte- 
falco,  where  the  sacristan  will  allow  the 
devout  traveller  to  see  her  thin  form  in 
the  black  dress  of  her  order,  the  face 
visible,  beautiful,  and  peaceful,  with  eyes 
closed  as  if  in  living,  breathing  sleep. 
The  miraculous  heart  and  other  relics 
are  also  shown.  Whenever  a  great 
calamity  threatens  the  Church,  her  blood, 
which  is  dried  up  in  a  bottle,  liquefies 
and  bubbles — the  greater  the  calamity, 
the  longer  it  boils.  This  happened  at 
the  beginning  of  the  Reformation  of 
Luther  and  Calvin,  and  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Revolutions  of  1 847-40. 

In  the  process  of  her  canonization 
under  Pius  IX.,  it  was  proved  that  she 


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B.  CLARA 


187 


has  moved  her  head,  hands,  and  feet  of 
late  years. 

B.M.  Baronins,  Annates,  1308.  Cuper, 
in  AA.SS.  Boll.  Butler,  Lives.  Ana- 
lecta,  i.  p.  1509.  Vanghan.  Neligan, 
Saintly  Cliaracters  recently  presented  far 
Canonization,  1859.  Cahier.  Husenbeth, 
Emblems.  Rev.  William  Lloyd,  Saints 
of  1881.  Cornhill  Magazine,  Oct.,  1881, 
"May  in  Umbria,"  by  Mr.  Y.  A. 
Symonds. 

B.  Clara  (5)  (Chiaretta,  Chiaruc- 
cia)  and  B.  Illuminata  di  Giovannello, 
were  lay-sisters  under  St.  Clara  of 
Montefalco.  Jacobilli,  Santi  delV  Um- 
bria. 

B.  Clara  (0),  Jan.  22,  of  Rimini, 
•f  Fob.  10>  1325.  3rd  O.S.F.  A  very 
young  widow,  frivolous  and  ambitious, 
beautiful,  selfish,  luxurious,  accom- 
plished. She  seemed  to  have  no  heart. 
The  misfortunes  of  her  family  and 
country  were  matter  of  indifference  to 
her ;  she  only  cared  to  amuse  and  indulge 
herself.  One  day,  passing  the  church  of 
the  Franciscans,  she  felt  an  impulse  to 
enter,  contrary  to  her  custom.  With 
her  beautiful  hand,  she  took  holy  water 
as  a  matter  of  course.  An  interior  voice 
said,  "  Clara,  say  one  Pater  and  one  Ave 
from  your  heart,  without  thinking  of  any- 
thing else."  She  did  so,  and  began  to 
repent.  She  did  not  tell  anybody  that 
she  was  converted,  but  shut  the  door  on 
her  admirers,  left  off  her  gay  clothes, 
fed  on  bread  and  water,  but  first  roasted 
a  nasty  creature,  and  compelled  herself 
to  eat  it,  saying  to  herself,  "  Now,  glut- 
ton, eat  this  tit-bit."  She  went  bare- 
footed, and  wore  cords  of  iron  around 
her  neck,  arms,  and  knees.  A  cuirass 
of  iron  worn  by  her  is  still  preserved  at 
Rimini.  She  spent  whole  nights  in 
prayer.  In  Lent,  for  thirty  years,  she 
prayed  in  a  hole  in  an  old  wall 
exposed  to  rain  and  cold.  She  carried 
wood  to  the  poor.  Her  earnest  prayer 
and  deep  contrition  were  rewarded  by  a 
great  power  of  converting  sinners ;  one 
of  her  converts  was  a  widow  whose  life 
had  been  like  Clara's ;  one  was  a  usurer 
of  Rimini.  Her  sanctity  became  so  well 
known  that  devout  persons  desired  to 
be  directed  by  her.  She  built  the  monas- 
tery of  our  Lady  of  the  Angels.  She 


did  not  shut  herself  up,  but  went  about 
working  as  a  charwoman.  She  was  dis- 
tinguished for  wisdom  in  her  life,  and 
miracles  after  death.  She  was  buried 
in  her  monastery. 

Pius  VI.  approved,  in  1784,  the  wor- 
ship already  paid  to  her  at  Rimini. 

Bussy,  Courtisanes  Devenues  Saintes. 
Civilta  Cattolica,  v.  277.  Ordenska- 
lendar.  Prayer-book  of  the  Order  of 
St.  Francis. 

St.  Clara  (7)  of  india,  or  Thacleai- 
manoth,  July  2.  14th  century.  When 
India  was  divided  into  forty-seven  Chris- 
tian kingdoms,  King  Seiosaflam  reignod 
over  one  of  them,  and  lived  at  Sceva,  the 
capital  of  all  India.  He  spent  a  glorious 
life  fighting  against  all  unbelievers  and 
heretics,  and  won  the  palm  of  martyrdom 
on  the  field  of  battle.  He  had  a  beautiful 
daughter,  named  Zemedemarea,  which 
means  Fair,  Clear,  Illustrious.  Under 
very  wonderful  circumstances  she  beeame 
a  Dominican  nun,  translating  her  name 
to  Clara.  She  lived  in  her  convent  for 
fifty  years,  never  eating  or  drinking 
except  on  Sundays,  always  sleeping  on 
ashes,  never  seeing  her  own  skin,  and 
never  washing.  She  preached  to  the 
people  in  the  Chaldean  language.  She 
died  about  1390,  and  was  highly  vene- 
rated all  over  India.  Pio,  Dominican 
Saints.  Razzi,  Predicatori,  Florence, 
1577.  The  Bollandists  allude  to  the 
story  as  an  absurd  fable. 

B.  Clara  (8),  April  17.  f  1419- 
Daughter  of  Peter  Gambacorta,  governor 
of  Pisa  for  twenty-four  years.  She  had 
a  brother,  B.  Peter  of  Pisa,  founder  of  a 
congregation  of  the  Order  of  St.  Jerome. 
She  was  christened  Thora  or  Theodora, 
and  married  at  six  or  seven  to  Simon  de 
Massa.  Her  voluntary  fasts  were  so 
strict  that  she  suffered  excessive  pain 
from  hunger.  When  she  was  twelve, 
her  charity  and  liberality  were  so  ex- 
treme that  her  father-in-law  locked  up  all 
his  goods,  lest  she  should  give  them  to 
the  poor.  She  accompanied  her  father 
when,  in  1375,  he  went  with  the  arch- 
bishop and  the  principal  citizens  of  Pisa 
to  receive  St.  Catherine  op  Siena, 
whom  they  had  invited  to  nurse  and 
convert  in  the  plague-stricken  city  of 
Pisa.    Thora  was  much  impressed  and 


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B.  CLARA 


influenced  by  this  great  saint,  and  was 
destined  to  effect  the  reform  of  the 
Dominican  convent  life  so  much  desired 
by  Catherine.  When  she  was  fifteen,  she 
was  dangerously  ill  in  the  absence  of  her 
husband.  He  died,  and  no  one  in  the 
house  dared  to  tell  her.  She  anticipated 
the  tidings  by  telling  her  father  she 
heard  an  unusual  sound  of  bells,  and 
knew  they  were  tolling  for  her  husband's 
death.  She  soon  recovered,  and  betook 
herself  to  the  Franciscan  convent  of  St. 
Martin,  without  consulting  her  family. 
They  were  very  angry,  and  her  brothers 
went  with  a  number  of  armed  men  and 
broke  open  the  gate.  The  terrified  nuns 
immediately  gave  up  their  novice,  and 
carried  her  into  the  church.  It  was 
then  found  that  she  had  lost  the  use  of 
her  limbs,  but  this  was  restored  on  her 
being  allowed  to  remain  a  nun.  To 
prevent  her  going  to  one  of  the  Francis- 
can convents  at  Borne,  her  brothers  shut 
her  up  in  a  small  room  without  a  bed  or 
the  commonest  comforts.  In  course  of 
time,  her  father  permitted  her  to  join  a 
sisterhood  of  Dominican  nuns,  where  she 
took  the  veil  and  the  name  of  Clara. 
He  afterwards  founded  a  small  convent 
of  the  same  order,  at  Pisa,  of  which 
she  became  prioress.  Her  sanctity  was 
attested  by  miracles,  both  during  her 
life  and  after  her  death.  Her  imme- 
morial worship  was  confirmed  by  Pius 
VIII.  B.M.  Dominican  Martyrology. 
Papebroch,  in  AA.SS.  From  MS.  by  a 
contemporary  nun.  Pio,  Hist.  Dom. 
Saints.  Mrs.  Drane,  Catherine  of  Siena. 
The  important  part  taken  by  her  family 
in  the  history  of  Pisa  is  told  by  Sismondi, 
Italian  Bepublics,  iv. 

B.  Clara  (9),  Sept.  10.  Put  to  death 
in  1622,  at  Nagasaki,  in  Japan,  with 
her  husband,  Domingo  Xamada,  or  Ya- 
manda,  on  the  same  day  as  BB.  Spinola 
and  Lucy  Freitas. 

SS.  Clara  (10)  and  Magdalene, 
MM.  17th  century.  Beheaded  in 
Japan  for  the  Christian  faith,  with  their 
father  and  mother,  Michael  and  Ursula, 
and  a  little  brother.  Honoured  in  the 
Menology  of  Laherius,  but  not  by  the 
authority  of  the  Church.  AA.SS. 

B.  Clara  (11),  Dec.  25.  -{IMS. 
B.  Claba  Boukrelierk,  or  Claba  of  the 


Cross.  O.S.D.  A  native  of  Dijon. 
When  she  was  seven  years  old,  the 
Child  Jesus  appeared  to  her  with  a  heavy 
cross,  and  wanted  her  heart  to  plant  the 
cross  in,  as  He  meant  to  make  her  a  new 
Job.  When  very  ill,  she  was  very  pious ; 
when  better,  she  became  lukewarm  in 
her  love  of  God.  The  company  of  other 
young  ladies  distracted  her.  St.  John 
the  Evangelist  appeared  to  her  with  a 
bandage  on  his  eyes,  because  he  had 
wept  so  much  about  her  relapse.  She 
became  a  nun  in  the  monastery  of  St. 
Catherino  of  Siena,  at  Dijon.  The  devil 
afflicted  her  with  frightful  temptations 
against  innocence,  faith,  etc.  She  had 
the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  foretold  the 
birth  of  Louis  XIV.  long  before  the 
queen  had  any  expectation  of  becoming 
a  mother.    Lima,  Agiohgio  Dom. 

Ven.  Clara  (12)  of  Jesus,  Jan.  26 
(Trevor  Hanmer,  Lady  Warner).  1636- 
1670.  O.S.F.  Baptized  by  the  name  of 
Trevor,  after  her  godfather.  Her  father, 
Thomas  Hanmer,  held  a  good  appoint- 
ment at  the  court  of  Charles  I.;  her 
mother,  Elizabeth  Baker,  was  maid  of 
honour  to  Queen  Henrietta  Maria.  Both 
were  of  the  Anglican  Church.  After 
their  marriage,  they  lived  at  his  country 
house,  Hanmer,  in  Wales,  and  there 
Trevor  was  born.  When  Cromwell 
usurped  the  power,  and  persecuted  the 
royalists  and  the  Anglican  Church,  the 
Hanmers  were  obliged  to  emigrate. 
They  lived  for  some  time  in  a  Eoman 
Catholic  family  in  Paris,  where  Mrs. 
Hanmer  died.  Thomas  Hanmer  then 
brought  his  daughter  back  to  England, 
and  married  her,  in  1650,  to  Sir  John 
Warner,  of  Parham,  in  Suffolk,  who, 
like  themselves,  was  of  the  Anglican 
reform.  Trevor  had,  however,  imbibed 
Catholic  ideas,  and  her  brother,  who  had 
fled  to  Lisbon,  had  abjured  the  doctrines 
of  the  Keformation,  and  kept  exhorting 
her  to  do  the  same.  In  1664  Sir  John 
Warner,  and  his  wife  Trevor,  Lady 
Warner,  became  Eoman  Catholics,  and 
from  that  time  lived  a  pious  and  ascetic 
life,  and  resolved  to  become  monk  and 
nun  as  soon  as  they  had  set  their  affairs 
in  order.  This  they  did.  He  became  a 
Jesuit ;  she  joined  the  English  Clares  at 
Gravelines,  and  took  the  name  of  Clara 


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ST.  CLEOPATRA 


189 


of  Jesns.  She  died  in  the  convent  at 
the  age  of  thirty-three,  Jan.  26,  1670. 
She  had  a  niece,  Elizabeth  Warner,  a 
nun  in  the  same  convent,  under  the  name 
of  Marie  Claire,  who  died  in  the  odour 
of  sanctity,  Feb.  28,  1682.  P.  F.  X.  de 
Bam,  Hagiologie  Nationale,  Vies  des 
Saints,  etc.,  dans  les  Anciens  Provinces 
Beiges. 

St.  Claridonia,  Chelidonia. 
Clarissa    Mariscotti,    St.  Hya- 
cinth. 

St.  Clarissima,  Jan.  15,  M.  in 
Greece,  under  Diocletian.  Probably 
same  as  Epiphania,  July  12. 

St.  Claudia  (1),  Aug.  7  (also  called 
Pri8cilla,  Rutin  a,  Sabinella).  "f  90. 
Of  noble  birth  in  Britain,  she  was  sent 
thence  as  a  hostage  to  Borne,  with  her 
Christian  parents,  in  the  reign  of  Clau- 
dius. There  she  married  Aulus  Pudens, 
a  senator  of  birth  equal  to  her  own. 
They  received  St.  Peter  in  their  house, 
where  he  baptized  Pudens.  Claudia 
was  the  mother  of  SS.  Novatus,  Timothy, 
Pbaxedis,  and  Pudentiana.  After  a 
long  and  virtuous  life,  she  died  at  an 
estate  of  her  husband's  at  Sabinum,  in 
Umbria;  her  body  was  taken  to  Home 
by  her  children,  and  laid  in  the  tomb  of 
their  father  Pudens.  AA.SS.  Wilson, 
English  Mart  Broughton,  Eccl.  Hist,  of 
Brit. 

By  another  account  her  husband's 
name  was  Rufus  Pudens,  who,  being  a 
Christian,  was  sent  away  from  Rome, 
and  ordered  to  live  in  Britain.  He 
there  married  a  fair  princess,  named 
Claudia.  After  a  time,  Pudens  was 
recalled  to  Rome  ;  Claudia  accompanied 
him,  [and  took  the  name  of  Rufina. 
They  were  in  Rome  when  St.  Paul  was 
brought  before  Nero  the  second  time, 
and  they  sent  greetings  to  St.  Timothy 
(2  Tim.  iv.  21).  The  Pudens  and 
Claudia  of  St.  Paul  are,  however,  not 
necessarily  man  and  wife,  as  both  names 
were  common. 

St.  Claudia  (2),  Jan.  2,  M.  in  Ethi- 
opia or  Jerusalem,  with  Auriga  and 
Rutila.  AA.SS.  from  St.  Jerome's 
Martyrology. 

St.  Claudia  (3),  Jan.  2,  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Claudia  (4),  March  20,  M. 
Companion  of  Alexandra  (3).  B.M. 


St.  Claudia  (5),  May  28,  M.  in 
Galatia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Claudia  (6),  May  18,  V.  M. 
with  St.  Thecusa. 

St.  Claudia  (7),  Dec.  14,  V.  M.  at 
Rome.  Her  body  is  preserved  in  the 
church  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  there. 
History  unknown.  Ferrarius. 

St.  Claudia  (8),  Jan.  12,  Dec.  27. 
Mother  of  St.  Eugenia.  AA.SS.,  Jan. 
12,  Prseter.  P.B. 

St.  Clementia  (1),  April  12,  M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Clementia  (2),  May  28,  March 
21.  "("1176.  Daughter  of  Adolphus, 
count  of  Hohenberg  (Bucelinus  says 
Homberg).  Married  Crafton,  son  of 
Meginhardt,  count  of  Spanheim,  and, 
with  his  consent,  took  the  veil  in  the 
convent  of  Horres,  at  Treves ;  died  in 
great  reputation  for  sanctity.  Her  name 
is  in  several  monastic  martyrologies,  but 
she  is  not  canonized.  Crafton  became 
abbot  of  Spanheim.  Bucelinus  calls 
him  "  Venerable,"  and  Clementia  "Saint." 
AA.SS.,  Prseter.,  March  21. 

St.  Clementiana,  Dec.  17.  Formerly 
honoured  at  Carthage. 

St.  Cleomata,  a  companion  of  St. 
Ursula. 

St.  Cleopatra  (l),  Oct.  19.  i;c.3i9. 
In  the  persecution  under  Diocletian  and 
Maximian,  seven  holy  men  were  im- 
prisoned in  Egypt.  St.  Varus,  a  soldier 
of  Maximian's  army,  ministered  daily 
to  their  wants.  One  of  them  died,  and 
Varus  took  his  place,  that  he  might  be 
numbered  with  the  martyrs.  Maximian, 
hearing  of  it,  had  him  beaten  and  tor- 
tured to  death.  A  certain  woman  of 
Palestine,  named  Cleopatra,  not  daring 
openly  to  confess  herself  a  Christian, 
went  by  night,  with  her  son  of  twelve, 
and  her  servants,  took  away  the  body  of 
Varus,  embalmed  it,  and  dug  a  grave 
under  her  bed,  and  buried  him  there. 
When  the  persecution  ceased,  and  the 
Christians  had  peace,  Cleopatra  pur- 
posed to  return  to  her  own  country. 
She  went  to  the  governor,  and  said, 
"  My  husband  was  a  very  distinguished 
soldier,  and  did  good  service  in  the  wars, 
but  he  is  dead,  and  lies  here,  and  has 
never  yet  received  the  funeral  honours 
due  to  him.    Therefore  1  pray  your 


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ST.  CLEOPATRA 


highness  that  I  may  take  him  away  and 
give  him  proper  burial."  The  governor 
granted  her  request,  in  consideration  of 
a  large  sum  of  money.  St.  Cleopatra, 
however,  left  her  husband  in  Egypt, 
took  St.  Varus  out  of  the  ground,  put 
more  spices  and  a  rich  robe  round  him, 
and  put  him  in  a  sack,  with  a  quantity 
of  wool,  so  that  no  one  might  suspect 
what  she  was  carrying  off,  or  attempt 
to  steal  the  martyr's  body.  For  at  this 
time  the  Christians  were  beginning  to 
take  courage  to  collect  the  remains  of 
the  saints,  and  place  them  in  the  mon- 
asteries and  raise  monuments  in  their 
honour.  She  buried  him  in  the  tomb 
of  her  fathers,  near  Mount  Tabor,  and 
adorned  the  sepulchre  with  lamps.  It 
very  soon  appeared  that  a  saint  was 
buried  there,  for  whoever  went  to  the 
tomb  was  cured  of  whatsoever  disease 
he  had,  so  that  great  multitudes  came, 
and  there  was  no  room  for  them  in  the 
tomb.  Then  Cleopatra  determined  to 
build  a  church  on  the  spot.  She  made 
arrangements  to  send  her  young  son  to 
the  Emperor's  court,  that  be  might  be 
brought  up  as  a  soldier.  This  cost  her 
a  great  sum  of  money,  but  still  she  had 
enough  to  build  a  church.  When  it 
was  finished,  she  invited  all  the  bishops 
and  clergy  she  could  collect,  and  a  great 
number  of  other  Christians ;  they  made 
a  grand  religious  ceremony.  She  dressed 
her  son  for  the  occasion  in  a  robe  and 
girdle  which  had  been  laid  on  tho  body 
of  St.  Varus.  Cleopatra  prayed  to  the 
martyr  that  he  would  remember  her 
and  her  child  before  God,  and  that,  as 
she  had  suffered  much  in  the  persecu- 
tion, and  had  taken  so  much  trouble  to 
hide  his  sacred  body  and  to  honour  him 
by  building  a  church,  he  would  impute 
her  good  works  to  her  boy,  and  obtain 
for  him  health  and  salvation  and  favour 
with  the  Emperor.  As  the  guests  de- 
parted, the  child  was  smitten  with  fever. 
The  distracted  mother  did  her  utmost 
to  revive  him,  but  without  avail.  She 
took  him  in  her  arms,  and  held  him  in 
her  lap  until  midnight,  when  he  died. 
She  then  took  him  to  the  church,  and 
reproached  the  saint  for  giving  such  an 
unkind  return  for  her  good  works,  and 
such  a  disappointing  answer  to  her 


prayers.  She  told  him  that  God  had 
raised  many  dead  persons  to  life,  and 
conjured  him  to  procure  also  the  resus- 
citation of  her  son,  or  else  to  take  her 
also.  The  boy  was  a  great  favourite. 
The  servants,  priests,  and  neighbours 
wept  all  day  with  tho  bereaved  mother, 
and  grieved  that  she  had  not  received 
a  worthy  reward  for  her  piety.  At  mid- 
night she  sank  exhausted  over  her  child, 
and  fell  asleep.  St.  Varus  appeared  to 
her,  leading  her  boy  by  the  hand ;  they 
were  both  girt  with  golden  bands,  and 
wore  cloaks  that  seemed  to  be  made  of 
light.  Their  brooches  shone  like  stars, 
and  they  had  crowns  of  stars  on  their 
heads.  Cleopatra  was  frightened,  and 
prostrated  herself  at  their  feet.  St. 
Varus  bade  her  arise.  He  reproached 
her  for  supposing  him  ungrateful  for 
all  her  care,  and  tho  risks  she  had  run 
for  his  sake,  and  told  her  that,  in  grati- 
tude for  her  having  placed  him  in  the 
tomb  of  her  family,  he  had  obtained 
salvation  from  God  for  her  and  her  son. 
Then  he  went  on  to  say,  "  Why  do  you 
reproach  me  ?  Did  you  not  entreat  me, 
when  you  built  your  church,  to  pray 
that  God  would  write  your  son's  name 
among  those  of  His  firstborn  ?  Did  you 
not  pray  that  he  might  have  an  illus- 
trious rank  in  the  army?  Have  I  not 
obtained  him  a  place  in  the  grandest  of 
all  armies  ?  Did  not  you  ask  peace  and 
glory  for  him,  and  do  you  not  see  that 
he  has  them  ?  And  now  take  him  back 
if  you  will."  The  child  entreated  that 
he  might  not  be  sent  back  to  the  sinful 
world.  To  his  mother  he  said,  "Can 
a  mother  envy  her  ohild,  and  wish  to 
take  him  out  of  the  royal  court  aud 
place  him  in  poverty  and  darkness?" 
Cleopatra  besought  them  to  take  her 
with  them.  They  answered,  "  You  are 
still  with  us  while  you  remain  in  your 
place,  and  we  will  come  for  you  wheu 
God  wills."  The  child's  body  was  still 
in  her  arms.  They  bade  her  bury  it 
beside  the  martyr.  She  awoke,  and  told 
her  dream  to  her  friends  and  servants, 
took  a  white  robe  and  spices  and  em- 
balmed her  child,  and  laid  him  beside 
St.  Varus.  All  her  female  friends 
advised  her  to  dress  him  in  the  cloak 
he  had  worn  at  the  dedication  of  the 


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ST.  CLOTILDA 


191 


church,  for  they  said,  if  she  kept  it,  it 
would  be  a  melancholy  reminiscence  of 
her  loss.  But  she  would  not.  She 
begged  them  to  be  present  the  next  day, 
that  she  might  celebrate  a  festival  in 
honour  of  her  son's  assumption  into  the 
army  of  angels.  After  the  ceremony 
she  waited  on  her  guests  with  great 
appearance  of  joy.  The  two  saints 
again  appeared  to  her  on  Sunday.  After 
seven  years,  during  which  they  fre- 
quently visited  her  in  divers  manifesta- 
tions of  glory,  Cleopatra  died,  and  was 
buried  beside  her  child  and  St.  Varus. 
Benjamin  Bossue,  in  AA.SS. 

St  Cleopatra  (2),  Oct.  20.  Nun  in 
Muscovy. 

Represented  in  a  nun's  dress,  with  a 
little  boy  in  the  dress  of  a  nobleman. 
But  possibly  the  picture  represents 
Cleopatra  (1). 

It  is  conjectured  that  the  Russian 
Cleopatra  was  martyred  by  the  Tartars, 
who  made  depredations  in  Russia,  under 
Battus,  or  Batyrus,  in  1241.  She  ap- 
pears, Oct.  20,  in  a  Russian  calendar 
given  AA.SS.,  Maii,  vol.  i.  See  note  to 
Cleopatra  (l),Oct.  19.  AA.SS., Preeter. 

St.  Cleopatronia,  March  8  (Cleo- 
patrina,  Eupatronia),  V.  Beginning 
of  4th  century.  Daughter  of  Dacian, 
governor  of  Asia  Minor,  in  the  time  of 
Diocletian.  She  was  possessed  by  a 
devil  for  eighteen  years.  St.  Viventius, 
having  been  converted  by  the  miracles  and 
martyrdom  of  St.  George,  was  directed 
in  a  dream  to  go  to  Thessalonica,  or, 
according  to  other  accounts,  to  Antioch, 
to  preach  the  gospel*  destroy  idols,  and 
cast  the  devil  out  of  Cleopatronia,  who 
thereafter  devoted  herself  entirely  to  the 
service  of  Christ,  giving  all  she  had  to 
the  poor  and  to  the  persecuted  Chris- 
tians. She  sent  some  vestments  to  St. 
Viventius,  by  St.  Benedict,  when  these 
saints  fled  to  Rome  from  the  persecution 
of  Dacian.  Benedict  is  honoured  Oct. 
23  ;  Viventius,  Jan.  13.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cleridona,  Chbudonia. 

Cleta,  Sept.  23,  V.  Mart,  of  Treves. 
Preeter. 

St.  Clether  gives  name  to  a  church 
and  village  in  Cornwall.  Parker. 
St.  diamine,  Flaminia. 
St  Clodechildis,  Clotilda  (1). 


St.  Clodeswide,  Glodesind. 

St.  Closind,  Glodbsind. 

St.  Closseinde  (1),  Glodesind. 

St.  Closseinde  (2),  Clotsend  (2). 

St  Clossind,  Glodesind. 

St   Clotilda  (1),  June  3  (Chlo- 

THIELDI8,    ChLOTIOHILDA,  ClODBOHILDIS, 

Cboctild,Crote-hild,  Hlotild,  Rhotild  ; 
there  are  many  other  forms  of  the  name). 
475-545.  First  Queen  of  France.  Patron 
saint  of  Franoe,  of  Paris,  of  les  Andelys. 
Founder  of  the  monastery  of  St  Mary 
of  les  Andelys,  in  Touraine,  and  of  that 
of  Chelles.  Daughter  of  Chilperic,  king 
of  the  Burgundians.  Wife  of  Clovis, 
first  Christian  king  of  tho  Franks. 
Mother  of  Kings  Clodomir,  Childebert, 
and  Clothaire  L,  and  of  Clotilda,  queen 
of  the  Visigoths.  Represented  (1)  as  a 
queen,  praying;  (2)  as  a  nun,  with  a 
crown  on  her  head  or  beside  her. 

In  the  Bedford  Missal,  described  by 
its  custodian  as  the  most  valuable  book 
in  the  British  Museum,  is  a  beautiful 
and  brilliant  representation  of  the  grant- 
ing  of  the  lilies  to  Clovis.  The  picture 
is  probably  by  Van  Eyck  (Waagen,  Trea- 
sures of  Art,  i.  128).  It  is  in  three 
parts :  the  upper  division  shows  God 
the  Father  between  two  angels,  to  one 
of  whom  He  is  giving  a  blue  robe  orna- 
mented with  three  fleurs-de-lys ;  in  the 
middle  part,  an  aged  man,  wearing  the 
halo  of  a  saint  and  kneeling  at  Clotilda's 
feet,  presents  the  robe  to  her, — ladies 
stand  behind  her,  holding  her  train ; 
the  third  scene  represents  Clotilda  pre- 
senting to  Clovis,  armed  and  crowned,  a 
shield  on  which  she  has  stretched  the 
blue  robe,  displaying  its  three  large 
golden  fleurS-de-lys, — she  wears  a  crown 
and  a  halo.  This  book  was  made  for 
John,  duke  of  Bedford,  brother  of  Henry 
V.,  and  given  by  him  and  his  wife  Anne 
of  Burgundy,  to  Henry  VL  of  England, 
on  his  being  crowned  King  of  France,  in 
1431. 

Chilperic,  the  father  of  Clotilda,  was 
one  of  four  brothers  who  were  at  tho 
same  time  kings  of  the  Burgundians, 
another  of  the  four  was  Gnndobald,  who 
possessed  himself  of  the  whole  power  by 
murdering  all  his  brothers.  With  Chil- 
peric were  massacred  his  wife  and  sons. 
His  two  daughters  were  brought  up  at 


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ST.  CLOTILDA 


the  court  of  Gundobald.  Tbey  were 
educated  as  Catholics,  although  the  king, 
like  most  of  the  Burgundians,  was  an 
Arian. 

In  402  or  403  Clotilda  was  married 
at  Soissons.  On  her  journey  thither  she 
set  fire  to  every  village  for  the  last  two 
leagues  of  her  uncle's  country,  and  when 
she  crossed  the  frontier  at  Chalons,  she 
looked  back  upon  the  flames  and  thanked 
God  that  her  vengeance  was  begun.  A 
year  after  her  marriage,  Clotilda  had  a 
son,  and  obtained  her  husband's  consent 
to  have  him  christened.  The  child  im- 
mediately died.  Clovis  was  angry,  and 
said  this  misfortune  had  happened  be- 
cause his  wife  had  placed  her  son  under 
the  care  of  an  inefficient  God.  The 
following  year  the  queen  had  another 
son,  and  again  persuaded  the  king  to  let 
him  be  baptized.  The  infant  was  taken 
dangerously  ill,  and  Clovis  bitterly  re- 
proached his  wife  with  sacrificing  his 
children  to  her  gods  and  priests.  But 
the  agonized  prayers  of  the  mother  were 
answered  by  the  speedy  recovery  of  the 
babe.  Not  long  after  this,  in  496,  Clovis 
fought  against  the  Alemanni,  at  Tolbiac. 
The  battle  was  going  against  him,  when 
he  remembered  the  God  of  Clotilda,  and 
turning  to  Him  in  his  need,  vowed  that 
if  He  would  give  him  this  victory,  he 
would  worship  no  other  thenceforward. 
That  moment  the  enemy  turned  and  fled, 
and  at  the  same  time  tradition  says  that 
three  white  lilies  were  brought  by  an 
angel  to  Clotilda  while  she  prayed. 
These  Clovis  substituted  for  the  three 
frogs  which  had  previously  been  the 
badge  on  his  shield.  In  the  same  year 
he  took  Paris.  St.  Genevieve  advised 
the  Parisians  to  submit  to  the  King  of 
the  Franks.  At  the  same  time  she  be- 
spoke his  clemency,  and  joined  with 
Clotilda  in  urging  him  to  fulfil  his  vow 
and  become  a  Christian.  He  was  bap- 
tized at  Bheim8  by  St.  Kemi  (see  Cili- 
nia  (1)),  with  his  sister  Alboflede,  and 
three  thousand  of  his  warriors. 

Clovis  was  a  great  acquisition  to  the 
Catholic  party.  Pope  Anastasius  II. 
«ent  him  a  letter  of  congratulation  (pre- 
served by  Bouquet),  in  which  he  styled 
him  "Most  Christian  King,"  and  the 
"  Eldest  son  of  the  Church."    The  Em- 


peror of  the  East  sent  him  a  crown,  and 
made  him  consul.  In  500  he  accom- 
plished part  of  Clotilda's  vengeance  by 
making  war  on  the  Burgundians,  defeat- 
ing Gundobald  at  Dijon,  and  annexing 
part  of  hi6  dominions.  In  507  he  went 
to  war  with  the  Arian  Visigoths  in  Aqui- 
taine ;  their  king,  Alaric  II.,  was  killed 
in  the  battle  of  Vouille,  or  Voullon,  near 
Poitiers.  Many  years  afterwards,  Amal- 
aric,  son  of  this  Alaric,  married  Clotilda, 
the  daughter  of  Clovis  and  Clotilda  (1). 

Having  made  himself  master  of  the 
whole  of  Franco  by  conquest  and  by 
crime,  he  did  what  before  him  none  of 
the  barbarian  conquerors  of  the  Boman 
empire  had  done.  He  set  himself  to 
restoro  order  in  the  lands  he  had  ac- 
quired, and  to  have  them  governed  by 
humane  and  equitable  laws.  He  died 
Nov.  27,  511,  and  was  buried  in  Paris, 
in  the  church  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul, 
which  he  had  built.  St.  Genevieve  was 
buried  there  in  the  same  year,  and  the 
church  was  afterwards  called  by  her 
name. 

Clotilda  had  never  thoroughly  slaked 
her  thirst  for  vengeance  against  her 
uncle.  She  desired  her  son  Clodomir  to 
go  and  revenge  on  Sigismund — the  son 
and  successor  of  Gundobald — the  crimes 
his  father  had  committed  nearly  half  a 
century  before.  Clodomir  defeated  Sigis- 
mund, and  put  him  to  flight.  St.  Avitus, 
abbot  of  Micy,  solemnly  warned  Clodo- 
mir to  be  content  with  his  victory,  and 
not  murder  his  near  relations,  promising 
him  success  in  his  future  wars  on  that 
condition.  But  Clodomir,  obeying  the 
letter  and  spirit  of  his  mothers  orders, 
took  Sigismund,  his  wife,  and  two  chil- 
dren to  Orleans,  his  capital,  and  buried 
them  alive.  The  next  year  Clodomir's 
head  was  carried  on  the  end  of  a  lance 
along  the  ranks  of  the  Burgundian  army. 
His  brother  Charibert  added  his  widow 
to  the  wives  he  had  already,  and  Clotilda 
adopted  his  children.  Charibert  and 
Clothaire  had  no  idea  of  keeping  their 
brother's  kingdom  for  these  infants. 
They  divided  his  domains  between  them- 
selves, and  sent  a  message  to  their 
mother  to  send  them  the  three  little 
boys,  that  they  might  at  once  make  them 
kings.    The  fond  grandmother  gave  up 


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103 


the  children,  and  a  few  days  afterwards 
her  sod 8  sent  her  a  sword  and  a  pair  of 
scissors,  bidding  her  choose.  Her  in- 
dignation blazed  out.  "My  grandchil- 
dren, the  grandsons  of  a  great  warrior 
like  Clovis, — shaven  monks?  Never  1 
Death  a  thousand  times  rather ! "  Her 
sons  gave  her  no  time  to  reconsider. 
They  murdered  with  their  own  hands 
their  brother's  children— two  little  boys 
of  eight  and  ten,  who  kneeled  at  their 
feet  and  begged  for  mercy.  The  third 
disappeared.  The  attendants  were  ques- 
tioned in  vain;  no  one  would  own  to 
having  aided  or  seen  his  escape.  He 
remained  long  concealed.  He  cut  off  his 
hair,  thus  renouncing  all  claim  to  the 
throne.  He  grew  up  in  a  monastery  in 
Provence,  and,  after  many  years,  came 
to  Paris,  and  thence  to  Nogent,  near 
which  he  built  a  monastery,  which  after- 
wards became  a  great  collegiate  church, 
and  was  called  after  him,  St.  Cloud,  one 
of  the  many  forms  of  Clovis  or  Louis. 

About  the  time  of  the  murder  of  her 
grandchildren,  Clotilda's  daughter  and 
namesake  was  married  to  Amalaric,  the 
Arian  king  of  the  Visigoths,  who  ill- 
treated  her.  She  sent  her  brothers  a 
veil  stained  with  her  blood.  Childebert 
was  delighted  to  go  and  fight  Amalaric 
and  pillage  his  towns.  He  brought 
Clotilda  away  with  him,  but  she  died  on 
her  way  to  Paris. 

The  elder  Clotilda  spent  most  of  her 
remaining  life  at  Tours,  she  and  her 
husband  having  had  a  great  devotion  to 
St.  Martin.  She  prayed  and  fasted  and 
wept,  and  gave  all  she  had  to  the  Church 
and  to  the  poor.  While  she  was  living 
there,  withdrawn  from  the  world,  her 
son  and  stepson  brought  home  from  the 
wars  in  Thuringia  two  royal  children  as 
captives,  one  of  whom,  St.  Kadegtjnd, 
became  the  wife  of  her  youngest  son. 
In  her  last  illness  Clotilda  sent  for  her 
two  sons  Childebert  and  Clothaire,  and 
exhorted  them  to  lead  a  godly  and 
virtuous  life.  She  died  June  3,  545, 
and  was  buried  at  the  feet  of  St.  Gene- 
vieve, in  the  church  of  SS.  Peter  and 
Paul,  where  Clovis  had  been  laid  more 
than  thirty  years  before. 

Besides  Les  Andelys,  she  built  a 
church  in  honour  of  St.  George,  with 


some  cells  for  nuns,  at  Chelles,  near 
Paris.  It  was  magnificently  refounded 
in  the  next  century  by  St.  Bathildb, 
wife  of  Clovis  II.,  and  was  a  great  and 
wealthy  abbey  down  to  modern  times. 
It  was  for  many  years  a  great  place  of 
resort  and  education  for  English  prin- 
cesses, many  of  whom  descended  from 
Clovis  and  Clotilda,  through  St.  Bertha, 
queen  of  Kent. 

On  Nov.  30, 1857,  a  grand  new  church 
in  Paris,  under  the  invocation  of  St. 
Clotilda,  was  opened  with  a  solemn 
service  by  the  cardinal-archbishop. 

Gregory  of  Tours  is  the  great  con- 
temporary authority,  and  is  quoted  by 
all  the  modern  histories  and  lives. 
Sismondi,  Hist,  des  Frangais,  I.  Le 
Glay,  Gaule  Belgique.  Bouquet,  Beceuil 
de  Monuments. 

St  Clotilda  (2),  a  reputed  sister  of 
Ibmina  and  Adela,  daughters  of  Dago- 
bert  II. 

B.  Clotilda  (3),  March  7.  1759-1802. 
Marie  Adelaide  Clotilde  Xavieb  de 
Boubbon  was  queen  of  Sardinia ;  grand- 
daughter of  Louis  XV.,  king  of  France 
(1715-1774);  sister  of  Louis  XVL, 
Louis  XVIII. ,  and  Charles  X.  She 
married  Charles  Emmanuel  II.,  who 
succeeded  his  father,  Victor  Amadous,  as 
king  of  Sardinia,  in  1796.  Her  husband 
and  father-in-law  were  much  attached  to 
the  Bourbons  and  the  ancient  regime. 
Two  of  Charles  Emmanuel's  sisters  were 
married  to  two  of  Clotilda's  brothers,  and 
when  the  revolution  spread  from  France 
to  Piedmont,  they  became  refugees  at 
the  court  of  Turin. 

In  1793,  Louis  XVI.,  his  sister, 
Madame  Elizabeth,  and  Queen  Marie 
Antoinette  were  beheaded,  after  which 
Clotilda  always  wore  a  penitential 
mourning  dress,  as  one  stricken  of  God 
and  desiring  no  more  to  partake  of  the 
pomps  and  vanity  of  the  world.  In  Dec, 
1796,  the  same  year  in  which  she  be- 
came queen,  she  and  her  husband  left 
their  palace  and  Turin,  their  capital,  and 
the  following  spring  they  went  to  Sar- 
dinia, where  the  Court  remained  until 
the  downfall  of  Napoleon  in  1814. 
Clotilda  died  at  Home  in  1802.  Pius 
VII.  knew  and  admired  her  in  her  life. 
In  1808  he  declared  her  "  Venerable," 


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194 


ST.  CLOTSEND 


and  signed  the  commission  which  autho- 
rized the  Congregation  of  Kites  to  take 
measures  for  her  canonization.  It  has 
not,  however,  been  carried  through. 

Predari,  Dinastia  di  Savoia.  Scott, 
Life  of  Napoleon.  Yonge,  Marie  Antoi- 
nette. Civiltd  Cattolica.  Diario  di  Boma. 

Visitors  to  Turin  in  1851  were  shown 
Clotilda's  oratory.  The  attendant  ex- 
pressed great  tenderness  and  devotion  to 
her  memory,  and  said  that  she  was  un- 
doubtedly a  saint,  and  would  certainly 
soon  be  worshipped  as  such  throughout 
the  world. 

St.  Clotsend  (1),  Glodesind. 

B.  Clotsend  (2),  June  30  (Closse- 
inde,  Clothsendis),  V.  "f  c.  703,  or,  ac- 
cording to  Bucelinus,  688.  Daughter  of 
BS.  Adalbald  and  Bictrude.  Second 
abbess  of  Marchiennes,  in  Flanders. 
Her  sisters  were  St.  Eusebia  and  St. 
Adalsend,  and  she  had  a  brother,  St. 
Maurontus.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben.  Hens- 
chenius  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Clydai  Nov.  1.  Rees,  in  his  list 
of  the  daughters  of  Brychan,  seems  to 
imply  that  Clydai  joined  her  sisters 
Cymorth  and  Cenedlon  in  a  religious 
life  at  Emlyn.    (See  Almheda.) 

St.  Cneburh,  Quimburga. 

St.  Cneuberga,  Quimburga. 

St.  Cobba,  Coppa. 

B.  Cobflatia,  abbess  of  Kildare, 
daughter  of  Dubhdun.  "("914.  Colgan, 
ii.  629. 

St.  Coca,  June  6  (Cocca,  Cocha, 

COGA,    CUACA,    CUACH,    CUACHA,  CuCCA, 

Cucia),  V.  Commemorated  by  the  Irish. 
The  ancient  church  of  Kilcock,  dedicated 
in  her  name,  was  on  the  Rye  water, 
between  Kildare  and  Meath.  Butler, 
Appendix.  O'Hanlon,  Irish  Saints,  i. 
130. 

St.  Cocchea,  or  Concha  (2),  June 
29,  July  29.  6th  century.  Foster-mother 
of  St.  Kieran  of  Saigir.  She  presided 
over  a  nunnery  in  Ireland,  and  Kieran 
used  to  go  there  every  Christmas  night 
to  celebrate  Mass,  after  having  done  so 
in  his  own  community.  Colgan.  Lani- 
gan,  iii.  306. 

St.  Codeda,  or  Condebec,  Oct.  21. 

St.  Codene,  or  Codenis,  Feb.  17, 
M.  at  Rome  with  many  others.  Hen- 
sohenius. 


St  Ccelifloria,  Jan  5,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Coenburga,  or  Quimbero,  sister 
of  Cuthberg. 

Coenneta,  April  24.  Irish.  Men- 
tioned in  Martyrology  of  Tamlacht  or 
Tallaght.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

Coentigern,  Kentigebna. 

St.  CogU,  Coca,  perhaps  same  as 
Cocchea. 

St.  Cohaeria,  Aug.  l,  Coyere. 

St  Coimgheall,  Oct.  26,  V.  Sister 
of  St.  Darbelin. 

St.  Cointa,  or  Cointha,  Quinta. 

B.  Colagia,  Aug.  30,  V.  f  1296- 
Nun  of  the  Order  of  our  Lady  of  Mercy 
for  the  redemption  of  captives.  No 
authority  for  worship.  AA.SS. 

St.  Colette,  Mar.  6.  1380-1447. 
Sometimes  called  Boylette.  Eeformer 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis.  Patron  of 
Corbie,  in  Picardy.  Robert  Boilet,  or 
Boellet,  was  a  poor  carpenter  at  Corbie ; 
his  wife,  Margaret  Noyon,  was  sixty 
years  old  when,  in  1380,  her  life-long 
prayer  for  a  child  was  answered  by  the 
appearance  of  a  little  daughter.  In 
honour  of  St.  Nicholas,  to  whom  the  old 
couple  had  a  great  devotion,  they  chris- 
tened her  Colette  (i.e.  Nioolette).  They 
were  very  charitable,  and  used  a  house 
that  belonged  to  them  as  a  hospice  for 
persons  too  wretched  to  be  received  in 
some  of  the  benevolent  institutions.  She 
had  the  best  education  her  parents  could 
give  her,  for  they  sent  her  for  instruction 
to  the  great  Benedictine  monastery  of 
'Corbie,  founded  by  St.  Bathilde.  On 
her  way  to  school  she  often  gave  her 
luncheon  to  some  beggar.  She  con- 
stantly denied  herself  for  the  sake  of 
others.  She  visited  the  sick  and  afflicted 
in  their  own  homes,  reading  parts  of  the 
holy  Scriptures  to  them  in  their  own 
language,  translating  and  explaining  as 
she  went  along.  Many  miraculous  in- 
cidents are  recorded  of  her  childhood. 
When  she  was  fourteen  she  was  extremely 
small.  This  distressed  her  father.  So 
she  prayed,  "  Lord,  if  it  is  for  Thy  glory 
and  my  salvation  that  I  should  always 
be  so  little,  I  am  content  if  Thou  wilt 
make  me  great  in  heaven ;  better  so  than 
to  be  great  in  this  world  and  offend 
Thee;   but  if  Thou  wilt,  grant  this 


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ST.  CC 

pleasure  to  my  father.  .  .  .  Thy  will  be 
done."    Immediately  she  began  to  grow, 
and  soon  became  a  good-looking  girl  of 
the  ordinary  size.     When   she  was 
eighteen  both  her  parents  died.  She 
gave  away  all  her  little  property.  As 
she  was  puzzled  and  distressed  by  her 
visions,  and  uncertain  what  to  do,  she 
applied  for  direction  to  Father  Bassadan, 
a  Celestine  prior  of  Amiens.    He  saw  in 
her  a  great  power  of  doing  good  in  the 
religious  world,  and  therefore  insisted 
that  she  should  restrain  her  mortifi- 
cations and  save  her  health  for  useful 
work.     She  joined   successively  the 
Beguines,  Urbanista,  and  Benedictines. 
Failing  in  each  case  to  find  the  perfection 
of  piety  she  expected,  she  returned  to 
Corbie.    After  two  years  of  frequent 
prayer  that  she  might  know  her  vocation, 
Father  Pinet,  O.S.F.,  advised  her  to  be- 
come a  recluse.    As  soon  as  she  had  the 
necessary  permissions,  the  neighbours, 
by  whom  she  was  much  beloved,  willingly 
helped  to  build  and  furnish  her  cell.  It 
had  a  grated  window,  and  a  rota  in  the 
wall,  so  that  the  necessaries  of  life  could 
be  passed  in.    Her  reclusion  was  accom- 
plished with  a  solemn  service  and  a 
touching  sermon,  which  moved  many  of 
the  hearers  to  reform  their  lives.  After 
Mass  she  pronounced,  in  a  loud  voice, 
before  the  altar,  in  the  hands  of  the 
Abbot  of  Corbie,  the  vows  of  poverty, 
chastity,  obedience,  and  perpetual  se- 
clusion.   She  entered  the  hermitage  in 
1402.   When  Father  Pinet  died,  she  saw 
his  soul  go  to  paradise,  but  mourned 
deeply  the  loss  of  her  holy  director.  A 
new  friend  and  adviser  was  given  her  in 
the  person  of  Henri  de  la  Beaume,  a 
nobleman  of  Savoy,  and  a  Cordelier,  of 
the  strict  observance  of  St.  Francis. 
Miserable  on  account  of  the  divisions 
and  abuses  in  the  Church  which  had  two 
Popes,  and  in  his  own  order  which  had 
two  generals,  he  obtained  permission  to 
go  to  Jerusalem.    At  Avignon,  on  his 
way  to  embark,  a  holy  nun  told  him  that 
God  required  his  services  not  at  Jerusa- 
lem, but  at  Corbie,  where  He  had  prepared 
Himself  a  servant  named  Colette,  who 
was  destined  to  reform  the  Order  of  St. 
Francis.   He  accordingly  visited  Colette. 
She  refused  to  leave  her  cell.    This  re- 


liETTE  195 
i 

sistance  to  the  message  of  God  was 
punished  with  six  days  of  blindness  and 
dumbness,  after  which  she  consented; 
and  Henri  obtained  the  necessary  autho- 
rization, and  her  dispensation  from  her 
vow  of  seclusion.  Colette  went  with  him 
to  Nice,  and  obtained  an  audience  of 
Benedict  XIII.  She  asked  him  that 
she,  and  all  who  chose  to  join  her,  might 
be  allowed  to  make  their  profession  in 
the  Order  of  St.  Clara,  with  permission 
to  observe  the  primitive  rule  in  all  its 
rigour.  The  Pope  was  convinced  that 
Colette's  calling  was  from  God.  He 
overruled  the  opposition  of  the  cardinals, 
dispensed  her  from  the  year  of  her  no- 
vitiate, received  her  vow  to  observe  the 
rule  of  St.  Clara  as  established  by  its 
holy  founder,  gave  her  the  veil  and  cord, 
and  constituted  her  Abbess  and  Reformer- 
general  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis.  He 
appointed  Pere  Henri  de  la  Beaume 
superior-general  of  the  reformed  monks 
and  nuns,  under  the  authority  of  Sister 
Colette,  recommending  him  to  assist  her 
in  every  way;  and  he  gave  them  both 
his  apostolic  blessing.  Before  Colette 
left  Nice,  Benedict  sent  her  a  beautiful 
Breviary,  and  a  book  containing  the  rules 
and  constitutions  of  St.  Clara.  After  the 
Revolution  this  book  was  removed  from 
the  convent  of  Besancon  to  Poligny, 
with  other  relics  of  St.  Colette. 

Colette  resolved  to  begin  her  work  at 
her  native  town,  but  had  to  abandon  for 
the  time  her  projeot  of  building  a  convent 
there,  as  the  people  received  her  so  badly. 
King  Charles  VII.,  the  Duchess  of  Bur- 
gundy, the  Duchess  of  Valentinois,  the 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  Lorraine,  the 
Princess  of  Orange,  and  many  other 
illustrious  personages  gave  the  reformers 
ground,  otherwise  assisted  and  encouraged 
them,  and  begged  their  prayers;  and 
Blanche  of  Savoy,  the  Countess  of 
Geneva — whose  castle  at  Rumilly  was 
one  of  the  first  convents  of  the  reform — 
begged  to  be  buried  at  the  feet  of  Colette, 
wherever  she  might  be  laid. 

All  this  time  she  worked  to  the  ut- 
most of  her  power  towards  healing  the 
schism  in  the  Church.  In  1410,  St. 
Vincent  Ferrer  was  praying  for  the  same 
great  object  in  Saragossa.  He  had  an 
ecstasy,  in  which  he  saw  Colette  at  the 


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feet  of  the  Saviour  offering  the  same 
prayer,  and  he  was  inspired  to  visit  her 
at  Besancon,  the  headquarters  of  the 
reformed  order.  He  was  considered 
the  greatest  preacher  in  the  world.  He 
had  been,  like  Colette,  on  the  side  of 
Benedict  XIII.,  bnt  had  abandoned  his 
cause  on  discovering  that  his  persistence 
was  the  great  obstacle  to  the  healing  of 
the  schism.  These  two  saints  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  fathers  assembled  at  the 
Council  of  Constance,  and  sent  it  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Besancon.  The  fathers 
were  delighted,  knowing  the  great  merits 
of  both  saints,  and  having  heard  of  their 
miracles.  Very  soon  Martin  V.  was 
elected.  Colette  immediately  gave  her 
allegiance  to  him.  He  considered  she 
had  been  instrumental  in  his  election, 
and  always  showed  a  great  regard  for 
her ;  he  confirmed  all  the  privileges  and 
dignities  granted  her  by  Benedict.  She 
is  credited  with  contributing  to  heal  the 
schism.  St.  Vincent  Ferrer,  on  leaving 
Besancon,  presented  to  Colette  the  black 
wooden  cross  he  had  carried  with  him 
from  Saragossa.  It  is  preserved  in  the 
Franciscan  convent  at  Besancon  as  a 
precious  relic.  It  is  rudely  cut  in  deal, 
and  is  between  four  and  five  feet  high, 
and  two  fingers  thick. 

Colette  died  at  the  convent  of  Bethle- 
hem, at  Ghent,  and  was  canonized  by 
Pius  VII.,  in  1807. 

Her  life  was  full  of  miraculous  features ; 
some  of  her  ecstasies  are  recorded  in  the 
process  of  her  canonization.  One  which 
happened  in  the  convent  of  Besancon 
lasted  fifteen  days,  during  which  she 
was  totally  deprived  of  her  bodily  senses, 
so  that  the  nuns  thought  she  was  in  that 
state  in  which  our  bodies  will  be  after 
the  resurrection.  Great  numbers  of 
people  desired  to  see  her,  and  as  the 
peace  of  the  cloister  was  endangered  by 
the  threatened  influx  of  secular  persons, 
Father  Henri  commanded  her,  in  the 
name  of  holy  obedience,  to  return  to  her 
natural  condition. 

Colette  converted  many  obstinate 
sinners,  performed  many  cures,  and 
raised  four  dead  persons  to  life. 

Bagatta,  Admiranda,  says  that  she  had 
a  ring  given  her  by  our  Lord,  in  testi- 
mony that  she  belonged  to  Him.  She 


thought  it  would  be  well  to  have  it 
overlaid  with  gold  or  silver,  but  no 
goldsmith  could  be  found  who  was  able 
to  do  it. 

She  built  or  reformed  more  than  three 
hundred  convents  for  men  and  women 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis.  At  one 
time  the  Franciscans  reformed  by  her 
were  called  Colettines.  Leo  X.,  in  1517, 
united  all  the  reformed  Franciscans 
under  the  name  of  Observantines.  The 
nuns  reformed  by  her  were  called  Poor 
Clares,  to  distinguish  them  from  the 
Urbanists  or  Mitigated  Clares.  Although 
she  was  much  opposed  for  a  time — 
notably  by  those  who  hated  to  be  re- 
formed— her  holiness  became  so  well 
recognised  that  many  monks  and  nuns 
left  other  orders  and  entered  that  of 
St.  Francis,  hoping  to  attain  to  greater 
sanctity  through  the  strict  observance 
revived  by  Colette. 

All  the  Lives  of  this  saint  are  founded 
on  that  by  Peter  de  Vaux  of  Rheims, 
her  last  confessor.  It  was  translated 
into  Latin,  and  is  so  given  by  Hens- 
chenius  with  copies  of  letters  and  docu- 
ments, authorizing  her  to  carry  out  her 
reform.  AA.SS.  R.M.  Vie  de  Sainte 
Colette,  by  Edouard  Jumel  of  Corbie, 
cure  of  Bourdon,  member  of  the  Society 
of  Antiquaries  of  Picardy.  Baillet, 
Butler,  Helyot,  etc.  Her  picture  or 
statue  is  to  be  seen  in  most  of  the 
Franciscan  churches  as  one  of  the  great 
ornaments  of  the  Seraphic  Order. 

St.  Colima,  or  Colina,  Columba. 

St.  Coliondola,  or  Colionus  and 
Dola.  AA.SS. 

Colma,  or  Columba  (8),  Jan.  22,  V.  of 
Leitir.  Of  the  family  of  the  Dal  in 
Buain,  and  of  co.  Antrim  in  Ireland. 
She  and  her  sisters,  Bogha  and  Lassara, 
were  educated  by  St.  Comgall  of  Bangor. 
O'Hanlon,  Irish  Saints.  Smith  and 
Wace. 

St.  Colomba,  Columba. 

St.  Colomiere,  Columbaria. 

St  Columba  (1),  Dec.  31,  Jan.  7, 
July  22,  28,  Dec.  17  (Colomba,  Colon  a, 
Colombe,  Comba),  V.  M.  3rd  century. 
Patron  of  Sens,  and  of  La  Rioja,  where 
her  body  is  preserved. 

Represented  (1)  with  a  bear  at  her 
feet  eating  a  man;  (2)  in  chains;  (3) 


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197 


beside  a  fire,  which  is  being  qaenohed 
by  a  cloud. 

Sometimes  called  the  first  martyr  of 
Celtic  Gaul.  According  to  the  Leggen- 
dario  delle  sante  verging  her  martyrdom 
occurred  in  the  time  of  Aurelian,  at 
Soenona,  a  city  of  that  undefined 
region  so  often  referred  to  in  legends— 
"  the  East."  She  was  confined  in  one  of 
the  cells,  called  "  forni,"  or  "  fornaces," 
under  the  amphitheatre,  and  was  there 
defended  from  insult  and  violence  by  a 
bear.  She  was  next  condemned  to  be 
burnt,  but  the  fire  was  extinguished  by 
an  abundant  rain,  although  the  weather 
was  fine  and  the  sky  clear.  Finally  she 
was  beheaded. 

The  name  she  bore  in  her  life  is 
unknown.  It  is  supposed  that  she  was 
called  Colomba  from  her  innooence  and 
gentleness.  It  is  also  suggested  that  the 
first  church  was  dedicated  to  the  Holy 
Ghost  under  the  name  of  Columba,  a 
dove,  and  that  the  legend  was  invented 
to  suit  the  name. 

She  is  one  of  the  favourite  saints  in 
France.  Legend  says  she  came  from 
Spain  to  Sens,  and  there  suffered  martyr- 
dom outside  the  city,  where  an  abbey 
was  afterwards  called  by  her  name. 
There  is,  however,  according  to  Tille- 
mont,  no  authority  for  fixing  Sens  as  the 
place  of  her  death.  Little  is  known  of 
her  history  except  that  she  was  a  martyr, 
probably  either  under  Marcus  Aurelius, 
Valerian,  or  Aurelian.  A  ohurch  dedi- 
cated in  her  name  existed  at  Sens  in  623, 
and  St.  Leu,  bishop  of  Sens  in  that  year, 
ordered  himself  to  be  buried  under  the 
eaves  of  that  church  that  the  rain  from 
the  gutters  might  drip  on  his  bones. 
In  the  reign  of  Dagobert  there  was  a 
chapel  in  her  honour  in  Paris  mentioned 
by  St.  Owen  in  his  Life  of  St.  Eloi 
(Eligius).  St.  Eloi  was  ordered  by 
Dagobert  to  make  a  splendid  shrine  for 
her,  which  he  did,  and  ornamented  her 
church  at  Sens.  A  Benedictine  mon- 
astery was  afterwards  built  beside  the 
church,  and  there  her  relics  were  kept 
until  they  were  dispersed  by  the 
diabolical  fury  of  the  Huguenots. 

Her  chief  festival  is  the  28th  of 
J uly.  The  day  of  her  martyrdom,  Dec. 
31,  is  shared  with  other  saints.  In 


the  F.M.  her  translation  is  celebrated 
Dec.  17. 

R.M.,  Dec.  31.  Baillet,  Vies.  Tille- 
mont,  Eccles.  Hist.  Mentioned  in  the 
Martyrology  of  Usuard,  etc.,  and  in  the 
Martyrology  of  Tallaght. 

St.  Columba  (2),  July  20,  V.  M.  of 
Coimbra.  Murdered  by  her  (affianced  ?) 
husband  in  the  Valley  das  Cellas,  near 
Coimbra,  as  she  was  making  her  escape 
in  order  to  fulfil  a  vow  of  celibacy. 
Such  is  the  local  legend.  Sollerius 
thinks  it  probable  that  this  is  Columba 
(1).  AA.SS. 

St.  Columba  (3),  or  Comba,  May  I, 
V.  M.  "f  c.  303.  Patron  saint  of  Evora. 
Honoured  with  her  sister,  whose  name 
is  not  known,  but  who  is  popularly 
called  St.  Anominata,  at  Tourega,  near 
Evora  in  Portugal.  Their  brother, 
Jordao,  was  bishop  of  Evora.  In  the 
persecution  under  Diocletian,  Columba 
was  beheaded.  Anominata  fled,  but 
Jordao  brought  her  back  with  reproaches 
for  her  oowardice,  and  she  had  the 
honour  of  being  beheaded  also.  On  the 
spot  of  their  execution  a  fountain  sprang 
up,  from  which  the  water  is  taken  to  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom  to  oure  fever. 
Cardoso,  Agiologio  Lu&itano.  According 
to  the  AA.SS.  Boll.,  their  brother's  name 
was  Vincent. 

St.  Columba  (4),  Sept.  1.  Recluse 
in  the  Abruzzi,  honoured  with  her 
brothers,  St.  Nicholas  and  St.  Giles. 

Supposed  by  the  Bollandists  to  be  the 
sister  of  St.  Berardus,  bishop  of  Inte- 
ramna.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Columba  (5),  July  20,  V.M.  at 
Interamna,  in  the  diocese  of  Braga,  in 
Portugal.  Mentioned  by  Cardoso,  Ag. 
Lus.  AA.SS. 

St.  Columba  (6),  March  10,  V.  M. 
Daughter  of  King  Avitus.  Sister  of 
St.  Cordula,  and  leader  of  a  thousand 
of  the  companions  of  St.  Ursula. 
Probably  the  one  to  whom  a  church  is 
dedicated  in  Cornwall.  Perhaps  same 
as  Columba  (9). 

St.  Columba  (7),  March  29,  V. 
Daughter  of  Baith  and  Lucilla.  Colgan. 

St.  Columba  (8),  Colma. 

St.  Columba  (9).  A  holy  woman 
mentioned  in  a  litany  used  in  England 
in  the  7th  century,  to  be  found  in 


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ST.  COLUMBA 


Mabillon,  Vetera  Analecta,  p.  669, 
quoted  at  the  end  of  the  English  Martyr- 
ology,  London,  1761.  Perhaps  same 
as  Columba  (6\ 

St.  Columba  (10\  June  24.  Sister 
of  SS.  Pboinna  and  Magrina.  (See 
Pbcinna.) 

St.  Columba  (11),  Sept.  17,  V.M. 
853.  Patron  of  Cordova  and  Zamora. 
The  much  younger  sister  of  Elizabeth, 
who,  with  her  husband  St.  Jeremia 
founded  the  double  monastery  of  Tabanos. 
Elizabeth  presided  over  the  nuns,  and 
her  brother  Martin  over  the  monks. 
They  persuaded  Columba  not  to  marry, 
rather  to  the  annoyance  of  her  mother ; 
but  on  her  death  Columba  went  to  her 
brother  and  sister,  and  attained  to  great 
holiness  as  a  nun  in  the  monastery  of 
Tabanos.  She  was  charged  with  the 
instruction  of  the  young  nuns.  When 
the  persecution  obliged  them  to  leave 
Tabanos  they  fled  to  Cordova.  Not 
finding  the  same  quiet  and  leisure  for 
devotion,  she  determined  to  be  a  martyr. 
She  was  beheaded  in  a  persecution  of 
Christians  by  the  Moors.  The  Moors 
had  so  much  respect  for  her  character 
that  they  did  not  expose  her  body  on  a 
gibbet  after  death,  but  allowed  it  to  be 
wrapped  in  linen,  and  thrown  into  the 
Guadalquiver.  It  was  recovered  six  days 
afterwards  by  the  monks.  B.M.  Baillet. 
Butler.    Martin.  Mesenguy. 

St.  Columba  (12),  or  Comb  a  Osobez, 
Feb.  19,  V.  M.  Probably  about  082. 
Abbess  of  the  Benedictine  monastery  of 
Arenas,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been 
founded  in  the  6th  century.  Put  to 
death  with  all  her  nuns  for  the  sake  of 
their  religion  and  innocence,  by  a  band 
of  Saracens  under  Almanzor.  The  bar- 
barians utterly  destroyed  the  house,  of 
which  no  vestige  remains.  Tradition  says 
it  was  three  leagues  east  of  the  city  of 
Lamego,  in  Portugal.  If  this  Almanzor 
was  the  famous  warrior-king  of  Cordova, 
the  date  is  probably  982,  when  he  de- 
stroyed many  religious  houses  in  that 
region.    Cardoso,  Agiologio  Lusitano. 

It  is  possible  that  the  incident  hap- 
pened one  hundred  and  thirty  years 
earlier,  during  the  persecution  of  the 
Christians  under  Abderrahman.  The 
martyrdom  of  St.  Columba  is  mentioned 


in  a  deed  of  donation  from  Tendon  or 
Tedone  Fasir  to  the  Cistercian  monks  of 
St.  John  at  Arouca,  on  the  Douro,in  the 
diocese  of  Lamego,  April  4,  1129. 

Bollandus,  AA.SS.,  in  the  Preetermisti, 
regards  her  worship  as  uncertain,  and 
cannot  tell  whether  this  is  the  Columba 
ranked  among  the  saints  of  Portugal  or 
not. 

St  Columba  (13)  of  Greville.  Once 
upon  a  time  there  was  a  pretty  girl 
named  Columba,  who  lived  at  Greville, 
in  Normandy.  She  was  a  great  favourite 
with  old  and  young.  Every  youth  in 
the  village  wished  to  be  her  partner  in 
the  dance,  or  to  carry  her  milking-pail. 
Though  pleasant  with  all,  she  gave  en- 
couragement to  no  one.  Columba  worked 
hard  ;  but  she  was  fond  of  reading,  and 
this  was  the  cause  of  her  downfall.  The 
priest  of  the  parish  was  a  handsome 
young  man,  who  preached  like  a  saint 
and  sang  like  an  angel ;  he  lent  her 
books,  and  when  she  went  to  return  them 
and  get  others,  he  used  to  invite  her  to 
walk  in  his  garden,  and  give  her  some 
of  the  beautiful  roses  and  delicious  figs 
and  peaches  which  he  cultivated.  Gos- 
sips, indeed,  made  a  few  remarks  about 
these  visits  to  the  parsonage,  but  Columba 
was  so  modest,  so  pious,  so  amiable  to 
all  except  her  lovers,  that  no  one  could 
say  anything  against  her.  One  day, 
however,  she  disappeared.  People  re- 
membered that  she  was  last  seen  going 
to  the  parsonage.  After  a  week  of  un- 
certainty, some  of  the  young  villagers 
went  to  the  curate.  He  and  his  house- 
keeper admitted  that  she  had  been  there 
some  days  ago,  but  said  they  did  not 
know  what  had  become  of  her,  and  in- 
vited the  young  men  to  come  in  and 
search  the  premises.  With  some  apologies 
they  did  so,  and  found  no  trace  of  their 
missing  companion.  What  had  happened 
was  this.  The  handsome  cur6  and  his 
pretty  parishioner  suddenly  discovered 
that  they  had  fallen  in  love,  and  when 
Columba  attempted  to  leave  the  par- 
sonage as  usual,  the  cur6  forcibly  de- 
tained her.  The  housekeeper's  one  desire 
was  to  keep  everything  quiet  and  avert 
scandal.  Columba,  driven  to  despair, 
bolted  herself  in  a  little  room  where 
there  was  firewood  and  a  hatchet,  and  in 


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her  desperation  sounded  the  walls,  and 
found  that  behind  the  logs  and  faggots 
there  was  a  long-disused  little  door 
opening  into  a  cellar.  She  took  a  candle 
with  her,  went  down  some  damp  and 
dusty  steps,  and  found  herself  in  a  large 
cave,  where  she  heard  the  distant  sound 
of  the  sea.  She  could  hardly  believe 
her  ears,  for  she  knew  it  was  a  good  half- 
league  from  Greville  to  the  shore.  While 
she  was  wondering  and  hesitating  she 
heard  sounds  as  if  her  pursuers  were 
trying  to  break  open  the  bolted  door  of 
her  little  room.  She  decided  not  to  be 
recaptured.  She  hastily  closed  up  the 
door  through  which  she  had  passed, 
and  fled  along  the  damp,  dark  under- 
ground gallery.  At  one  time  she  thought 
the  cave  came  to  an  end  and  that  there  was 
no  escape,  but  presently  she  discovered 
a  passage  so  narrow  that  she  had  to 
crawl.  She  was  encouraged  by  feeling 
fresh  air,  and  hearing  more  and  more 
plainly  the  sound  of  the  waves,  and  as 
the  day  dawned  she  found  herself  at  the 
hole  under  the  rock  called  le  Bocher  du 
Cdtet.  She  knew  the  place  well,  as  she 
had  often  been  there  fishing  for  shrimps 
and  gathering  shells.  She  thanked  God 
for  her  escape,  and  walked  back  to  her 
home.  She  told  her  parents  she  had 
been  to  the  cavern  of  the  Cdtet,  but  she 
seemed  rather  confused  as  to  how  she 
had  got  there.  It  was  supposed  that 
she  had  tumbled  off  the  rock  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  cleft,  that  she  had  fainted, 
and  remained  there  a  long  time.  She 
returned  to  her  usual  occupations,  but 
not  with  her  former  cheerfulness.  She 
did  not  talk,  and  when  spoken  to  she 
only  answered  in  monosyllables.  Baking- 
day  came  round.  She  undertook  the 
task  as  usual.  Some  of  the  neighbours 
saw  her  heating  the  oven  with  faggots 
of  fern  and  gorse,  and  passing  that  way 
later  in  the  day,  they  saw  that  the  oven 
was  shut.  They  supposed  she  had  put 
in  her  dough  and  gone  away,  and  they 
thought  no  more  about  it.  When  it  was 
time  to  take  out  the  bread,  as  Columba 
did  not  make  her  appearance,  her  friends 
went  to  the  bake-house,  and  then  it  was 
evident  that  the  oven  had  not  been  fas- 
tened up  with  clay  on  the  outside  as 
usual,  but  that  the  clay  was  inside. 


They  removed  the  stone,  and,  instead  of 
the  bread  which  they  expected  to  find  in 
the  oven,  they  only  saw  a  white  dove, 
which  flew  out  of  the  door  and  disap- 
peared. Columba  had  condemned  her- 
self to  go  alive  into  the  oven;  and  to 
show  that  her  fault  was  forgiven,  she 
had  been  changed  into  a  dove.  Mean- 
time the  priest  had  heard  of  her  return 
to  her  parents'  house,  but  he  had  not 
dared  to  show  himself  there,  nor  to  meet 
her  on  the  road ;  he  listened,  however, 
to  everything  that  was  said  about  her, 
and  when  he  heard  that  she  had  been 
changed  into  a  dove,  he  exclaimed,  "  Co- 
lumba is  saved,  but  I  am  lost !  "  Forth- 
with he  went  and  hanged  himself  in  a 
little  field  near  his  house.  This  enclo- 
sure, which  lies  between  the  priest's 
garden  and  that  of  the  modern  communal 
school,  is  considered  accursed.  It  is  left 
uncultivated,  and  although  it  is  close  to 
the  schoolmaster's  garden,  it  remains 
separated  from  it  by  a  wall.  The  statue 
of  St.  Columba  may  still  be  seen  in  the 
old  romanesque  church  of  Greville,  and, 
for  further  proof  of  the  story,  le  Bocher 
du  Cdtet  stands  in  a  hollow  of  the  f (daises 
which  fall  away  below  it  perpendicularly 
on  each  side,  and  under  the  cdtet  is  a 
cleft  called  to  this  day  le  Trou  de  Ste. 
Cohmbey  inaccessible  at  high-water,  and 
invisible  until  the  traveller  is  close  to 
it.  It  is  so  small  that  two  men  could 
scarcely  enter  it  abreast,  and  so  narrow 
that  it  would  be  disagreeable  to  explore 
its  slimy  depths.  It  is  said  that  even 
before  the  time  of  Columba  a  cock  was 
thrown  into  this  hole,  by  way  of  experi- 
ment, and  its  crowing  was  heard  in  the 
church  next  day — an  important  part  of 
the  evidence  for  the  whole  story.  Fleury, 
Litterature  ovale  de  la  Basse-Normandie. 

B.  Columba  (14),  Dec.  31.  Recluse 
at  and  founder  of  the  monastery  of 
Cortenberg,  or  Corteraberg,  between 
Brussels  and  Louvain.  Her  tomb  was 
destroyed  by  the  Calvinists,  1572.  Bu- 
celinus,  Men.  Ben.  Gynecwum. 

St.  Columba  (15),  or  Angiola,  May 
20,  V.  of  Rieti.  1467-1501.  3rdO.S.D. 
Appealed  to  by  those  hindered  and  beset 
by  the  devil  and  his  temptations  and 
attacks.  Her  name  is  supposed  to  havo 
been  Gnadagnioli ;  an  old  picture  of  this 


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B.  COLUMBA 


saint  was  preserved  for  many  years  with 
great  veneration  in  that  family,  with  an 
inscription  signifying  that  she  was  one 
of  them.  An  apparition  of  angels  with 
a  splendid  chariot  is  said  to  have  been 
seen  by  the  women  who  attended  her 
mother  at  the  time  of  Oolumba's  birth. 
She  was  baptised  by  the  name  of  An- 
giola,  but  a  white  dove  was  seen  to  fly 
round  and  round  the  font,  and  finally  to 
settle  on  the  head  of  the  newly  chris- 
tened babe.  This  caused  people  to  call 
her  Colomba,  and  soon  her  real  name 
was  forgotten.  She  practised  mortifica- 
tion from  her  tenderest  infancy,  strewed 
thorns  in  her  bed  at  the  age  of  three, 
and  at  four  obtained  the  permission  of 
her  parents  to  fast  on  bread  and  water 
every  Friday.  A  hair  shirt  which  she 
made  for  herself  at  the  age  of  five,  out 
of  an  old  sieve,  is  reverentlv  preserved 
by  the  nuns  of  St.  Agnes  at  Eieti.  Her 
family  arranged  a  marriage  for  her,  and 
insisted  on  fulfilling  the  engagement 
without  her  consent  She  cut  off  her 
beautiful  hair,  after  tho  example  of  St. 
Catherine  of  Siena,  to  show  that  she 
had  consecrated  herself,  by  a  vow,  to  a 
religious  life.  She  then  fled  to  the  con- 
vent of  St.  Scholastics,  and  her  intended 
husband  broke  off  the  contract,  fearing 
to  commit  sacrilege.  She  returned  to 
her  father's  house,  where  she  was  con- 
soled by  visions  and  ecstasies.  Her 
mother  chid  her  for  neglecting  her  duties 
during  her  religious  reveries.  Once,  for 
instance,  she  let  her  infant  brother  fall 
into  the  fire.  In  1488,  she  went  to 
Perugia,  where  she  was  received  as  a 
saint.  She  occupied  herself  teaching 
and  training  children,  and  it  was  for  that 
purpose  the  Perugians  first  begged  her 
to  remain  with  them.  The  Dominicans, 
however,  would  not  allow  her  to  receive 
any  children  to  teach,  as  they  feared  she 
might  be  tempted  to  pride,  and  they  dis- 
liked the  admiration  and  notoriety  of 
which  she  was  the  object.  The  people 
built  her  a  monastery,  and  kept  her  at 
the  publio  expense.  Eieti  offered  the 
same,  but  Perugia  would  not  give  her 
up.  Columba  made  her  profession  there 
in  1490.  She  nursed  the  people  of 
Perugia  during  the  plague.  Eighteen 
years  after  her  death  the  bell  of  St. 


Dominic  at  Perugia  was  repaired  and 
consecrated  in  the  name  of  St.  Columba  ; 
her  image  in  the  act  of  flying  to  heaven 
was  impressed  upon  it,  with  the  motto, 
Patrise  liberationem.  She  worked  many 
miracles  before  and  after  her  death.  She 
died  May  20,  1501.  In  1566  leave  was 
obtained  from  Pius  Y.  to  make  a  com- 
memoration of  St.  Columba  in  the  office 
and  in  the  Mass.  On  May  20,  1571, 
permission  was  given  to  burn  lamps  at 
her  sepulchre,  and  for  other  publio  acts 
of  veneration.  In  1625  a  decree  of 
tJrban  VIII.  forbade  devotion  to  any 
saint  unless  solemnly  canonized.  Co- 
lumba's  worship,  however,  was  restored 
in  1627.  She  has  not  yet  been  canonized, 
but  is  always  called  saint,  and  honoured 
as  such.  A.R.M.,  O.S.D.  Papebroch,  in 
AA.SS.    Modern  Saints. 

B.  Columba  (16),  Colomba  dei 
Trocazani  of  Milan.  1517.  3rdO.S.D. 
She  was  very  pious  and  strict,  and,  when 
young,  avoided  the  company  of  girls; 
but  their  parents  insisted  on  their  coming 
to  her  for  edification.  The  plague  broke 
out,  and  attacked  her  and  every  member 
of  her  family;  her  mother  and  two 
brothers  died.  The  police  shut  up  the 
house  ;  she  remained  alone,  in  bed,  with 
no  human  help.  The  Virgin  Mary  and 
saints  came  and  fed  her.  At  last  she 
was  taken  to  the  Lazaretto.  The  doctor 
fell  in  love  with  her,  and  abused  his 
privileges ;  as  she  spurned  his  devotion, 
he  threatened  to  leave  her  to  die.  She 
complained  to  the  managers.  They  dis- 
missed the  doctor.  Columba  recovered. 
She  took  the  habit  of  the  Third  Order 
of  St.  Dominic,  and  became  the  first  nun 
in  the  convent  of  St.  Lazarus.  By  com- 
mand of  the  monks  after  ten  years,  she 
joined  the  Second  Order.  Her  fasts  and 
austerities  were  very  wonderful.  Five 
rays  came  from  the  wounds  of  Christ  on 
the  cross  and  wounded  her.  She  was 
orowned  by  Christ  with  a  golden  crown. 
When  she  was  receiving  the  Communion 
a  dove  surrounded  by  glory  was  seen 
over  her  head.  She  felt  the  sufferings 
of  Christ — the  wounds,  the  scourging  at 
the  pillar.  She  was  prioress  three  times. 
She  opened  her  eyes  when  she  was  dead 
and  being  laid  in  the  tomb.  Pio. 

Ven.  Columba  (17)  of  Corea,  V.  M. 


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ST.  CONCORDIA 


201 


1839.  Columba  and  Agnes  were  two 
sisters,  aged  twenty-four  and  twenty-six. 
When  the  persecution  of  the  Christians 
*  raged  in  Corea,  in  1839,  they  declared 
themselves  Christians.  They  were 
threatened  with  death  by  scourging, 
unless  they  would  give  up  their  books 
and  betray  their  friends.  Seeing  that 
they  did  not  fear  pain,  their  brutal  judge 
condemned  them  to  the  more  cruel  fate 
of  being  given  up  to  the  villains  who 
shared  the  prison  of  the  Christians. 
Like  St.  Agnes  (2),  they  were  miracu- 
lously protected.  They  seemed  endowed 
with  superhuman  strength,  and  remained 
unharmed.  They  were  several  times 
taken  from  the  prison,  questioned, 
threatened,  tortured,  but  remained  true 
to  their  faith  and  profession.  Some  of 
the  Christian  prisoners  died  of  a  fever 
that  broke  out  in  the  prison.  We  do  not 
know  by  what  death  these  two  girls 
glorified  God,  but  they  are  accounted 
martyrs.  Martyrs  de  V Orient  Extreme. 
Dallet,  Histoire  de  VEglise  de  Cvrie. 
Neligan,  Saintly  Characters. 

St.  Columbaria,  or  Colomiere,  Deo. 
1.  Honoured  in  the  diocese  of  Saintes. 
Perhaps  Columba. 

St  Columbina,  May  22,  V.  M.  with 
Lucian  the  king;  Marcian  and  Valen- 
tinian,  bishops  ;  fiomanus,  Columbanus, 
and  Simplicius.  They  were  all  mar- 
tyred immediately  after  St.  Quiteria. 
Papebroch  considers  there  is  no  authority 
for  the  martyrdom  of  these  saints,  al- 
though they  are  commemorated  in  the 
Calendars  of  Spain  and  Portugal.  AA.S8. 
Columbina  is  honoured  in  Catalonia  as  a 
companion  of  St.  Ursula. 

St.  Comagia,  May  27.  Daughter  of 
Euchodius.  Nun  at  Snam-Luthir,  a 
convent  on  the  north  coast  of  Connaught, 
founded  by  her  brother,  Columban  or 
Colman.  AA.SS.,  Prseter.,  from  the 
Martyrologies  of  Tallaght  and  Donegal, 
Adamnan,  etc. 

St.  Comba.  Portuguese  for  Columba. 

SS.  Cornelia  and  Cornelia  (l),  or 
else  two  Cordelias,  April  20,  MM.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cometa.  A  penitent,  mentioned 
by  John  Mosch,  quoted  by  Guerin. 

St.  Comgella  (1),  sister  of  Crona- 
parva,  July  7.  AA.SS. 


St.  Comgella  (2).  5th  century. 
Daughter  of  Ernach  of  Munster.  Mother 
of  St.  Senan  of  Scattery.  (See  Cannera.) 

St.  Comitissa,  Contessa. 

St.  Commeria,  Wilgefortis. 

St.  Comnata,  Jan.  1.  -f  590.  Ab- 
bess of  Kildare.  Colgan. 

St.  Conacha,  Oct.  25,  V.  Irish. 
Mart,  of  Tamlaght.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Concessa  (l),  April  8,  M.  at 
Carthage.    B.M.  AA.SS. 

Concessa  (2),  Conchessa,  or  Con- 
ches. Mother  of  St.  Patrick.  By  one 
account  St.  Patrick  was  her  only  child, 
and,  after  his  birth,  she  took  a  vow  of 
celibacy  and  became  a  nun.  Others  say 
she  had  several  daughters  who  were 
saints.    See  Darerca.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Concha  (l),  Quinta. 

St.  Concha  (2),  Cocchea. 

St.  Conchenna  (1),  March  13,  V. 
Early  7  th  century.  Daughter  of  Tul- 
chan  and  Fethlemidia,  both  of  the  family 
of  Niel.  Sister  of  SS.  Kieran,  Lugadius, 
and  Munna.  Nun  (perhaps  abbess)  at 
Kill  Flebhe,  or  Kilsleevecullen,  built  by 
St.  Monenna,  near  the  Cuilinn  hills  in 
Ultonia.  When  Munna  had  lived  for 
many  years  at  his  monastery  of  Tech- 
telle,  Fethlemidia  and  Conchenna  sent 
him  word  that  they  wanted  to  see  him. 
His  answer  was,  "  Come  to  Lughmagh — 
no  nearer — and  I  will  come  and  see 
you."  The  mother  came  with  two 
married  daughters  and  Conohenna. 
When  they  arrived,  Conchenna  was 
seized  with  sudden  pains  and  died. 
Next  day,  after  she  was  buried,  Munna 
came  and  raised  her  to  life,  but  warned 
his  mother  and  sisters,  saying,  "Mind 
you  never  come  near  me  again.  If  you 
do  I  will  leave  Ireland  entirely."  Colgan. 
Lanigan. 

St.  Conchenna  (2).  t  739- 
Daughter  of  Eellaigh  Chuallan.  Lani- 
gan. 

Conches,  Concessa  (2). 

St.  Conchessa,  Concessa  (2). 

St.  Concordia  (1).   (See  St.  Per- 

PETUA  (1).) 

St.  Concordia  (2),  Aug.  13,  Feb.  3, 
M.  at  Rome.  252.  Patron  of  nurses  and 
good  children.  Nurse  of  St.  Hippolytus. 
She  was  scourged  to  death,  and  he  was 
tied  by  the  feet  to  wild  horses  and  dragged 


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ST.  CONCORDIA 


through  thorns  and  over  rough  ground 
until  he  died.  Nineteen  more  of  the 
household  of  Hippolytus  were  beheaded 
at  the  same  time.  After  martyrdom, 
Concordia  was  thrown  into  the  cloaca 
maxima.  SS.  Irenrous  and  Abundius 
took  her  body  out  of  the  sewer  to  bury 
it,  and  were  therefore  thrown  in  alive. 
R.M.  AA.SS.  Callot,  Images.  Husen- 
beth,  Emblems. 

St.  Concordia  (3J,  May  6,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Concordia  (4),  June  2.  One  of 
227  Roman  martyrs  commemorated  to- 
gether in  Jerome's  Martyrology.  AA.SS. 

St.  Condebec,  Codbda. 

St.  Confessa,  May  10,  V.  Patron  of 
the  diocese  of  Tarbes.  F.M. 

St.  Congella,  or  Congilla,  Nov.  9, 
V.    "fc.  671,  in  England.  Ferrarius. 

St.  Conilla,  Jonilla. 

St.  Coningenia,  or  Cuacha  (2), 
April  29.  Irish.  AA.SS.,  Prseter., 
from  the  Mart,  of  Tamlaght. 

St.  Conna,  March  8,  V.  An  Irish 
saint  mentioned  by  Marian  Gorman. 
Probably  same  as  Cuanna,  April  10. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Consolata,  Dec.  5,  6,  V.  Nun. 
Of  noble  parents;  probably  Genoese. 
Born  in  Palestine  during  tho  time  that 
it  was  occupied  by  the  Christians.  At 
her  birth  a  halo  of  light  appeared  round 
her  head.  She  would  not  take  milk, 
but  the  bees  came  daily  and  fed  her  with 
honey.  When  she  was  seven  years  old 
she  wore  a  cilicium.  She  took  the  veil 
in  a  convent  built  by  her  father.  At 
her  death  the  angels  sang,  and  crowds  of 
sick  and  infirm  people  were  cured  by 
touching  her  clothes.  She  was  trans- 
lated to  Genoa,  where  a  church  was 
called  by  her  name,  and  many  miracles 
were  wrought  through  her  intercession. 
Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 

This  is  probably  the  same  as  St.  Con- 
solata, Sept.  6,  Dec.  5,  worshipped  in 
the  cathedral  of  Reggio.  AA.SS. 

St.  Consorta,  Consortia. 

St.  Consortia,  or  Consorta,  March 
13,  June  22,  V.  oth  century.  Daughter 
of  SS.  Eucherius  and  Galla,  who  for  a 
long  time  had  no  child  to  inherit  their 
great  possessions.  They  prayed  for 
heirs,  and  were  at  last  blessed  with  a 


daughter,  whom  they  named  Consortia. 
They  had  a  second  daughter,  St.  Tullia, 
and  two  sons,  Salonius  and  Veranius, 
who  became  bishops  and  saints.  After 
some  years  Eucherius  told  his  wife  that, 
with  her  consent,  he  would  shave  his 
head,  and  be  built  up  in  a  grotto  on  his 
property,  at  a  place  called  Mont  Maur, 
overhanging  the  Durance.  Galla  begged 
him  to  allow  her  also  to  assume  a  reli- 
gious habit,  and  to  wait  upon  him  as  a 
servant  She  hastened  the  preparations 
for  his  reclusion.  They  invited  their 
friends  and  relations  to  a  farewell  ban- 
quet, and  Eucherius  declared  his  project. 
They  all  tried  to  dissuade  him,  but  he 
said  he  had  put  his  hand  to  the  plough 
and  could  not  look  back.  Eucherius 
and  Galla  divided  their  goods  into  three 
parts ;  one  they  gave  to  the  poor,  one  to 
their  servants,  and  one  to  their  children. 
Then  Eucherius  went  into  his  cave  and 
had  the  entrance  built  up;  a  little 
window  was  left  open,  and  through  it 
Galla  gave  him  his  daily  food.  Not 
many  days  after  the  conversion  of  her 
parents,  their  younger  daughter,  Tullia, 
died.  Galla  would  not  be  comforted 
until  Tullia  appeared  to  her,  clad  in 
white  with  a  shining  golden  mantle,  and 
said,  "  Why  dost  thou  mourn  for  me  as 
if  I  were  lost  ?  The  Lord  has  admitted 
me  into  the  company  of  the  holy  virgin  s, 
and  thou  shalt  follow  me  soon.  My 
father  will  be  raised  to  the  pontifical 
seat,  and  will  be  great  in  the  sight  of 
God.  My  sister  Consortia  will  suffer 
much  for  the  sake  of  her  religious  voca- 
tion, and  will  follow  us  to  heaven  at 
last."  Soon  afterwards  a  young  man, 
named  Aurelius,  came  to  ask  of  Euche- 
rius the  hand  of  his  daughter  Consortia. 
He  said  she  should  decide  for  herself. 
She  said  it  was  not  in  her  power  to 
accept  or  refuse  this  offer,  as  Christ  was 
her  husband.  The  young  man  did  uot 
answer  at  the  time,  but  sent  certain  noble 
matrons  to  try  and  persuade  her  to 
accede  to  his  wishes.  She  begged  them 
to  wait  for  seven  days.  She  passed  the 
time  in  fasting  and  vigils,  and  when 
Aurelius  and  his  friends  came  to  receive 
her  final  answer,  she  said,  "  I  told  you 
before  that  the  decision  does  not  rest 
with  me.    But,  if  you  choose,  let  us  go 


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together  to  the  churoh;  let  Mass  be 
solemnized ;  let  the  Gospel  be  placed  on 
the  altar ;  and,  having  prayed  together, 
let  us  open  the  Book,  and  see  the  will  of 
God  in  the  chapter  which  first  meets  our 
eyes."  The  deciding  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture was,  "Whoso  loveth  father  and 
mother  more  than  Me  is  not  worthy  of 
Me."  Consortia  thanked  God,  and  said 
to  Aurelius,  "  Seek  a  wife  according  to 
your  taste,  for  Christ  is  my  Husband, 
and  will  not  give  me  up."  Consortia 
took  the  sacred  veil.  She  did  not  live 
in  a  convent,  but  in  the  world,  bound  by 
a  vow  of  celibacy,  and  given  to  works  of 
devotion  and  charity,  according  to  the 
custom  of  those  days. 

About  434  it  happened  that  the  Bishop 
of  Lyons  died.  It  was  the  rale  of  that 
Church,  when  widowed  of  its  bishop,  to 
wait  for  some  divine  revelation  to  decide 
the  election  of  a  successor.  On  this 
occasion,  after  three  days  of  rigorously 
observed  fasting  and  prayer,  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  appeared  to  a  boy,  and  told 
him  that  the  recluse  Eucherius,  who  lived 
in  a  cave  on  the  river  Durance,  was  the 
chosen  pastor.  The  archdeacon  and 
clergy  repaired  to  the  cave,  and  offered 
the  see  to  Eucherius.  He  swore  that 
he  would  not  voluntarily  come  out  of  his 
cave,  neither  would  he  go  with  them  un- 
less they  bound  him.  They  then  broke 
down  the  wall,  tied  him  with  ropes,  and 
took  him  by  force  to  the  church  over 
which  he  was  to  preside.  Galla  took 
possession  of  the  cave,  and  her  daughter 
Consortia  brought  her  her  daily  food. 

After  the  death  of  her  parents,  Con- 
sortia built  a  church  and  xenodochium 
in  honour  of  St.  Stephen,  gave  the  rest 
of  her  goods  to  the  poor,  and  set  free  her 
slaves.  Having  settled  her  affairs,  she 
went  to  Clothaire,  king  of  the  Franks,  to 
ask  his  protection,  that  she  might  serve 
God  unmolested  in  his  realm.  The 
king's  daughter  was  dying  of  a  fever. 
Consortia  cured  her.  The  king,  in 
gratitude,  offered  Consortia  anything  in 
his  kingdom,  and  as  much  silver  and 
gold  as  she  chose  to  take.  She  begged 
him  rather  to  give  it  to  the  poor ;  she 
only  asked  for  liberty  to  live  according 
to  her  vow,  and  that  she  and  her  servants 
and  vassals  should  remain  undisturbed 


in  the  possessions  they  already  had. 
Clothaire  willingly  granted  her  request. 
Consortia  returned  home.  Shortly  after, 
Clothaire  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  Sigebert,  who  deputed  a  noble, 
named  Hecca,  to  settle  the  affairs  of 
Marseilles.  When  he  arrived  there  he 
heard  there  was  in  that  province  a 
beautiful  young  woman,  the  only  sur- 
vivor of  a  noble  and  wealthy  family, 
having  large  estates  and  untold  gold. 
Hecca  sent  to  Consortia  to  announce  a 
visit  from  himself.  She  entertained  him 
at  dinner.  He  was  charmed  with  her 
beauty  and  the  wisdom  of  her  words. 
He  went  at  once  to  the  king,  gave  a 
satisfactory  account  of  his  mission,  and 
also  told  him  about  this  rich,  young,  un- 
married woman,  living  alone  on  her 
estate.  He  begged  that  if  the  king 
would  do  him  a  favour,  it  might  be  to 
grant  him  this  woman  for  his  wife. 
Sigebert  consented.  Hecca  sent  mes- 
sengers to  Consortia  to  tell  her  that  the 
king  had  given  her  hand  to  him,  and 
he  bade  her  prepare  to  be  married  in  a 
month.  She  was  much  afflicted  when 
she  heard  this,  but  she  said,  "  I  am  the 
servant  of  the  King.  I  cannot  resist  His 
commands.  I  will  try  to  fulfil  His 
wishes."  The  messengers  thought  her 
words  applied  to  King  Sigebert.  They 
returned  and  told  their  master.  Con- 
sortia fasted  and  prayed  and  grieved  so 
much  that  she  seemed  to  be  near  her 
death.  One  day  she  went  with  one  of 
her  maids  into  the  church  she  had  built 
to  St.  Stephen.  After  praying  and 
weeping  there  a  long  time,  she  fell 
asleep,  and  was  consoled  by  an  angel, 
who  said  to  her,  "  Why  do  you  distress 
yourself?  The  Lord  whom  you  serve 
will  not  forsake  you.  The  bridegroom 
whom  the  king  sends  will  not  reach  you. 
Therefore  prepare  a  feast,  call  the  poor, 
and  order  a  grave  to  be  dug  on  the  spot 
where  you  are  lying,  for  in  it  shall  be 
laid  the  man  who  wishes  to  take  the 
bride  of  Christ  for  himself!  In  three 
days  his  approach  will  be  announced  to 
you.  Then  go  oat  to  meet  him,  accom- 
panied by  your  poor,  singing  psalms. 
When  he  sees  you  he  will  kill  himself 
with  his  own  spear  for  joy."  On  the 
third  day  Hecca  arrived  on  the  opposite 


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204 


ST.  CONSTANCE 


bank  of  the  river.  Consortia  went  to 
meet  him,  dressed  as  if  for  a  festival, 
and  accompanied  by  a  great  multitude  of 
poor  people,  all  singing.  Hecca  was 
transported  with  joy.  He  jumped  in- 
cautiously out  of  the  boat;  his  foot 
slipped,  his  lance  pierced  him  through, 
and  he  fell  down  dead.  Consortia  took 
up  the  body,  wrapped  it  in  fine  linen, 
and  buried  it  in  the  grave  she  had  pre- 
pared. The  men  who  had  come  with 
Hecca  went  back  and  told  the  king  all 
that  had  occurred.  The  day  they  arrived 
happened  to  be  Sigebert's  birthday.  His 
sister,  who  had  been  cured  by  Consortia, 
was  sitting  with  him.  When  she  heard 
4he  whole  story,  she  guessed  that  the 
maiden  for  whom  Hecca  had  lost  his 
life  must  be  the  same  who  had  cured 
her,  and  to  whom  her  father  had  promised 
the  undisturbed  possession  of  her  lands 
and  a  celibate  life.  Warned  by  his  sister 
that  evil  would  befall  him  if  he  allowed 
the  servants  of  Christ  to  be  molested, 
the  king  confirmed  all  the  privileges 
granted  to  Consortia  by  his  father.  From 
that  day  God  gave  Consortia  favour  with 
all  men.  She  made  peace  between  ene- 
mies, she  healed  the  sick,  she  was  adorned 
with  every  virtue,  and  her  face  was  as 
placid  as  that  of  an  angel.  When  her 
labours  were  nearly  ended,  and  her  rest 
approaching,  she  dreamt  that  in  eight 
days  she  was  to  die.  She  made  a  three- 
days'  feast,  at  which  she  entertained  the 
priests  and  the  poor;  her  pious  neigh- 
bours were  there  also.  She  distributed 
all  that  she  had  to  them,  and  informed 
them  all  that  in  five  days  she  must  die ; 
she  therefore  begged  their  prayers  that 
she  might  not  meet  any  evil  spirits  on 
leaving  the  body,  but  might  be  received 
by  the  angels  of  God  and  conducted  to 
the  resting-place  of  the  saints.  Having 
said  this,  she  was  seized  with  fever,  and 
on  the  expected  day  she  died,  and  was 
buried  in  the  oratory  she  had  built,  and 
where  she  had  buried  her  lover.  Her 
body  was  afterwards  translated  to  the 
monastery  of  Cluny,  and  specially  hon- 
oured there,  March  13  and  June  22. 
With  the  exception  of  St.  IrentBUS, 
Eucherius  was  by  far  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  the  bishops  of  Lyons. 
His  writings  are  extant.    The  names  of 


his  sons  are  matter  of  history.  It  is  not 
so  certain  that  he  had  daughters.  Con- 
sortia and  Tullia  have  been  supposed  to 
be  daughters  of  a  later  St.  Eucherius. 
No  daughter  of  Eucherius  of  Lyons  could 
have  been  living  in  the  reign  of  Clothaire 
and  Sigebert.  Henschenius,  in  AA.SS. 
Boll.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben.  Montalem- 
bert,  Moines  <T  Occident,  vii.  ch.  6,  note. 
Mabillon.  Dr.  Cazenove  in  Smith  and 
Wace's  Diet. 

St  Constance  (1),  Sept.  19  (Con- 
st an tia,  Costanza),  M.  at  Nooera,  with 
St.  Felix,  under  Nero.  B.M.  AA.SS. 
Mas  Latrie,  TrSsar. 

St.  Constance  (2),  May  10,  M.  at 
Tarsus,  in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Constance  (3),  Feb.  18  (Con- 
stants Augusta,  Costanza).  4th  cen- 
tury. Daughter  of  the  Emperor  Con- 
stantino, and  granddaughter  of  St.  Helen. 
Constance  had  a  loathsome  disease,  and 
was  covered  with  sores  from  head  to  foot. 
Many  physicians  prescribed  for  her  in 
vain.  At  last  she  heard  of  cures  being 
obtained  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Agnes,  so 
she  travelled  to  Borne,  and  went  super- 
stitiously  as  a  heathen  to  the  tomb.  She 
fell  asleep  there.  Agnes,  in  a  vision, 
exhorted  her  to  become  a  Christian,  and 
promised  her  health  on  that  condition. 
Constance  was  converted.  At  baptism 
she  became  perfectly  well,  and  resolved 
to  consecrate  her  life  to  God  in  virginity. 
Constantino,  however,  wished  her  to  marry 
Gallicanus,  a  general  who  had  vanquished 
the  Persians,  and  whose  services  he  valued 
very  highly.  Seeing  her  father  much 
distressed  at  her  refusal,  she  consented 
to  marry  Gallicanus,  on  condition  of  his 
vanquishing  the  Scythians,  who  had  in- 
vaded Thrace  and  Dacia.  While  he  was 
absent  in  this  war  she  had  his  daughters, 
SS.  Attica  and  Artemia,  to  stay  with 
her.  Few  could  be  found  equal  to  them 
in  wisdom  and  knowledge.  She  sent 
John  and  Paul,  her  faithful  servants  and 
cousins,  with  Gallicanus.  She  prayed 
earnestly  that  he  might  give  up  the  idea 
of  a  marriage  with  her.  She  converted 
his  daughters,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
John  and  Paul  converted  him,  exhorting 
him,  when  the  chances  of  war  seemed 
going  against  him,  instead  of  sacrificing 
to  Mais,  to  call  upon  the  God  of  the 


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BB.  CONSTANCE  XIRA  AND  MARY  FERNANDEZ  205 


Christians,  and  vow  to  serve  Him  ever 
after  the  event  of  victory.  He  had  no 
sooner  made  the  vow  than  a  gigantic 
youth  appeared,  bearing  a  cross  on  his 
shoulder,  and  saying,  "  Arise,  Gallicanns, 
take  thy  dagger,  and  follow  me."  He 
did  so,  and  saw  that  he  was  surrounded 
by  armed  horsemen,  who  fought  their 
way  through  the  enemy.  Gallicanus 
walked  in  the  midst  of  them  with  his 
dagger  drawn  until  they  came  to  the 
Scythian  king,  who  fell  at  his  feet  and 
begged  for  his  life.  By  the  command  of 
the  mysterious  horsemen,  Gallicanus 
spared  his  life,  and  took  him  and  his  two 
sons  prisoners.  The  rest  of  the  Scythians 
submitted;  and  the  tribunes,  and  many 
persons  in  authority,  in  Dacia  and  Thrace, 
became  Christians;  those  who  refused 
were  expelled  from  their  offices.  Galli- 
canus, immediately  after  the  victory, 
vowed  himself  to  a  religious  life,  and,  on 
his  return  to  Rome,  voluntarily  renounced 
his  marriage  with  Constance,  liberated 
five  thousand  slaves,  distributed  his  goods 
to  the  poor,  and  lived  at  Ostia  with  Hi- 
larinus,  a  holy  man,  whose  house  he 
enlarged  for  the  reception  of  pilgrims. 
Gallicanus,  John,  and  Paul  were  martyrs 
in  the  time  of  Julian  the  apostate.  Con- 
stance persuaded  her  father  to  build  a 
church  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Agnes.  There 
she  spent  the  rest  of  her  life  with  Attica 
and  Artemia.  Leggendario  delle  Santis- 
rime  Vergini.    Henschenius,  in  AA.SS. 

Constantia,  a  nun,  is  not  mentioned 
in  contemporary  records  as  a  daughter 
of  Constantino.  His  illegitimate  daughter, 
Constantia,  was  present  at  Milan  at  the 
marriage  of  his  step-sister,  Constantia. 
Baillet  suggests  that  possibly  there  was 
a  St.  Constantia,  a  member  of  the  imperial 
family,  but  not  the  daughter  of  Constan- 
tino. Sigonius,  de  Occidentale  Imperio, 
iii.  86.  Lebeau,  Hist,  du  Bos  Empire,  i. 
341,  391. 

B.  Constance  (4)  or  Constantia, 
Nov.  7,  V.  Abbess.  t  1218- 
Daughter  of  Alphonso,  king  of  Castile  ; 
took  the  veil,  1187,  in  the  Cistercian 
monastery  of  St  Mary  of  Monreal,  at 
Burgos,  and  was  abbess  there  from  1205 
until  1218.    Henriquez,  Lilia  Cistercii. 

B.  Constance  (5)  Donati,  Dec. 
17.    "f  early   14th    century.  O.S.F. 


Her  name  in  the  world  was  Piccarda. 
She  and  Dante's  wife,  Gemma,  were 
daughters  of  Simon  Donati,  who,  in 
1201,  was  ambassador  from  the  Eepublic 
of  Florence  to  the  famous  Corradino  of 
Germany.  Piccarda  was  betrothed,  by 
her  parents,  to  Eosselino  della  Tosa. 
She  determined  not  to  marry,  and  fled 
to  the  convent  of  Sta.  Maria  di  Monti- 
celli.  Her  father  was  very  angry. 
Persuasions  and  threats  failing  to  induce 
her  to  return,  he  tried  to  break  the  door. 
Not  succeeding  in  that,  he  procured  a 
ladder  from  some  peasants,  got  into  the 
courtyard  and  frightened  the  nuns,  but 
had  to  go  away  without  his  daughter. 
His  son  Corso  Donati,  however,  went  by 
night  with  several  men.  They  found 
Piccarda  with  the  nuns  in  the  choir, 
tied  her  with  ropes,  and  took  her  away 
by  force.  Corso,  to  escape  the  excom- 
munication incurred  by  carrying  off  a 
nun,  did  penance  by  going  to  the  convent 
church  on  a  solemn  day  in  his  shirt, 
with  a  rope  round  his  neck.  In  presence 
of  all  the  nuns,  many  monks,  and  a  great 
gathering  of  clergy  and  people,  he  asked 
pardon  of  God  and  the  nuns,  and  obtained 
absolution.  All  the  companions  of  his 
violence  came  to  untimely  and  horrible 
deaths.  Constance  was  married  to  Tosa ; 
but  having  made  a  vow  of  virginity,  she 
prayed  for  some  disfiguring  disease.  She 
only  survived  her  marriage  a  few  months, 
and  died  dressed  in  the  Franciscan  habit. 
Dante  met  her  brothers  Corso  and  Foreee 
in  purgatory  (Purgatorio,  xxiv.).  They 
told  him  that  their  sister  was  in  paradise, 
and  there  he  met  her  among  the  blessed. 
Paradiso,  iii.  Wadding,  Annates,  iii. 
Chronica  Serafica,  iii.,  where  she  is  called 
by  mistake  Bicarda.  Brocchi,  Santi  e 
Beati  Fiorentini.  Bossetti,  Shadow  of 
Dante, 

BB.  Constance  (6)  Xira  and 
Mary  Fernandez,  May  30.  Probably 
1 5th  cent.  They  lived  at  Evora  in  Portu- 
gal, by  the  work  of  their  own  hands 
and  on  the  alms  of  the  pious.  Their 
reputation  for  sanctity  attracted  so  many 
persons  that  a  monastery  was  built  for 
them  under  the  invocation  of  St.  Monica 
and  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine.  Constance 
was  prioress  and  Mary  deputy  prioress 
or  vicar.    AA.SS.,  from  Cardoso. 


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206 


B.  CONSTANCE 


B.  Constance  (7).  O.S.D.  -fc. 
1600.  Nun  under  B.  Antonia  Guainari 
at  Brescia. 

B.  Contessa,  Sept.  8  (Latin,  Comi- 
tissa),  V.  "f"  c.  1308.  Not  mentioned 
in  the  martyrologies,  but  worshipped  at 
Venice  from  the  time  of  her  death.  Of 
the  noble  Venetian  family  Tagliapietri. 
Her  parents  did  not  approve  of  her  daily 
attendance  at  the  church  of  St.  Maur. 
They  forbade  the  servants  to  take  her  in 
the  family  gondola.  Next  morning  she 
begged  the  gondoliers  to  take  her  to 
church  as  usual.  They  refused,  not 
dariog  to  disobey  her  father.  Her  apron 
served  her  for  a  boat  and  took  her 
safe  and  dry  to  church.  While  she 
prayed  she  left  the  world,  in  the 
thirteenth  year  of  her  innocent  life. 
AAJSS. 

St.  Copagia,  or  Pompbia,  queen  of 
Armorica.  Born  in  the  5th,  died  in  the 
6th  century.  Wife  of  Hoel  I.,  son  and 
successor  of  Budic.  Hoel  and  Copagia, 
with  several  children,  took  refuge  at  the 
court  of  their  relation,  King  Arthur,  in 
Great  Britain.  Hoel  returned  to  his  own 
country  in  513,  drove  out  the  French, 
and  recovered  the  kingdom.  Soon  after- 
wards he  went  again  to  England  to  help 
King  Arthur,  and  there  he  died,  in  545. 
Copagia  spent  more  than  half  her  life 
in  England.  Her  sons,  Tugdual  and 
Leonor,  were  born  there.  On  his  father's 
death,  Tugdual,  who  was  at  the  head  of 
a  monastery,  resolved  to  return  to  his 
native  country.  His  mother,  his  sister 
Sbva,  and  seven ty- two  monks  went  with 
him.  They  landed  near  the  Conquet,  in 
the  parish  of  Ploumagoer,  in  Leon. 
Copagia's  eldest  son,  Hoel  II.,  surnamed 
Jona,  was  now  king.  He  gave  his 
brother  a  piece  of  land  in  that  neighbour- 
hood, where  he  built  a  monastery.  Tug- 
dual travelled  all  over  Brittany,  teaching 
the  people  and  performing  miracles  of 
charity,  until,  in  every  district  of  the 
country,  people  begged  to  have  a  few 
of  his  monks  settled  amongst  them, 
and  offered  land  and  service  to  build 
suitable  residences  for  them.  The 
principal  monastery  that  Tugdual.  built 
was  at  Trecor,  now  Treguier,  and  there 
he  was  so  much  esteemed  that  the  in- 
habitants of  the  neighbourhood  chose 


him  for  their  bishop.  Childebert,  king 
of  France,  gave  him  the  bishopric,  and 
desired  that  he  should  come  to  Paris  to 
be  consecrated.  This  he  did  about  552. 
Guerin,  Petit*  Boll. 

St  Coppa,  or  Cobba,  Jan.  18,  V. 
Supposed  5th  century.  Daughter  of 
Baedan.  Perhaps  same  as  Cipia,  mother 
of  St.  Bite,  and  veiled  by  St.  Patrick. 
O'Hanlon,  iii.  245. 

St.  Coprica,  April  7,  M.  with  Victor, 
in  Upper  Libya.  AA.SS. 

St.  Corcair  (1),  March  8  (Cucaoia, 
Cubach,  Quobbaib),  V.  Daughter  of 
Corpreus,  son  of  Alild,  king  of  Ultonia. 
Her  mother's  name  was  Lassara.  Sister 
of  St.  Frigidian  or  Findian,  bishop  of 
Lucca,  who  converted  his  father,  mother, 
and  Corcair.  She  was  to  have  married 
the  King  of  Hungary,  but  took  the  veil 
instead.  Findian  raised  her  from  the 
dead.  Nobody  dared  to  touch  her  grave  ; 
if  birds  flew  over  it  they  fell  dead.  A 
bishop  wanted  to  translate  her  relics  and  % 
was  stricken  blind.  Colgan. 

St.  Corcair  (2),  Nov.  16,  may  be  the 
same  as  Corcair  (1). 

St.  Corccagia,  or  Curcagia,  July  2 1 . 
Sister  of  St.  Tinan.  Patron  of  Kilcur- 
gagia,  in  Ireland. 

St.  Cordola,  Cordula. 

St.  Cordula,  or  Cobdola,  Sept.  2,  Oct. 
22,  V.  M.  The  only  one  of  the  com- 
panions of  St.  Ursula  to  whom  the 
Roman  Martyrology  decrees  a  separate 
commemoration,  and  who  is  honoured 
with  a  semi-double  rite  throughout  the 
Church.  Many  miracles  attended  her 
translation.  Legend  says  she  landed  at 
Cologne  with  St.  Ursula  and  the  eleven 
thousand.  Her  courage  failed  when  she 
saw  the  slaughter  of  her  companions; 
she  fled,  and  hid  in  one  of  the  ships. 
Two  days  afterwards  she  repented  of  her 
cowardice,  and  presented  herself  to  the 
barbarians,  who  killed  her.  Some 
accounts  make  her  a  daughter  of  Avitus 
and  sister  of  St.  Columba  (6).  About 
the  middle  of  the  12th  century  she 
appeared  to  St.  Helentrude,  a  nun  at 
Heerse  in  the  diocese  of  Paderborn,  and 
told  her  that  her  festival  was  to  be  kept 
the  second  day  after  that  of  her  com- 
panions. She  also  appeared  to  Inge- 
brand  de  Burke,  a  brother  hospitaller  of 


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ST.  CREED 


207 


St.  John  Baptist  of  Jerusalem  at  Cologne, 
and  pointed  oat  to  him  the  place  where 
her  body  lay  in  an  orchard.  AA.SS. 
Leggendario. 

St.  Corintha,  Quinta. 

St.  Corinthe,  Feb.  8,  V.  M.  at  Alex- 
andria, c.  252.  Eefusing  to  worship 
idols,  she  was  tied  by  the  feet,  dragged 
through  the  city,  and  torn  to  pieces. 
R.M.  Canisius,  Catechism. 

SS.  Cornelia  ( l )  and  Cornelia,  April 
20,  MM.  in  Africa.  They  may  be  two 
Cornelias. 

St.  Cornelia  (2),  March  31,  M.  in 
Africa.  Her  relics  were  brought  to 
Brittany.  R.M. 

St.  Cornelia  (3),  April  14,  M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  CoroAa  (1),  May  14,  M.  c.  177, 
with  St.  Victor,  in  Syria,  or  at  Lycos,  in 
the  Thebaid.  Patron— with  St.  Victor— 
of  Feltri.  A  soldier's  wife.  She  was 
sixteen,  and  had  been  married  a  year 
and  four  months,  when  she  saw  St. 
Victor,  a  Eoman  soldier,  bravely  under- 
going many  torments  for  the  love  of 
Christ.  She  addressed  to  him  words  of 
encouragement  and  blessing,  and  was 
therefore  arrested  by  Sebastian,  the 
general,  and  commanded  to  sacrifice  to 
the  gods.  She  saw  two  crowns  falling 
from  heaven,  one  for  Victor  and  one  for 
herself.  She  replied,  "My  name  is 
Corona,  and  would  you  have  me  lose  my 
eternal  crown  ?  "  Then  the  general 
ordered  two  palm  trees  to  be  bent  down 
by  the  soldiers  and  Corona  to  be  bound 
to  them  with  strong  cords.  She  was 
torn  in  two  by  the  flying  back  of  the 
trees.  St.  Victor  was  then  flayed  and 
beheaded.  The  Church  commemorates 
them  together.  R.M.  AA.SS.  Callot, 
Images.  Husenbeth.  .  She  is  mentioned 
in  a  litany  used  in  England  in  the  7th 
century.  Mabillon,  Vetera  Analecta, 
p.  660.   Compare  St.  Stephana  (1). 

B.  Corona  (2),  April  24,  V.,  was  a 
Benedictine  Dun  at  Elche,  in  Valencia, 
Spain.  She  worked  miracles  before  and 
after  her  death,  and  was  revered  by  the 
people  as  a  saint.  Bucelinus,  Men.  Ben. 
Henschenius,  AA.SS.,  from  Salazar. 

St.  Corth,  Cymorth. 

St.  Cortilia,  Jan.  23,  V.  M.  at  Rome. 
AA.SS. 


Costanza,  Constance. 

St.  Coteus«L  June  1,  M.  with  St. 
Aucega.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cotia  (l),  Cotilia. 

St.  Cotia  (2),  or  Gothia,  Oct.  1,  M. 
at  Tomis,  in  Lower  Moesia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cotidia,  April  30,  M.  at  Alex- 
andria. AA.SS. 

St.  Cotilia,  May  15  (Choticlia, 
Chottia,  Cotia  (1)  ),  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cotilia,  Jan  23,  V.  M.  Mas 
Latrie,  Trtsor. 

St.  Covita,  Quinta. 

Ste.  Coyfere,  or  Cohjsria,  Aug.  l. 
Ste.  Coyere  is  the  name  of  a  church  in 
the  diocese  of  Chalons  -  sur  -  Marne, 
founded  in  memory  of  the  junction  of 
the  two  chains  of  St.  Peter,  recorded  in 
ancient  legendaries.  Chastelain. 

St.  Coyta,  Quinta. 

St.  Craphaildis,  or  Raphai'ldis, 
Nov.  12,  M.  perhaps  656  or  633.  She 
and  her  sister,  Berna,  kindly  received 
St.  Livin,  an  Irish  ecclesiastic,  who,  in 
return  for  their  hospitality,  restored 
sight  to  Ingelbert,  son  of  Craphaildis, 
who  had  been  blind  thirteen  years.  Most 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Flanders  and  Bra- 
bant were  pagans,  and  St.  Livin  was 
very  ill-received  among  them,  and  finally 
murdered  at  the  house  of  Craphaildis, 
at  Esoha,  a  village  near  Ghent.  Cra- 
phaildis and  her  little  son,  Brixius  (Brice), 
were  murdered  also.  He  was  buried  in 
the  same  grave  with  St.  Livin,  who  had 
shortly  before  baptised  him ;  and  Cra- 
phaildis was  buried  near  them.  Livin's 
Life,  written  by  Boniface.  Lanigan. 
Butler. 

St.  Crasta,  Christa. 

St.  Credula  (1),  or  Credola,  May  13, 
M.  with  Aphrodisius  at  Alexandria. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Credula  (2),  April  17,  M.  in 
Africa.    AA.SS.  Migne. 

St.  Credula  (3),  or  Oritula,  May  13, 
M.  at  Alexandria. 

St.  Creed,  or  Crida,  is  commemorated 
at  the  village  and  church  of  Creed, 
Cornwall.  It  is  supposed  that  Crediton 
and  Sancreed  take  their  names  from  this 
saint,  who  was  probably  one  of  the  Welsh 
missionaries  who  settled  in  Cornwall. 
Stanton.  Smith  and  Wace.  Parker, 
Calendar  of  Anglican  Church. 


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208 


ST.  CRESCENTIA 


St.  Crescentia  0),  June  15,  M. 

c.  300. 

Represented  holding  a  palm,  a  little 
boy,  St.  Vitus,  standing  beside  her. 

Wife  of  St.  Modestus.  Hylas,  a  rich 
citizen  of  Mazara,  in  Sicily,  gave  his 
infant  son,  Vitus,  to  Crescentia  to  be 
nursed.  She  and  her  husband  brought 
up  the  child  as  a  Christian,  and  had  him 
baptised.  When  he  was  seven  he  gave 
sight  to  the  blind  and  performed  other 
miraculous  cures,  especially  on  those 
possessed  of  devils.  Hylas  was  very 
angry,  and,  after  trying  in  vain  to  induce 
his  son  to  abandon  the  despised  sect  of 
the  Christians,  he  brought  him  before 
Valerian,  the  governor  of  the  town. 
Valerian  ordered  him  to  be  scourged. 
When  the  executioner  tried  to  obey,  his 
arm  was  paralyzed.  Vitus  restored  the 
powerless  arm  by  making  the  sign  of  the 
cross  over  it.  Valerian,  considering  the 
boy's  tender  age,  sent  him  back  to  his 
father,  who  tried  to  pervert  him  by  the 
seductions  of  pleasure.  Modestus, 
warned  by  a  dream,  took  Crescentia  and 
Vitus  and  crossed  over  to  Leucania. 
Diocletian  sent  for  Vitus  to  cure  his 
daughter,  which  he  did.  The  emperor 
then  tried  to  bribe  the  boy  and  his  foster- 
father  and  mother  with  gifts  and  promises, 
to  renounce  their  religion.  These  gentle 
means  failing,  they  were  cast  into  a  dark 
prison,  thence  brought  into  the  amphi- 
theatre in  presence  of  a  multitude  of 
people,  and  put  in  a  caldron  of  boiling 
pitch.  They  sang  praises  to  Christ  in 
the  caldron,  and  came  out  unhurt.  A 
lion  was  then  let  loose  to  kill  them.  It 
licked  their  feet  and  lay  down  quietly. 
They  were  put  on  the  rack,  and  while 
their  bones  were  being  dislocated,  an 
earthquake  shook  the  place,  a  temple 
and  all  the  statues  of  gods  and  emperors 
fell  down,  and  many  persons  were  killed. 
An  angel  led  the  three  martyrs  from  the 
place  of  torture  to  the  banks  of  the  river 
Silorus,  where  they  died.  Their  bodies 
were  embalmed  and  buried  by  a  lady  of 
high  rank  named  Florentia.  They 
are  all  commemorated  together. 

EM.  Baillet,  Vies.  Boll.,  AA.SS. 
Ott,  Die  Legende.  Wetzer  and  Welt, 
Diet  Theologique,  "  Saints  Attxiliaires." 
Martyrum  Acta 


St.  Crescentia  (2),  June  4,  M.  in 
Cilicia,  or  Sicily.  AA.SS.  Perhaps  the 
same  as  Crescentia  (1). 

St  Crescentia  (3),  May  5,  M.  at 
Rome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Crescentia  (4),  Aug.  4,  M.  with 
St.  Justa  (1).  Buried  in  the  Via 
Tiburtana  at  Rome.  Mart,  of  Corvei. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Crescentia  (5),  V.  Abbess.  8th 
century.  Accompanied  St.  Boniface  to 
Scotland.  Perhaps  same  as  Creticia. 
(See  Triduana.)  Forbes. 

St.  Crescentia  (6),  V.,  is  placed 
among  the  Ahemeri,  or  saints  who  have 
no  certain  day  dedicated  to  them,  but 
she  is  commemorated  by  some  people, 
Aug.  19.  All  that  is  known  of  her  is 
from  St.  Gregory  of  Tours.*  On  the  site 
of  an  old  church  near  Paris  was  a  stone 
bearing  this  inscription,  "  Hie  requiescit 
Crescentia,  sacrata  Deo  puella  "  Here 
lies  Crescentia,  a  girl  dedicated  to  God  "). 
There  was  no  date  nor  any  record  of  the 
life  of  the  departed.  A  certain  priest 
thought  it  might  be  the  tomb  of  a  saint, 
and  took  a  pinch  of  dust  from  it  to  a 
man  who  was  suffering  from  tertian 
fever ;  he  immediately  recovered.  This 
came  to  be  known,  and  many  flocked  to 
the  tomb  to  be  cured  of  divers  diseases. 
She  is  particularly  successful  in  curing 
toothache.  AA.SS. 

B.  Crescentia  (7),  April  9.  -f  1 744. 
O.S.F.  Mary  Crescenz  Hosz,  or  Hois, 
was  the  daughter  of  a  poor  weaver  of 
Kaufbeuern,  in  Bavaria.  She  ardently 
wished  to  take  the  veil  in  a  convent  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  in  her 
native  town.  The  nuns  were  so  poor 
that  they  could  not  take  a  member  who 
had  absolutely  nothing  to  contribute  to 
the  support  of  the  community.  They 
allowed  her,  however,  the  satisfaction  of 
coming  when  she  had  a  few  spare  minutes, 
to  kneel  before  a  large  crucifix  standing 
in  a  corridor  of  their  house.  One  day 
while  she  was  thus  engaged  the  Saviour 
spoke  to  her  from  that  cross,  saying, 
"This  shall  be  thy  dwelling-place." 
She  was  then  twenty  years  old.  Near 
the  convent  was  an  inn  where  people 
made  so  much  noise  that  they  disturbed 
the  nuns  at  their  prayers.  The  mayor 
of  the  place,  though  a  Protestant,  used 


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ST.  CUNEBURG 


200 


his  influence  to  have  tbe  house  sold  to 
the  nuns  at  a  very  moderate  price,  and 
in  return  obtained  the  admission  of 
Crescentia  into  their  ranks.  When  first 
she  entered,  some  of  the  inmates  looked 
down  upon  her,  calling  her  the  beggar, 
and  subjecting  her  to  many  humiliations, 
but  such  was  her  true  worth  and  the  in- 
fluence of  her  piety  that  within  a  few 
years  she  was  at  the  head  of  the  house. 
Princes  and  illustrious  persons  from  all 
parts  of  Germany,  Poland,  and  other 
countries  came  to  visit  her  in  her  humble 
cell.  Many  pilgrims  resort  to  her  tomb. 
She  was  beatified  by  Leo  XIII.  in  1901. 
Guerin,  P.B.,  iv.  297.  Her  Life  by 
Father  Ignatius  Teiler,  O.S.F. 

St  Crescentiana,  May  5,  M.  at 
Rome.    R.M.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Creticia  and  Criduana,  W. 
MM.  Conjectured  companions  of  St. 
Ursula.  Greven.  AA.SS.  Perhaps 
same  as  St.  Crescentia  (5)  and  St. 
Triduana. 

St.  Crevenna,  Crewenna,  or  Cro- 
wenna,  Oct.  27  and  the  Sunday  nearest 
to  Feb.  1st.  6th  or  7th  century.  Com- 
memorated at  the  church  and  village  of 
Crowan,  Cornwall.  An  Irishwoman,  who 
came  to  Cornwall  with  SS.Ia  and  Breaca. 
AA.SS.    Parker.    Smith  and  Wage. 

St.  Criduana.    (See  Creticia.) 

St.  Crischona,  or  Christiana  (5),  pil- 
grim with  SS.  Cunegund  (1),  Mechtund, 
and  Wibrand. 

St.  Crisconina,  Feb.  24,  M.  One 
of  a  great  number  of  Christians  put  to 
death  at  Nicomedia.  No  particulars  are 
known,  but  the  Church  commemorates 
them  on  this  day.  AA.SS. 

St.  Crispina,  Dec.  5.  "f  302  or  304. 
A  delicate  lady,  accustomed  to  every 
luxury  of  wealth.  Of  an  illustrious 
family,  and  the  mother  of  several  chil- 
dren. A  native  of  Thagara,  in  Procon- 
sular Africa.  She  was  brought  to  trial 
at  Thebeste,  in  Numidia,  before  Anulinus, 
proconsul  of  Africa,  in  the  reign  of  Dio- 
cletian and  Maximian ;  on  her  refusal 
to  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  the  proconsul 
ordered  her  to  have  her  head  shaved, 
and  to  be  exposed  to  the  derision  of 
the  people.  He  reproached  her  for 
want  of  reverence  to  the  gods.  She 
replied,  "  If  the  gods  ar*  angry  at  my 


words,  let  them  speak."  She  was  then 
beheaded.  SS.  Maxima,  Donatilla,  and 
Secunda  were  her  friends,  and  were  mar- 
tyred before  her.  Butler  says  that  Cris- 
pina's  Acts,  preserved  by  Mabillon  and 
Euinart,  are  authentic,  though  imperfect. 
She  is  mentioned  repeatedly  in  the  writ- 
ings of  St.  Augustine.  It  is  sometimes 
thought  there  were  two  Crisp  in  as  mar- 
tyred with  the  other  three  women.  B.M. 
Baillet,  Vies.  Martyrum  Acta.  Butler. 
Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Crispinilla,  July  27,  or  Crispus 
and  Spinella,  M.  at  Rome.  AA.SS.,  sup- 
plementary volume.    Mart.  Augustanum. 

St.  Cristina,  Christina. 

St.  Croctilde.  Clotilda. 

St.  Crona.   (See  Comgella.) 

St.  Cronaparva,  or  Crona  Parva, 
July  7.  Perhaps  a  dwarf  who  attained 
to  great  holiness.  If  so,  she  should  be 
patron  of  dwarfs.  Daughter  of  Diermitu. 
Honoured  with  her  sister,  St.  Comgella 
(1),  St.  Findabaria,  and  two  bishops. 

St.  Cronsecha,  April  4.  Irish. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Crora,  Oct.  20,  Orora. 

St.  Crotehildis,  Clotilda  (1). 

St.  Crowenna,  Crevenna. 

St  Cruimtheresia.  (See  Ergnata.) 

St.  Cuaca,  Coca. 

St.  Cuach,  or  Cuacha  (1),  Coca. 

St.  Cuacha  (2),  Coningenia. 

St.  Cuanna,  April  10,  V.  -f717- 
Abbess  in  Campo-Lacha,  in  Begione 
Bregarum,  in  Boscommon  in  Ireland,  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  region  of  Mag- 
bregh.  Probably  same  as  Conna,  March 
3.  Mentioned  by  Marian  Gorman. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Cucagia,  Corcair. 

St.  Cucca,  Coca. 

St.  Cucia,  Coca. 

St.  Cudburg,  or  Cudburh,  Cuth- 

BURGA. 

St.  Cuenburga,  Quimburg. 

St.  Cu mania,  March  29.  Sister  of 
Ethnea  and  Sodelbia,  or  Fedelmia. 
Perhaps  the  same  Cumania  who  is  men- 
tioned in  the  AA.SS.  among  the  Prseter- 
missi,  May  29,  as  daughter  of  Allean  in 
Ard-vladh.  Colgan. 

St.  Cumerana,  Wilgeportis. 

St.  Cuneburg,  or  Cunneburg,  Kyne- 

BURGA. 


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SS.  CUNEGUND 


SS.  Cunegund  (l)  (Cunigund,  Cu- 
NissA,  Cuniza),  Mechtund  (Monegund\ 
Chrischona  (Christiana,  Christschon), 
and  Wibrand,  June  16,  W.  Pilgrims. 
These  four  are  supposed  either  to  have 
been  among  the  few  survivors  of  the 
companions  of  St.  Ursula,  and  to  have 
died  on  their  return  journey  towards 
Borne,  or  else  to  have  been  journeying 
thither  to  escape  some  irruption  of  bar- 
barians. 

Mnnerus,  in  his  Helvetia  Sancta,  says 
the  noble  virgins,  Cunigund,  Mechtund, 
and  Christiana,  with  their  maid  Wibrand, 
fell  ill  at  the  ancient  city  of  Augusta, 
between  Bheinfeld  and  Basle.  They  had 
crossed  the  Bhine  near  the  village  of 
Bapperwil,  and  found  a  hospice  on  the 
banks  of  the  river ;  and  there  Christiana 
died.  When  they  attempted  to  take  her 
body  to  the  place  of  burial,  they  were 
unable  to  move  it,  until  they  harnessed 
two  unbroken  young  bullocks  to  the  cart 
in  which  it  was  laid.  The  creatures 
dragged  the  cart  over  stones  and  through 
thickets,  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  about  a 
league  below  Basle.  There  Christiana 
was  buried,  and  there,  in  later  years,  a 
church  was  built.  The  other  three 
maidens  continued  to  get  worse,  and 
died  in  the  same  place.  At  their  own 
request  their  bodies  were  placed  in  a 
cart.  The  bullocks  took  them  to  the 
foot  of  a  gigantic  oak,  where  they  were 
buried.  The  place  is  thence  called 
Eichel,  or  Eichsel,  and  a  church  was 
built  there  also.  It  is  in  the  diocese  of 
Constance.  AA.SS.  Burgener,  Helvetia 
Sancta. 

B.  Cunegund  (2),  March  0  (or  Cu- 
nissa),  of  Diessen.  "f"  1020.  Countess  of 
Andechs.  Daughter  of  Conrad,  count 
of  Oeningen,  on  Lake  Constance.  De- 
scended from  the  Emperor  Otho  the 
Great.  She  married  Frederick  II.,  count 
of  Andechs,  and  after  his  death  she  be- 
came the  second  founder  of  the  monastery 
of  St.  Stephen  at  Diessen,  where  she  lived 
and  died.  Bader,  Bavaria  Pia.  AA.SS., 
Prseter. 

St.  Cunegund  (3),  March  3,  22, 
Sept.  9  (Chunegundis,  Chunigunt,  Chu- 

NIHA,     CuNEGONDA,     CUNIZA,  KoNUNGA, 

Kunhuta,  Kununga).  "f"  1040.  Daughter 
of  Siegfried,  count  palatine  of  the  Bhine, 


prince  of  Metz,  and  of  the  country  about 
the  Moselle.  Joint  patron  of  Bamberg, 
with  her  hnsband,  Henry,  duke  of  Bavaria, 
who  became  king  of  Germany  as  Henry 
II.  He  was  crowned  at  Maintz ;  Cune- 
gund, at  Paderborn.  In  1014  they  went 
to  Borne,  and  received  the  imperial  crown 
from  Benedict  VIIL 

Bepresented  (1)  walking  over  red-hot 
ploughshares ;  (2)  holding  a  ploughshare 
in  each  hand ;  (3 S  holding  the  same  lily 
as  St.  Henry ;  (4;  holding  a  model  of  a 
church  (as  founder  of  Kauffungen,  or 
Cappung,  near  Cassel) ;  (5)  holding,  with 
her  husband,  a  model  of  a  church  (the 
cathedral  of  Bamberg). 

According  to  legend,  Henry  and  Cune- 
gund made  a  vow  of  virginity  before 
their  marriage.  The  Empress  was  ac- 
cused, by  certain  sons  of  Belial,  of  break- 
ing her  vow,  or  of  conduct  unbecoming 
her  rank  and  religious  profession.  To 
clear  herself  from  this  imputation,  she 
submitted  to  the  ordeal  of  walking  blind- 
folded and  barefooted  over  red-hot 
ploughshares.  The  accomplishment  of 
this  feat  without  injury  was  received  by 
all  as  a  full  refutation  of  the  calumny, 
and  a  proof  of  divine  protection.  When 
Henry  perceived  that  he  was  near  death, 
he  called  Cunegund's  relations  and  the 
chief  men  of  the  empire,  and  said,  "I 
give  back  to  you  and  to  God  this  holy 
virgin,  who  was  lent  to  me  by  Christ." 

There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  autho- 
rity in  contemporary  records,  either  for 
the  story  of  the  ploughshares  or  that  of 
the  vow  of  virginity. 

Henry  and  Cunegund  built  many 
churches,  monasteries,  and  charitable 
institutions  in  various  parts  of  Germany. 
The  most  famous  was  the  cathedral  of 
SS.  Peter  and  George,  at  Bamberg. 
Cunegund  built,  at  Kauffungen,  with  her 
own  revenues,  a  Benedictine  monastery, 
in  honour  of  Christ  and  His  cross,  in 
gratitude  for  her  recovery  from  a  serious 
illness.  Henry  made  some  magnificent 
gifts  to  the  church  attached  to  it,  in- 
cluding many  ornaments  and  vessels  of 
gold  and  precious  stones,  for  the  service 
of  the  altar  and  the  dress  of  the  priests. 
He  died  before  the  monastery  was 
finished,  and  Cunegund  took  charge  ot 
the  empire  unjil  the  accession  of  Conrad 


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211 


II.  He  was  elected  Emperor  Sept.  8, 
1024,  with  tremendous  acclamation,  by 
an  immense  assembly  of  bishops,  princes, 
and  nobles  encamped  at  Eamba,  on  the 
Rhine.  When  the  election  was  decided, 
the  widowed  Empress  stepped  into  the 
circle  of  electors  and,  with  noble  words 
as  beseemed  that  noble  woman,  gave  to 
the  chosen  sovereign  the  regalia  that  had 
been  in  her  care. 

Soon  afterwards  she  invited  several 
prelates  to  the  dedication  of  her  church 
at  Kauffungen.  After  the  Gospel  of  the 
Maes,  in  place  of  the  imperial  robes,  she 
put  on  a  brown — "very  brown,"  says 
Baillet — religious  habit,  which  she  had 
made  with  her  own  hands.  Her  hair 
was  then  cut  off.  It  was  kept  in  that 
convent  as  a  sacred  relic.  The  Bishop 
of  Paderborn  placed  the  ring  on  her 
hand  and  the  veil  on  her  head.  Thus 
she  became  a  Benedictine  nun. 

During  her  husband's  life  Cunegund 
brought  up  several  young  ladies  at  her 
court,  and  having  had  the  learned  edu- 
cation of  the  princesses  of  her  time,  she 
superintended  their  studies  herself.  One 
of  these  was  St.  Hkmma,  of  Gurk,  a  near 
relation  of  the  Emperor,  and  one  was  Uta 
or  Jutta,  Cunegund's  niece.  Jutta  was 
much  attached  to  her  aunt,  and  went 
with  her  into  the  cloister.  Cunegund 
made  her  abbess,  but  she  was  too  young 
and  fond  of  pleasure  for  so  great  a 
responsibility.  She  abused  her  liberty 
by  being  always  last  at  prayers  and  first 
at  feasts.  One  Sunday  Cunegund  was 
following  the  cross  in  a  solemn  pro- 
cession. The  abbess  was  not  there. 
Everybody  was  scandalized.  Cunegund 
went  to  her  niece's  room,  and  found  her 
feasting  and  amusing  herself  with  other 
girls.  The  pious  aunt  not  only  uttered 
words  of  reproof,  but  struck  her  on  the 
right  cheek,  where  the  mark  of  her 
fingers  remained  like  a  seal,  ever  after,  as 
a  warning  to  Jutta  and  others. 

During  Cunegund's  cloister  life  she 
resisted  every  attempt  to  treat  her  as 
Empress,  and  tried  to  make  and  consider 
herself  the  lowest  of  the  nuns.  On  her 
deathbed  she  saw  her  attendants  pre- 
paring a  magnificent  embroidered  white- 
and-gold  covering.  She  begged  them  to 
take  it  away,  and  made  it  her  last  request 


that  she  should  be  buried  in  her  habit, 
like  the  other  nuns.  She  was  laid  by 
the  side  of  her  husband  at  Bamberg,  and 
worked  miracles  there.  Pope  Innocent 
III.  canonized  her  in  1200. 

B.M.,  March  3.  Her  Life  was  first 
written  by  a  monk  or  canon  of  Bamberg 
in  1 1 52,  when  Henry  was  canonized.  It 
is  given  in  the  AA.SS.  Butler.  Baillet. 
Mrs.  Jameson.  Ditmar,  Chronicle,  vii. 
Pertz,  Monumenta  Germanise,  iv.  823. 
Giesebrecht,  Deutschlands  Kaiserzeit,  ii. 
223.  Callot,  Images.  Bilder  Legende. 
Mancini,  Pitti  Gallery.  Die  Attribute  der 
Heiligen.  A  portion  of  the  coronation 
mantle  of  Henry  II.,  embroidered  by 
Cunegund,  is  shown  in  Lady  Marion 
Alford's  Needlework  as  Art,  plate  (30. 
This  mantle  was  presented  by  Henry 
and  Cunegund  to  the  church  of  Bamberg, 
where  it  is  still  preserved  in  the  form  of 
a  chasuble. 

St.  Cunegund  (4),  July  24  (Gune- 

GUND,  KlNGA,  KlOGA,  &UNEGUNDI8,  ZlGUA, 

Zinga,  etc.),  1224-1292.  V.  3rd 
O.S.F.  Queen  and  patron  of  Poland. 
Founder  of  the  convent  of  Sandecz. 

Represented  (1)  as  a  queen;  (2)  as  a 
Franciscan  nun,  with  her  shoes  hanging 
from  her  girdle. 

Daughter  of  Bela  IV.,  king  of 
Hungary  ( 1 235- 1270).  Her  mother  was 
Mary,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Alexis 
Ducas,  a  princess  brought  from  Con- 
stantinople for  Bela  by  his  father, 
Andrew  II.  (1205-1235),  on  his  return 
journey  from  Jerusalem.  Cunegund  was 
sister  of  St.  Margaret  of  Hungary,  and 
niece  of  St.  Elizabeth  of  Hungary, 
great-niece  of  St.  Hedwig,  and  niece  and 
sister-in-law  of  B.  Salome  of  Poland. 
She  married  Boleslaw,  surnamed  the 
Chaste,  king  of  Poland,  a  refugee  at  her 
father's  court.  He  was  extremely  pious, 
but  sadly  wanting  in  decision,  energy, 
and  the  qualities  most  desirable  in  the 
ruler  of  an  unsettled,  half-civilized 
people,  struggling  against  the  invasions 
of  the  Tartars.  When  he  was  entreated 
to  lead  his  armies  against  his  country's 
foes,  he  so  far  yielded  as  to  ride  into  the 
ranks  of  war,  and  although  his  devout 
sloth  refused  to  strike  a  blow,  he  had  the 
coolness  to  sit  still  upon  his  horse, 
holding  up  his  hands  in  prayer,  while 


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212 


ST.  CUNEGUND 


his  more  practical  companions  gave  away 
their  lives  around  him.  Besides  the 
horrors  of  the  Tartar  incursions,  his  own 
vassal  princes  were  beyond  his  control, 
and  he  fled  for  aid  to  the  King  of 
Hungary,  who  was  quick  to  see  the 
advantage  of  marrying  his  daughter  to 
the  young  king,  and  his  brother  Eoloman 
to  B.  Salome,  the  sister  of  Boleslaw.  As 
Boleslaw  returned  with  his  bride  to 
Cracow,  the  clergy  and  people  at  each 
town  came  out  to  meet  the  young 
sovereigns,  with  joyful  acclamations  and 
high  hopes  that  now  their  misfortunes 
were  over  and  prosperity  was  dawning 
for  them.  Cunegund  stayed  at  Cracow 
with  her  mother-in-law,  Grzymislawa, 
until  she  had  learnt  the  Polish  language. 
Thrice  during  the  long  reign  of  Boleslaw 
did  the  Tartars  invade  Poland.  The 
first  time,  about  1238,  Boleslaw  shut  him- 
self up  in  a  fortress  and  prayed,  but  left 
the  fighting  to  others.  Within  a  few 
years  came  a  second  invasion.  He  fled 
again  to  Hungary  with  his  wife ;  and 
when  in  1241,  Henry ^  duke  of  Silesia, 
son  of  St.  Hed wig,  with  all  the  best  and 
noblest  sons  of  Poland,  went  to  almost 
certain  death  in  defence  of  their  father- 
land and  of  Christendom,  Boleslaw  and 
Cunegund  were  fugitives  from  their  un- 
happy country.  Hundreds  of  their  sub- 
jects were  massacred  or  dragged  off  to  a 
miserable  captivity ;  churches,  monas- 
teries, and  towns  were  destroyed,  and 
the  country  laid  waste. 

In  1258  there  was  no  nunnery  left 
standing  in  the  lands  belonging  to 
Boleslaw.  With  the  advice  of  his  rela- 
tions and  the  chief  personages  of  Poland, 
and  in  accordance  with  the  wish  of  his 
late  sister,  Salome,  that  there  might  be 
a  refuge  for  sick,  poor,  and  unmarried 
princesses  and  other  noble  ladies  in 
Poland,  he  and  Cunegund  founded,  at 
Zawichost,  a  convent  of  the  Order  of 
St.  Francis.  There,  in  the  next  year, 
he  buried  his  pious  mother,  Grzymislawa. 
In  1260  the  Tartars  came  and  destroyed 
that  and  many  other  centres  of  religion 
and  progress.  Between  1258  and  1279 
Boleslaw  and  Cunegund  founded  the 
monastery  of  Sandecz.  They  became 
members  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis,  and  solemnly  took  for  life  the 


vow  of  chastity  which  they  had  hitherto 
made  privately  from  year  to  year.  From 
this  time  Cunegund  went  barefooted. 
As  this  was  painful  and  injurious  in  that 
severe  climate,  her  confessor  forbade  her 
to  go  anywhere  without  shoes.  She 
obeyed  him  to  the  letter,  while  defeating 
the  spirit  of  his  prohibition,  by  wearing 
them  hanging  from  her  girdle.  Ho  again 
interfered,  and  she  wore  shoes  on  her 
feet,  but  with  the  soles  cut  away  so  that 
she  was  still  barefooted. 

Boleslaw's  death  in  1279  relieved  his 
country  from  "  the  leaden  weight  of  his 
ignorant  and  disastrous  piety."  Cune- 
gund, with  her  sister,  B.  Yoland  (3),  or 
Helen,  took  the  veil  in  the  monastery  of 
Sandecz. 

Cunegund  died  in  1292,  and  was 
thenceforth  regarded  and  invoked  as  a 
saint  by  the  Poles.  Pilgrimages  were 
made  to  her  tomb,  although  she  was  not 
canonized  until  nearly  four  hundred 
years  afterwards  by  Alexander  VIII., 
1 690.  She  is  especially  venerated  by  the 
inhabitants  on  the  Polish  side  of  the 
Carpathian  Mountains. 

On  one  of  Cunegund's  visits  to  her 
father,  Bela  asked  what  he  should  give 
her.  She  said,  "  Give  me  something 
that  will  be  a  blessing  to  my  people  and 
be  of  use  to  both  rich  and  poor."  They 
went  to  visit  the  salt-mines  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  between  Hungary  and 
Poland.  The  queen  said, 44  Give  me  this 
mine."  The  king  agreed,  and  she  threw 
her  ring  in  to  take  possession  of  it.  Up 
to  that  time  there  was  no  salt  in  Poland, 
and  the  people  suffered  much  for  want 
of  it.  On  her  return  to  Cracow  she  dis- 
covered the  mine  at  Vieliczka,  and 
ordered  excavations  to  be  begun  imme- 
diately, and  had  a  piece  of  the  salt 
brought  to  show  to  her  husband.  They 
broke  it,  and  behold !  the  queen's  ring 
was  in  it. 

Cunegund  had  a  great  veneration  for 
St.  Stanislas  (martyred  May  7,  1079), 
and  laboured  for  his  canonization,  which 
was  accomplished  in  1 253. 

Dlugoscb,  Hist.  Polonise,  vi.,  vii.  Pertz, 
Script.  Oerm.,  xxi.  Salvandy,  Hist,  de 
Pologne.  Cron.  Seraphica.  Bosch,  in 
AA.SS.  from  a  Life  by  Dlugosch. 
Wolski's  very  readable  sketch  of  Polish 


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ST.  CUNERA 


213 


history,  in  English.  Dunham,  Hist,  of 
Poland. 

St.  Cunegnnd  (5),  or  Kunhuta. 
1265-1 32 1 .  Patron  of  Bohemia.  Sister 
of  Wenceslas  IV.  (1278-1305),  the  Good, 
king  of  Bohemia,  Hungary,  and  Poland. 
Daughter  of  Primislans  Ottocar  II.,  king 
of  Bohemia  (1253-1278).  Cunegnnd  (5) 
was  betrothed  to  the  son  of  the  Emperor 
Budolph  I.  The  marriage  was  put  off 
on  account  of  a  quarrel  between  the 
Emperor  and  his  son ;  and  Cunegnnd, 
with  fourteen  girl-friends,  went  into  a 
Franciscan  convent,  which  was  ruled  by 
her  great-aunt,  St.  Agnes,  princess  of 
Bohemia.  After  a  short  residence  there, 
Cunegnnd  was  brought  back  to  court, 
and  given  in  marriage  to  Budolph,  son 
of  Budolph,  prince  of  Swabia.  At  his 
death  she  became  a  nun  in  the  Benedic- 
tine monastery  of  St.  George  at  Pragne. 
There  she  attained  to  great  sanctity  and 
a  wonderful  gift  of  prayer,  and  gained 
admirable  victories  over  the  devil.  She 
was  buried  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Anne. 
Some  say  she  was  never  married,  but 
that  her  sister  Agnes  was  married  to  the 
Emperor's  son,  and  after  his  death  joined 
Cunegnnd  in  the  monastery  of  St.  George, 
and  died  piously  there. 

Chanowski  tells  that  at  the  chapel  of 
St  Kunhuta  at  Strazow,  on  a  mountain 
near  the  borders  of  Bohemia  and  Moravia, 
is  a  spring  of  water,  to  which,  in  time  of 
drought,  the  inhabitants  go  in  procession 
with  prayers  and  hymns.  They  stir  up 
the  water  and  then  disperse ;  and  it 
hardly  ever  happens  that  after  this  cere- 
mony they  reach  their  homes  without 
rain. 

St.  Cunera,  or  Kunerr,  Oct.  27, 
martyrdom ;  June  1 2,  translation,  V.  M. 
339  or  500.  Patron  of  Dursted,  near 
Utrecht 

Bepresented  with  a  demon  on  her 
shoulders,  trying  to  suffocate  her. 

Her  legend,  from  a  sermon  of  the 
beginning  of  the  14th  century,  is  as 
follows : — 

When  St.  Ursula  was  going  on  her 
pilgrimage,  she  sent  to  her  cousin  Cunera, 
who  was  living  with  her  parents,  Aure- 
lius  and  Florentia,  at  Orcada  (some  per- 
sons say  this  is  Orkney ;  others,  York ; 
others,  Utrecht),  begging  her  to  join  the 


expedition.  Cunera  complied.  When 
Ursula  and  her  companions  were  mar- 
tyred at  Cologne,  Badbod,  king  of 
Bhenen  (now  Dursted),  seeing  the  others 
cruelly  slaughtered,  and  Cunera  willing 
to  meet  the  same  fate  for  the  love  of 
Christ,  saved  her  life  and  took  her  safely 
to  his  town,  where  she  lived  a  virtuous 
and  religious  life,  relieving  the  poor  to 
the  best  of  her  power.  She  inspired 
the  king  with  so  much  confidence  that 
he  gave  her  the  charge  of  all  his  posses- 
sions. The  queen  was  jealous,  and  often 
tried  to  shake  his  good  opinion.  One 
day  Cunera  was  going  with  a  bundle  of 
bread  and  other  food  for  the  poor,  who 
were  begging  at  the  gate.  The  queen 
said  to  her  husband,  "  You  never  will 
believe  me.  Call  Cunera,  and  see  for 
yourself  how  she  wastes  your  substance." 
He  called  her  and  looked  into  her 
bundle.  Behold !  it  was  full  of  chips  of 
wood  (assulas  ;  other  MSS.  have  hastulas 
or  hastilia,  spears  or  halberds — a  more 
suspicious  thing  to  be  giving  away  than 
bread  1).  The  king  reproached  his  wife 
with  hard  words.  Then  she  determined 
to  rid  herself  of  Cunera.  Accordingly, 
during  his  absence,  she  ordered  the  ser- 
vants to  put  her  to  death.  They  threw 
her  down,  strangled  her  with  a  towel, 
and  then  buried  her  in  the  stable.  When 
the  king  came  home  from  hunting,  the 
queen  went  to  meet  him,  all  smiles. 
After  a  short  time  he  asked  for  Cunera. 
She  answered  that  her  father  and  mother 
had  fetched  her  away.  Meantime  the 
king's  horse  was  led  to  the  stable  where 
she  was  buried.  Neither  whip  nor  spur 
could  make  him  enter.  While  the  king 
was  at  supper  one  of  the  servants  saw, 
in  the  stable,  lights  in  the  form  of  a 
cross.  He  ran  and  told  his  master. 
Several  persons  saw  the  lights  from  a 
little  distance,  but  when  they  went  into 
the  building  they  could  see  nothing. 
Badbod  ordered  the  place  to  be  searched. 
The  earth  was  found  to  be  newly  dug, 
and  soon  were  discovered  the  body  of  the 
holy  maiden  and  the  towel  with  which 
she  had  been  strangled.  It  was  pre- 
served at  Bhenen,  and  wrought  miracles. 
Badbod  punished  the  queen  so  unmerci- 
fully that  she  lost  her  reason,  and  for 
three  days  wandered  about,  raving  and 


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214 


ST.  OUNGILD 


tearing  her  hair.  At  last  she  threw 
herself  from  a  height  and  perished 
miserably.  The  king,  deprived  of  the 
solace  of  Cunera's  presence,  turned  his 
palace  into  a  chnrch  in  her  honour,  and 
endowed  it.  St.  Willibrod,  in  698, 
promised  the  inhabitants  of  Bhenen  to 
make  a  translation  of  their  saint,  but 
forgot  it  while  engaged  in  preaching  and 
converting  the  Germans.  Some  time 
afterwards,  he  was  nearly  drowned  in  a 
storm  on  the  Rhine.  He  humbly  prayed 
for  help,  and  his  ship  arrived  safely 
at  Bhenen.  Then  he  remembered  his 
promise,  and  confessed  his  neglect.  He 
raised  the  body  of  the  holy  virgin  from 
the  ground,  with  all  fitting  ceremony 
and  solemnity.  (This  was  equivalent 
to  canonization.) 

Papebroch  considers  the  legend  ill 
put  together,  and  parts  of  it  unlikely. 
He  thinks  it  more  probable  that  Cunera 
lived  about  the  year  700,  and  says  that 
her  being  one  of  the  companions  of  St. 
Ursula  is  mere  conjecture. 

AA.SS.  Cahier.  Forbes,  Scottish 
Kalendars. 

St.  Cungild,  or  Cunhild,  Guntild. 

St.  Cunichildis,  Guntild. 

St.  Cunihilt,  Guntild. 

St.  Cuniza,  Cunegund  (3). 

St.  Cunnyburrow,  Kyneburga. 

St.  Cuntild,  Guntild. 

St.  Curach,  Coroair. 

St.  Curielle,  Euriela. 

St.  Cuthbritha,  Cuthburga. 

St.  Cuthburga,  Aug.  31  (Cudburg, 
jCudburh,  Cuthbritha,  etc.).  "f  c.  720. 
Queen  of  Northumberland  and  abbess  of 
Wimborne.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Quenred,  brother  of  Ceadwalla,  king  of 
Wessex  (685-688).  Her  brothers  were 
Ingild,  great-great-grandfather  of  Egbert, 
and  direct  ancestor  of  Alfred  the  Great, 
and  St.  Ina,  king  of  Wessex.  (See 
Ethelburga  (2).)  Her  sisters  were  Qutm- 
burga,  Edburga,  and  Tetta.  Ceadwalla 
became  a  Christian  in  688,  and  went  to 
Borne  to  be  baptized,  resigning  the 
throne  to  his  nephew  Ina.  Cuthburga 
was  a  pupil  of  St.  Hildelid,  second 
abbess  of  Barking.  Cuthburga  married 
Aldfrid,  or  Alfrith,  king  of  Northumber- 
land (685-705).  He  was  the  illegitimate 
son  of  Oswin,  king  of  Northumberland, 


and  was  educated  among  the  monks  of 
Ireland,  or  Iona.  He  was  learned  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  was  the  friend  of  Adam- 
nan  and  of  St.  Bennet  Biscop. 

There  is  some  discrepancy  in  the 
accounts  of  the  married  life  of  St.  Cuth- 
burga, as  she  is  confounded  with  St. 
Kyneburga  (1),  who  married  Alcfrith. 
It  has  been  said,  on  the  one  hand,  that 
Aldfrid  and  Cuthburga  lived  a  celibate 
life  as  brother  and  sister ;  on  the  other, 
that  she  was  the  mother  of  his  son 
Osred,  and  perhaps  of  St.  Osanna. 
Another  account  has  it  that  she  was  the 
wife  of  Osred,  whom  she  left  on  account 
of  his  godless  and  dissolute  life.  Aldfrid 
and  Cuthburga  separated  from  religious 
motives.  Cuthburga  took  the  veil  with 
her  sister,  St.  Quimburga,  at  Barking. 
This  nunnery  was  famous  for  the  zeal  of 
the  nuns  in  the  study  of  sacred  and 
classic  literature.  Ina,  now  king  of 
Wessex,  seeing  that  his  sisters  had  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  service  of  God, 
and  desiring  to  build  a  church  for  the 
good  of  his  soul  and  the  advantage  of  his 
people,  built  a  monastery,  between  700 
and  705,  for  Cuthburga,  at  Wimborne, 
in  Dorsetshire,  noar  his  own  residence. 
Cuthburga  was  its  first  abbess.  Quim- 
burga was  a  nun  there  with  her. 

Wimborne  soon  became  even  more 
famous  than  Barking  as  a  training-school 
for  learned  and  active  women. 

Thence  went,  in  the  next  generation, 
St.  Lioba,  St.  Walburga,  and  others,  at 
the  call  of  Boniface,  the  great  English 
apostle  of  Germany,  to  help  in  his  grand 
mission.  The  abbey  of  Wimborne  was 
destroyed  by  the  Danes  about  the  year 
900,  and  afterwards  restored,  dedicated 
anew  in  the  name  of  St.  Cuthburga,  and 
given  to  secular  canons.  St.  Cuthburga's 
burial-place  is  still  shown  under  the 
wall  of  the  chancel.  AA.SS.  Lappen- 
berg,  Hist.  England  under  Anglo-Saxon 
Kings.  Strutt,  Chronicle  of  England. 
Smith  and  Wace.  Diet.  Christian  Biog. 
Montalembert,  Monks  of  the  West, 
Bede.  Alford,  Annales  Ecclesise  Angli- 
canse.  Capgrave,  Legenda  Angliee.  Anglo- 
Saxon  Chronicle. 

St.  Cwenburh,  Quimburga. 

St.  Cwick,  Kew. 

St.  CwyllOg.      6th    century.  Sup- 


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ST.  CYRIACA 


215 


posed  founder  of  the  church  of  Llan- 
gwyllog,  in  Anglesea.  Wife  of  Medrawd, 
or  Mordred,  nephew  of  King  Arthur. 
She  is  one  of  an  immense  number  of 
holy  sons  and  daughters  attributed  to  St. 
Caw.    Bees,  228. 

St.  Cymorth,  or  Corth.  Daughter 
of  Brychan.  (See  Almheda.)  Wife  of 
Brynach  Wyddel,  an  Irishman.  Mother 
of  Gerwyn  and  his  sisters  Mwynen, 
Gwennan,  and  Gwenlliw.  Cymorth  lived 
in  Emlyn,  on  the  confines  of  Carmarthen 
and  Pembroke.  Her  sisters,  SS.  Cknkd- 
lon  and  Clydai,  appear  to  have  joined 
her  in  her  religious  life.  Bees. 

St.  Cyneburh,  Kynerurga. 

St.  Cynedridis,  Kynedride. 

St.  Cynethritha,  Kynedride. 

St.  Cyngar,  or  Bhiengar,  daughter 
of  Brychan.    (See  Almheda.)  Bees. 

St.  Cyniburga,  Kyneburga. 

St.  Cyprilla,  July  5,  M.  at  Cyrene, 
in  Libya,  beginning  of  4th  century. 

Represented  burning  incense.  Born 
of  Christian  parents.  Was  a  widow  for 
twenty-eight  years.  She  visited  Theo- 
doras, bishop  of  Cyrene,  in  prison,  and 
ministered  to  his  wants,  with  SS.  Boa 
and  Lucy  (5).  After  his  death  she  was 
accused  as  a  Christian,  in  the  persecution 
under  Diocletian,  and  was  beaten.  The 
persecutors,  apparently  anxious  to  spare 
her  life,  put  burning  coals  and  incense 
in  her  hands  and  held  them,  that  she 
might  be  compelled  to  sacrifice — at  least, 
in  appearance ;  but  she  called  out,  '« I 
sacrifice  to  Jesus  Christ ! "  Then  they 
put  her  on  the  equuleus,  and  otherwise 
tortured  her.  And  she  went  to  meet 
the  Bridegroom,  torn  for  His  sake,  and 
dressed  in  the  purple  robe  of  her  own 
blood.  Men.  Basil.  AA.SS.  Compare 
with  Cyrilla  (2). 

St.  Cyra  (1),  Aug.  3.  Of  Berea. 
Sister  of  St.  Maranna.  B.M. 

St.  Cyra  (2),  Cera. 

SS.  Cyrena  (Cyrenia,  Cyri^na, 
Cyriana,  Syrenia)  and  Juliana,  Nov.  1, 
MM.  in  Cilicia,  probably  in  305,  under 
Galerius. 

Bepresented  in  a  brazier. 

Cyrena,  a  native  of  Tarsus,  in  Cilicia, 
would  not  offer  incense  to  the  gods. 
Her  head  and  eyebrows  were  shaved; 
she  was  stripped  and  taken  about  the 


town  on  an  ass.  She  prayed  that  she 
might  not  be  seen  naked.  Those  who 
tried  to  stare  at  her  were  struck  blind. 
She  was  taken  to  Bhosus,  and  was  there 
burnt  with  Juliana.  They  both  sang 
praises  in  the  fire. 

AA.SS.  Men.  Basil.  Greek  Men.,  ed. 
by  Ughelli,  in  Italia  Sacra. 

SS.  Cyria  (l),  Valeria,  and  Marcia, 
June  5  and  6,  VV.  MM.  Natives  of 
Caesarea,  in  Palestine.  Converted  to 
Christianity.  Lived  very  quietly  in  a 
small  house,  and  prayed  for  the  conver- 
sion of  the  world  and  abolition  of 
idolatry.  At  last  they  were  reported  to 
the  ruler  as  Christians.  On  being 
brought  before  him,  they  were  tortured 
in  various  ways  to  induce  them  to 
renounce  their  faith.  As  they  persisted 
in  their  refusal,  they  died  rejoicing 
under  the  tortures.  St.  Zenais,  V.,  is 
commemorated  as  one  of  them.  Pape- 
broch  seems  to  think  this  is  an  erroneous 
repetition  of  the  name  of  St.  Zenais, 
matron.  B.M.,  June  5.  Papebrooh, 
AA.SS.    June  6.    Men.  Basil.,  June  6. 

SS.  Cyria  (2)  (Cyrioa,  Cyrina,  or 
Geria)  and  Musca,  June  17,  VV.  MM. 
Two  sisters,  of  Aquileia,  of  whom  the 
former  was  more  given  to  contemplation, 
and  the  latter  to  action.  They  both  led 
a  holy  life  from  their  childhood. 
AA.SS. 

SS.  Cyria  (3),  or  Kyria,  and  Dula, 
April  5.  Supposed  companions  of  St. 
Pherbutha.  (See  Kyria.)  Possibly 
Cyria  is  the  same  as  Pherbutha.  Grseco- 
Slav.  Calendar. 

St.  Cyriaca  (1),  sister  of  Photina  (1). 

St.  Cyriaca  (2),  or  Dominica,  Aug. 
21.  Time  of  Valerian  or  Decius.  A 
devout  widow,  who  had  her  house  on  the 
Celian  Hill  at  Borne,  where  Christian 
priests  came  and  offered  the  holy  sacri- 
fice, and  where  she  kept  many  persecuted 
Christians  concealed  and  ministered  to 
them.  When  St.  Sixtus,  the  Pope,  was 
seized  by  the  enemies  of  the  Church,  he 
deputed  St.  Lawrence  to  distribute  the 
money  in  his  care  to  the  poor.  (See 
Patience.)  Lawrence  found  Cyriaca 
sick,  and  healed  her  by  laying  his  hands 
upon  her.  Then  he  washed  the  feet  of 
the  brethren  concealed  in  her  house,  and 
gave  them  a  portion  of  the  money 


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ST.  CYRIACA 


entrusted  to  him.  R.M.  Mrs.  Jameson, 
Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  ii.  156. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Cyriaca  (3),  May  19,  V.  M.  311, 
in  Africa,  with  five  other  holy  virgins, 
one  of  whom  was  Theotima,  sister  of 
Philetaerus.  Only  known  from  the  not 
very  reliable  Acts  of  SS.  Phileterus 
(May  19)  and  Eubiotus.  Cyriaca  was 
burnt,  and  Theotima  was  slain  with  a 
sword. 

Papebroch  gives  the  Greek  Acts  with 
a  Latin  translation,  but  considers  them 
probably  fabulous,  and  certainly  falsely 
ascribed  to  an  eye-witness. 

When  Diocletian  was  in  Nicomedia. 
some  time  after  the  publication  of  his 
edict  for  the  extermination  of  Christi- 
anity, he  was  told  of  a  Christian  who 
worshipped  God  openly  with  impunity. 
He  was  very  angry,  and  ordered  him 
to  be  brought  before  him.  He  had  a 
very  white  skin  and  golden  beard,  and 
the  Emperor  was  so  struck  by  his  youth, 
beauty,  and  gentleness,  that  he  thought 
he  was  a  god,  and  afterwards  tried  to 
persuade  him  to  renounce  his  religion 
and  accept  honours  among  the  heathen. 
Philetaerus  rebuked  him,  and  wrought 
a  miracle  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
which  made  Diocletian  again  say  that 
Philetaerus  was  one  of  the  gods.  When 
he  had  seen  some  more  miracles  he 
ordered  Philetferus  to  be  set  at  liberty. 
Soon  afterwards  Diocletian  died,  but  the 
persecution  was  continued  under  Maxi- 
mian,  and  Philetaerus  was  brought  be- 
fore him  as  an  irrepressible  Christian. 
Hearing  that  he  had  a  sister  younger 
and  more  beautiful  than  himself,  who 
was  hiding  among  the  mountains  with 
other  Christian  virgins,  Maximian  or- 
dered them  all  to  be  brought  to  him, 
and  offered  them  the  greatest  honours, 
promising  to  treat  them  as  his  daughters 
on  condition  that  they  should  sacrifice  to 
his  gods.  Theotima  answered,  "  What 
honour  can  you  (yourself  worthy  of  no 
honour)  confer  on  us,  who  are  servants 
of  the  true  God  ?  "  The  Emperor  com- 
manded those  that  stood  by  to  strike  her 
on  the  face.  Whereupon  Cyriaca  told 
him  he  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  his 
brutality.  Maximian  then  had  Cyriaca 
beaten  until  she  was  quite  exhausted. 


As  Philetferus  prayed  that  she  might 
have  strength  and  courage  to  undergo 
these  sufferings  for  her  Master's  sake, 
she  revived.  Maximian  ordered  her  to 
be  tortured  in  many  cruel  ways,  and 
finally  burnt.  PhiletaBrus  and  the  six 
surviving  virgins  were  condemned  to 
hard  labour  in  the  island  of  ProBconesum. 
On  the  journey  the  women  entreated 
Aristides,  the  captain  of  their  guard,  to 
have  their  fetters  taken  off,  promising 
to  make  no  attempt  to  escape,  and  say- 
ing that  the  fatigue  was  greater  than 
they  could  bear.  He  hesitated  to  comply 
with  their  request,  and,  when  they  had 
gone  a  little  further,  the  holy  maidens 
suddenly  disappeared  from  before  his 
eyes,  and  were  never  seen  or  heard  of 
more.  St.  PhiletaBrus,  after  many  miracles 
and  sufferings,  received  the  crown  of 
martyrdom.    R.M.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Cyriaca  (4-1 1).  Besides  the 
above,  eight  Cyriacas  appear  in  the 
calendars  on  different  days  and  in  divers 
places.  In  some  instances  the  name  is 
rendered  in  Latin  Dominica. 

St.  Cyriacide,  or  Cykiacita,  Aug.  8, 
M.    (See  Memmia.) 

St.  Cyraena,  Cykena. 

St.  Cyriana,  Cykena. 

St.  Cyrica,  Cyria  (2). 

St.  Cyrilla  (1),  called  in  the  Lab- 
beean  Mart  Guerilla,  Oct.  28,  V.  M. 
c.  200.  Daughter  of  the  Emperor  Decius 
and  St.  Tryphonia.  Baptized  by  St. 
Justin.  Tryphonia  and  Cyrilla  were 
instrumental  in  the  conversion  of  forty- 
six  soldiers  and  their  wives,  and  when 
Claudius,  the  Emperor,  heard  of  it  he 
ordered  them  all  to  sacrifice  to  his  gods. 
They  were  all  martyred,  and  many 
others  with  them.  Cyrilla  was  slain 
with  a  sword,  and  her  body  thrown  into 
the  street  for  dogs  to  eat.  They  were 
buried  near  St.  Hippolytus,  by  St.  Justin 
the  priest.  Their  story  is  partly  taken 
from  the  fabulous  Acts  of  St.  Lawrence. 
They  are  commemorated  in  the  Roman 
Martyrology,  Oct.  28,  as  mother  and 
daughter,  martyrs,  but  their  relationship 
to  Decius  is  not  mentioned. 

AA.SS.,  Oct.  25,  in  the  story  of  the 
forty-six  soldiers,  etc.  Mart,  of  Salis- 
bury. 

St.  Cyrilla  (2),  May  13,  M.  c.  3ot>, 


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ST.  DAMIANA 


217 


at  Alexandria.  A  young  girl  who  re- 
fused to  sacrifice  to  the  idols.  To  compel 
her  to  do  so,  her  arms  were  held  by 
force,  and  fire  and  incense  placed  in  the 
palm  of  her  hand,  that  she  might  in- 
voluntarily shake  it  off  in  her  pain,  and 
might  thus  be  said  to  sacrifice.  She 
held  her  hand  steady  until  the  fire  was 
burnt  out.    She  was  then  further  tor- 


tured, and  beheaded.  AA.SS.  Nealo, 
Hist.  E.  Church.  Compare  with  the 
story  of  St.  Cyprilla.  Migne's  Jerome 
has  Sytilla  for  Cyrilla. 

St.  Cyrilla  (3),  May  13,  M.  at 
Polentia,  in  Liguria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Cyrina,  Cykia  (2 

St  Cyta,  Sila. 

St.  Cyte,  Osith. 


St.  Daama,  or  Damia,  May  27,  M. 
at  Tomis,  on  the  Black  Sea.  AA.SS. 

St.  Daciana,  Tatiana. 

St.  Dafrosa,  or  Affrosa,  Jan.  4. 
f  363.  Wife  of  St.  Flavian,  or  Fabian, 
a  Eoman  knight;  and  mother  of  SS. 
Bibiana  and  Demetria. 

Butler  says  that  Ammianus  Marcel- 
linus,  a  pagan  historian,  and  an  officer 
at  the  court  of  Julian  the  Apostate, 
relates  that,  in  the  year  363,  that  Em- 
peror appointed  Apronianus  governor  of 
Home,  and  that,  while  he  was  on  the 
way  thither,  he  lost  an  eye.  He  ascribed 
the  accident  to  magic,  and,  as  the 
miracles  of  the  Christians  were  attri- 
buted to  the  same  cause,  he  resolved  to 
exterminate  them.  Among  the  supposed 
magicians,  Flavian  was  one  of  the  first 
apprehended.  He  was  burnt  in  the  face 
with  a  hot  iron,  and  banished  to  Aquae 
Taurinaa,  now  Acquapendente,  where  he 
died  of  his  wounds  in  a  few  days.  His 
wife  Dafrosa  was  imprisoned  in  her 
house  for  some  time,  and  then  carried 
outside  the  gates  of  Borne  and  beheaded. 

According  to  another  account,  she  . 
was  given  into  the  power  of  her  own 
relations,  who  tried  to  induce  her  to 
marry  again  and  sacrifice  to  the  gods. 
She  was  encouraged  in  her  refusal  by 
a  vision  of  her  husband  calling  her,  and 
three  days  afterwards  she  died  in  peace. 

B.M.  Bollandus,  Acta  Sanctorum. 
Butler,  in  his  account  of  St.  Bibiana, 
Lives  of  the  Fathers. 

St.  Dagila,  M.    July  12.  483. 

The  Rev.  W.  M.  Sinclair  (Smith  and 
Wace,  Dictionary  of  'Christian  Bio- 
graphy), says  she  was  wife  of  a  steward 
of  Huneric,  king  of  the  Vandals.  She 


had  several  times  confessed  her  faith 
during  the  persecution  of  Genserio,  and 
in  483,  under  his  son  Huneric,  she  was 
beaten  with  whips  and  staves  until  she 
was  exhausted,  and  was  then  exiled  to  a 
desert,  where  she  went  with  great  cheer- 
fulness. AA.SS.  Arturus  a  Monastero 
calls  her  "Saint,"  and  says  she  was 
beaten  to  death. 

St.  Daire,  Daria.  Irish. 

St.  Daludarca,  Darlugdacha. 

B.  Damgerosa,  Nov.  14.  1150.  The 
beautiful  daughter  of  Oandin  de  Che- 
mire  of  Cenomannia  (le  Mans)  who 
lived  a  life  of  sin  with  her  uncle.  The 
Bishop  of  le  Mans  remonstrated  with 
him  in  vain.  He  was  struck  by  light- 
ning, and  miserably  shipwrecked.  Dam- 
gerosa,  stricken  with  horror  and  regret, 
went  to  the  bishop  and  begged  to  be 
restored  by  penance.  She  made  a  public 
confession  of  all  her  sins,  then  obtained 
absolution  and  renounced  the  world,  but 
no  convent  would  receive  her,  so  great 
was  the  horror  of  her  crime.  She  lived 
at  a  place  that  she  inherited  from  her 
father,  built  an  oratory  on  a  hill,  had 
two  companions  related  to  her,  and  re- 
mained shut  up  there  doing  penance  for 
fifty  years.  Gynecseum. 

St.  Damhnade,  or  Damhnat,  June 
13,V.  Irish.  Of  Slieve  Beagh,  in  Tyrone. 
5th  century.  Patron  saint  of  the  coun- 
ties of  Fermanagh,  Cavan,  and  others. 
Identical  with  or  confounded  with  St. 
Dimna,  or  Damnoda,  or  Dymna,  surnamed 
Schene  or  Ochene,  i.e.  the  fugitive. 
Butler. 

St.  Damia,  or  Daama,  May  27,  M 
at  Tomis,  on  the  Black  Sea. 

St.  Damiana.    6th  century.  An 


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218 


ST.  DAMNODA 


imperial  princess,  who  sent  a  large  sum 
of  money  to  St.  Gregory  the  Pope,  for  the 
liberation  of  slaves,  as  did  St.  Sopatra 
and  St.  Theodolina.  Damiana  was 
honoured  as  a  saint  at  Jerusalem.  Mas 
Latrie.  Paul  La  Croix,  Vie  Militaire  et 
Beligieux,  p.  380. 

St.  Damnoda,  Damhnade. 

St  Danacha,  Nov.  20,  V.  M.  in  Persia 
with  St.  Bahuta. 

St.  Danda,  March  7.  Two  saints  of 
this  name  are  mentioned  among  certain 
martyrs  in  Thrace.  AA.SS. 

St.  Danne,  Domna  (1),  sister  of 
Indes,  M.  with  Agape  and  Theophila, 
in  the  reign  of  Galerius  Maximianus 
(305-311). 

St  Darbelin,  Oct.  26,  V.  One  of 
four  daughters  of  Mac  Taar,  who  lived 
at  Killininny,  near  Tallaght.  The  others 
were  Darinnill,  Cael,  and  Coimgheall. 
Gammack,in  Smith  and  Wace's Dictionary 
of  Christian  Biography. 

St  Darbile,  Derbhiledh,  or  De- 
rivla,  Aug.  3  and  Oct.  26.  Daughter  of 
Cormac,  in  county  Mayo.  5th  or  6th 
century.  Gammack,  in  Smith  and  Wace's 
Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography. 

St.  Dardalucha,  or  St.  Dabdulacha 
( 2),  Darlugdacha. 

St.  Dardulacha,  Feb.  1,  V.  Sup- 
posed to  be  one  of  the  three  sisters  of 
SS.  Gunifort  and  Gunibald,  who  went 
with  them  on  their  mission  to  Germany. 
She  was  worshipped  in  great  devotion  in 
Frisingen,as  appears  in  the  Breviario  Fri- 
singensi.  Martyred  with  her  brothers  and 
sisters,  420,  Feb.l.  Dempster,  Ex  Aucto- 
ribus  Laudatis.  Bollandus,  in  AA.SS., 
thinks  Dempster  has  no  good  ground  for 
this  opinion,  and  that  the  saint  worshipped 
in  the  new  Breviary  at  Frisingen,  and 
not  mentioned  in  the  old,  is  the  second 
abbess  of  Eildare,  Darlugdacha. 

St.  Darerca  (1),  March  22.  Youngest 
sister  of  St.  Patrick.  Daughter  of  Cal- 
phuroius,  a  Briton,  and  Concessa,  sister 
or  niece  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours.  Besides 
St.  Patrick,  she  had  a  brother  Sannan, 
and  two,  three,  or  four  sisters.  Darerca 
was  married,  first  to  Con  or  Gonis, 
secondly  to  Bestitutus,  a  bard,  or  a 
Lombard,  or  surnamed  Huabard.  She 
had  seventeen  sons,  all  bishops,  and  two 
daughters,  SS.  Echea  and  Lalloca.  Con, 


her  first  husband,  died  in  England,  leav- 
ing her  enceinte.  She  went  to  Ireland, 
where  she  soon  died  and  was  buried,  but 
her  brother,  St.  Patrick,  raised  her  to 
life,  whereupon  she  was  immediately 
seized  with  labour  pains,  and  gave  birth 
to  a  son,  afterwards  distinguished  as  St. 
Bolcau.  The  most  famous  of  her  chil- 
dren were  sons  of  her  first  husband,  SS. 
Mel-Moch,  Eioch  of  Inis-bofinde,  and 
Munis.  The  other  bishops  are  called 
Crumanius  of  Leccan,  Midgna,  Loman, 
Lurach,  Loam,  Eieran,  Carantoc,  Mo- 
calle,  Columbus,  Brochan,  Brochad, 
Brendan,  Fine,  Melchu. 

Her  sisters  were  SS.  Lupita,  Richella, 
W.,  and  SS.  Tigrida  and  Liemania, 
who  were  mothers  of  saints.  Liemania 
has  been  supposed  to  be  the  same  as 
Darerca.  It  has  also  been  said  that  these 
sisters  of  St.  Patrick  were  not  sisters  by 
birth,  but  disciples ;  also  that  they  were 
sisters,  but  that  their  marriages  and 
families  of  saints  are  of  later  inven- 
tion. €olgan.  O'Hanlon.  Smith  and 
Wace. 

St.  Darerca  (2),  Sarbilia,  or  Mo- 
ninna,  July  6.  5th  or  6th  century. 
Abbess  of  Kil  Sleibhe,  that  is  Mount 
Cullen,  in  Armagh,  Ulster.  She  was 
called  by  her  parents  Sarbilia,  and  took 
the  name  of  Darerca,  either  at  her  bap- 
tism, or  on  making  her  religious  profes- 
sion ;  a  dumb  man  to  whom  she  gave 
the  power  of  speech  called  her  Nin,  Nin, 
which  led  to  her  being  called  Moninna, 
or  Monenna.  She  is  perhaps  the  same 
as  Modwenna. 

She  visited  St.  Bridget,  and  won  her 
approbation  by  her  great  humility.  Be- 
turning  home  with  her  nuns,  she  was 
entertained  by  Deneth,  who,  having  no- 
thing to  give  them  for  supper,  killed  his 
calf  and  set  it  before  them.  Next  morn- 
ing the  same  calf  alive  and  well,  or 
another  exactly  like  it,  was  found  in  the 
stable  with  the  mother  cow.  Deneth 
afterwards  asked  hospitality  from  Da- 
rerca. She  had  but  a  little  drop  of  beer 
(cervi&ia)  to  give  him,  but  she  blessed 
the  cup,  and  immediately  it  was  full. 
She  raised  a  dead  girl  to  life,  and  per- 
formed other  miracles.  After  her  death, 
another  abbess  changed  water  into 
whisky  by  praying  to  St.  Darerca  on 


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behalf  of  a  bishop  named  Fibartus,  who 
was  very  old  and  feeble. 

She  was  consecrated  by  St.  Patrick, 
and  had  eight  companions  and  one  adopted 
son,  Luger,  afterward  bishop  of  Conallia 
Murthemnensi. 

Some  writers  call  her  "  Virgin,"  but  it 
is  possible  that  she  is  the  same  person 
as  Darerca  (1),  mother  of  several  saints. 
Pinius,  A  A  .SS.  Bollandi,  gives  her  Life 
from  a  MS.  in  the  Irish  Jesuit  Seminary 
at  Salamanca. 

St.  Darerca  (3),  April  4.  Of  Druim 
Dnbhain,  or  Derfrochea,  or  Derbh  fraich. 
Mother  of  St.  Tighernach,  bishop  of 
Cluain-cois,  now  Clones,  in  Monaghan, 
Ireland.  She  was  one  of  several  saints 
of  the  family  of  the  Orghelli.  She  mar- 
ried a  man  of  royal  race.  For  the  three 
SS.  Darerca,  and  whether  they  were 
three,  two,  or  only  one,  consult  Colgan's 
Irish  Saints ;  Lanigan's  Ecclesiastical 
History  of  Ireland;  the  Bollandists, 
AA.SS.y  July  6;  Gammack,  in  Smith 
and  Wace's  Dictionary.  Bishop  Forbes's 
Kalendars. 

St.  Darerca  (4),  Jan.  15,  V.  Daugh- 
ter of  Oairbre. 

The  Martyrology  of  Tallaght  com- 
memorates the  daughters  of  Cairpre,  but 
only  Darerca  is  named  in  the  Martyrology 
of  Donegal    J.  O'Hanlon,  i.  221. 

St.  Daretia,  July  19.  More  gene- 
rally called  Daria  (;5).  M.  at  Constan- 
tinople. AA.SS. 

St.  Daria  (1),  June  17.  1st  or  2nd 
century.  Either  in  the  reign  of  Domi- 
tian  or  that  of  Marcus  Aurelius.  Wife 
of  St.  Nicander,  who  was  martyred  with 
St.  Marcian  in  Terra  di  Lavoro  (lately 
in  the  kingdom  of  Naples).  When  the 
two  martyrs  were  questioned  by  the 
judge  Maximus  concerning  their  religion, 
and  exhorted  to  abjure  it  and  sacrifice  to 
the  gods,  St.  Daria  encouraged  her  hus- 
band in  his  adherence  to  his  faith, 
advising  him  to  suffer  even  death  for 
Christ's  sake.  Maximus  therefore  said 
to  her,  "  Wicked  and  shameless  woman, 
why  do  you  advise  your  husband  to  do 
that  which  will  cause  his  death  ?  "  She 
said,  "In  order  that  he  may  not  die 
eternally."  He  answered,  "  Not  so  ;  you 
wish  for  his  death  that  you  may  be  free 
to  marry  some  one  else."    Daria  said, 


"  If  you  think  so,  order  me  to  be  put  to 
death  first,  for  our  Lord's  sake,  if  your 
commission  authorizes  you  to  sacrifice 
women  as  well  as  men."  Maximus  said 
he  had  no  command  to  put  women  to 
death,  but  he  would  have  her  put  in 
prison  for  the  present.  After  about  a 
month,  SS.  Nicander  and  Marcian  were 
beheaded,  and  as  they  were  led  to  the 
place  of  execution  their  wives  followed 
them,  each  accompanied  by  her  little 
son,  Marcian's  wife  reproaching  him 
with  the  folly  and  cruelty  of  abandoning 
her  and  his  child,  and  entreating  him 
yet  to  relent  and  save  his  life.  Daria, 
on  the  contrary,  congratulated  her  hus- 
band that  he  was  accounted  worthy  of 
martyrdom.  Marcian  entreated  a  Chris- 
tian friend  who  was  present  to  lead  away 
his  wife  and  take  care  of  his  Child,  and 
let  him  meet  his  death  with  courage. 
Then  she  was  led  unwillingly  home. 
Daria  took  leave  of  her  husband,  rejoicing 
in  the  honour  of  being  a  martyr's  wife. 
Nicander  blessed  his  child,  and  the  two 
holy  mon  were  beheaded.  Henschenius, 
in  AA.SS.y  from  several  Acts  of  different 
dates  preserved  in  various  libraries. 
Cahier. 

St.  Daria  (2),  also  called  Minerva, 
Oct.  25  and  Aug.  12,  V.  M.  under  the 
Emperor  Valerian. 

Daria  and  her  husband,  St.  Chrysan- 
thus,  or  Crysaunt,  are  joint  patrons  of 
Eeggio,  Modena,  and  Orio  in  Otranto. 

Chrysanthus  was  a  native  of  Alex- 
andria, and  went  to  Borne  with  his  father, 
who  was  a  senator.  Chrysanthus  was 
instructed  in  the  Christian  religion  un- 
known to  his  father,  and  was  baptized 
by  a  bishop  who  was  hiding  in  a  cave, 
probably  in  the  catacombs.  When  his 
father  heard  of  it  he  was  very  angry, 
and  finding  himself  unable  to  persuade 
Chrysanthus  to  renounce  his  religion, 
and  understanding  that  chastity  was  the 
great  point  with  the  Christians,  and  the 
condition  on  which  their  God  helped 
them,  he  engaged  five  beautiful  young 
women  to  seduce  his  son,  promising  them 
immense  rewards  if  they  succeeded  in 
doing  so,  and  threatening  various  forms 
of  painful  death  in  case  of  failure.  When 
these  women  tried  to  please  or  amuse 
Chrysanthus,  he  prayed,  and  they  fell 


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ST.  DARIA 


into  a  deep  sleep  and  could  molest  bim 
no  more.  As  soon  as  they  were  removed 
from  his  room,  they  awoke.  The  same 
thing  happened  again  and  again.  Then 
the  senator  compelled  his  son  to  marry, 
and  gave  him  for  a  wife  Daria,  a  beau- 
tiful and  very  learned  young  lady  of 
Athens,  of  suitable  rank  and  wealth.  Her 
beauty  and  her  jewels  shone  like  the  sun, 
and  her  philosophy  was  directed  to  his 
conversion ;  but  soon  she  was  converted 
by  him,  and  was  baptized.  They  agreed 
to  live  an  angelic  and  ascetic  life,  and  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  conversion  of 
others.  The  heathen  who  were  not  con- 
verted by  them  were  displeased  at  their 
teaching  concerning  chastity  and  sobriety, 
and  accused  them  of  disloyalty  to  the 
Emperor  and  the  gods.  They  were  put 
in  separate  prisons— Chrysanthus  in  the 
Tullian  prison,  and  Daria  in  one  of  the 
places  called  "  foraices,"  under  the  amphi- 
theatre. There  she  was  defended  by  a 
lion.  Chrysanthus  and  Daria,  after  being 
subjected  to  many  tortures,  were  thrown 
into  a  pit,  earth  and  stones  were  heaped 
upon  them,  and  thus  they  were  buried 
alive. 

Claudius  the  tribune,  who  had  ordered 
their  torture  and  execution,  was  soon 
afterwards  converted  with  his  wife,  Hi- 
laria,  and  their  two  sons.  All  were 
martyrs,  and  are  commemorated  with 
Chrysanthus  and  Daria,  Aug.  12. 

A  beautiful  tomb  was  erected  on  the 
Via  Salaria  in  honour  of  SS.  Chrysanthus 
and  Daria,  and  a  crowd  having  assembled 
there  on  their  festival,  the  entrance  was 
walled  up,  and  they  also  were  buried 
alive.  In  Christian  times  the  tomb  was 
restored,  a  separation  was  made  between 
the  grave  of  the  two  earliest  martyrs  and 
the  others,  and  through  a  window  in  it 
their  bodies  could  be  seen,  and  also  some 
silver  vessels  which  were  placed  beside 
them.  A  subdeacon  got  through  the 
window  at  night  to  steal  the  silver,  but 
could  not  find  his  way  out  in  the  dark. 
Fearing  detection  if  he  came  out  by  day, 
night  after  night  he  attempted  in  vain 
to  make  his  escape,  until  starvation 
compelled  him  to  confess. 

Chrysanthus  and  Daria  are  commemo- 
rated in  the  Boman  Martyrology,  Oct.  25  ; 
in  the  Menology  of  Basil,  Oct.  1 7  ;  with 


other  saints  on  other  days,  Aug.  12, 
Nov.  29,  30,  Dec.  1. 

Legenda  Aurea.  Villegas.  Butler. 
Baillet.  Surius.  Smith  and  Wace, 
Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography.  Acta 
Sanctorum  Bollandi,  and  all  collections 
of  the  lives  and  legends  of  the  saints  and 
martyrs  of  the  first  ages  of  Christianity. 

St.  Daria  (3),  or  Daretia,  July  n>, 
M.  at  Constantinople.  AA.SS. 

St.  Daria  (4),  mother  of  St.  Ursula 

St.  Daria  (5),  Feb.  1,  V.  One  of 
St.  Bridgid's  nuns,  blind  from  her  birth. 
One  evening  she  and  St  Bridgid  sat  talk- 
ing, and  never  knew  when  it  got  dark, 
because  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  was 
present  to  their  minds.  At  last  Daria 
said,  "  0  Bridgid,  open  my  eyes,  that  I 
may  for  once  see  the  world  I  have  so 
often  desired  to  see."  Then  Bridgid  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross  on  her  eyes,  and 
she  saw  the  world,  and  then  she  said, 
"  Now  shut  my  eyes  again,  for  eyes  that 
are  blind  to  the  things  of  this  life  shall 
be  the  more  steadfastly  fixed  on  Jesus 
Christ.,,  Then  Bridgid  closed  her  eyes 
again.    AA.SS.,  in  St.  Bridgid,  Feb.  1. 

St.  Daria  (0),  sister  of  St.  Kuadhan, 
abbot  of  Lothra,  in  Ireland,  middle  of 
0th  century.  Gammack,  in  Smith  and 
Wace. 

St.  Daria  (7),  Oct.  2G.  6th  or  7th 
century.  Also  called  Soidhealbh,  i.e. 
the  Fair,  daughter  of  Cathirius,  con- 
temporary with  St.  Corbmac,  who  blessed 
her  monastery  so  that  the  land  became 
very  fertile,  and  was  thence  called  Magh- 
gainnach,  now  Moygawnagh,  in  county 
Mayo.  J.  Gammack,  in  Smith  and  Wace. 
She  is  honoured  with  St.  Derbilia. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Darinnill,  V.  Sister  of  Darbblin. 

St.  Darlugdacha,  Daludarca,  Dar- 
dulacha,  or  Dardalucha  (in  French 
Dorlaie),  Feb.  1.  "f  about  524.  One 
of  St.  Bridgid's  nuns  at  Eildare. 

One  day,  not  having  kept  guard  over 
her  eyes,  she  fell  in  love  with  a  soldier, 
and  he  with  her.  She  thought  it  a 
horrible  sin,  and  so  she  filled  her  wooden 
shoes  with  hot  coals  and  thrust  her  feet 
into  them,  and  by  the  violence  of  tho 
pain  extinguished  the  "hellish  flames 
with  which  Satan  tried  to  burn  her  soul.'' 
Next  day  she  confessed  her  sin.  St. 


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ST.  DELINARIA 


221 


Bridgid  was  bo  satisfied  with  her  reso- 
lution, that  she  healed  her  feet  on  the 
spot,  and  no  sign  of  burning  remained. 
Darlugdacha  was  ever  after  the  favourite 
sister  of  St.  Bridgid,  who  appointed  her 
to  succeed  her  as  abbess,  promising  her 
that  she  should  rejoin  her  in  paradise 
in  a  year,  which  she  did. 

Darlugdacha,  being  exiled  from  Ireland 
for  Christ's  sake,  visited  Nectan,  king 
of  the  Picts,  in  Scotland,  and  was  present 
at  the  dedication  of  the  church  of  Aber- 
nethy  to  God  and  St.  Bridgid.  Lanigan. 
Colgan,  AA.SS.  Hibernise.  Bollandus, 
AA.SS. ,  Feb.  1 .  Forbes,  Scottish  Kalen- 
dars. 

St.  Dartinna,  Tartinna,  or  Tinnea, 
July  3,  V.  Irish.  Supposed  at  Kilaird, 
county  Wicklow.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Datica,  May  8,  M.  at  Constanti- 
nople, with  St.  Acaoius.  (See  Agatha 
('2).)  AA.SS. 

St.  Dativa  (1),  Feb.  22,  M.  at  Nico- 
media,  with  St.  Antiga  and  many  others. 

St.  Dativa  (2),  or  Dativus,  March  14. 
M.  at  Nicomedia,  with  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Dativa  (3),  May  8,  M.  at  Constan- 
tinople, with  St.  Acacius.    (See  Agatha 

St.  Dativa  (4),  Dec.  6,  M.  in  the  Van- 
dal persecution.  Sister  of  St.  Diontsia. 
484.    Roman  Martyrology.    Baillet,  etc. 

St.  Datula,  June  2.  One  of  227 
Roman  martyrs  commemorated  together 
in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Dauphine,  Delphina. 

St  Dawlitta,  a  Welsh  or  Cornish 
form  of  the  name  Julitta. 

St.  Debarras,  Wilgefortis. 

St.  Deborah,  Debora,  Debbora ^Del- 
bora,  Sept.  1,  "The  feest  also  ...  of 
saynt  Del  bora  y6  prophetisse  that  wfc  her 
housbond  Baracke  was  the  thyrde  iudge 
.  .  .(of  i8raeU).,, 

Deborah  was  a  prophetess  of  Israel, 
belonging  to  the  tribe  of  Ephraim.  She 
is  called  in  the  Bible  "  the  wife  of  Lapi- 
doth,"  though  some  traditions  say  that 
Barak  was  her  husband.  "She  dwelt 
under  the  palm  tree  of  Deborah  between 
Raman  and  Bethel,  in  mount  Ephraim : 
and  the  children  of  Israel  came  up  to 
her  for  judgment. ' 

The  Israelites — especially  the  northern 
tribes — were  at  that  time  "mightily 


oppressed"  by  Jabin,  king  of  Canaan, 
who  possessed  "nine  hundred  chariots 
of  iron,  and  the  captain  of  whose  host 
was  Sisera."  Deborah  summoned  "  Barak, 
the  son  of  Abinoam,"  to  lead  ten  thousand 
men  against  the  oppressor,  and  finding 
him  unwilling  to  go  alone,  she  accom- 
panied him  to  the  summit  of  Mount 
Tabor,  where  the  army  encamped. 

According  to  Josephus,  the  Israelites 
and  Barak  were  struck  with  fear  at  the 
multitude  of  the  enemy,  and  were  ready 
to  retreat,  when  Deborah  kept  them 
steady,  enjoining  tbem  to  give  battle 
that  very  day,  for  the  victory  was  almost 
in  their  possession.  At  a  signal  from 
Deborah,  Barak  led  his  men  to  the  plain 
of  Jezreel,  to  meet  Sisera's  army.  The 
Israelites  were  muoh  aided  by  a  "pro- 
digious tempest  ...  of  rain  and  hail/' 
which  beat  in  the  faces  of  their  opponents, 
and  cut  off  their  retreat  by  rendering 
the  river  Kishon  impassable.  "The 
stars  in  their  courses  fought  against 
Sisera."  As  Deborah  had  foretold,  the 
battle  resulted  in  a  decisive  victory  for 
the  Israelites. 

In  commemoration  of  this  victory, 
Deborah  has  left  us  a  song  of  triumph 
which  is  one  of  the  earliest  compositions 
of  the  kind  in  existence,  and  is  con- 
sidered to  be  one  of  the  most  ancient 
portions  of  the  Old  Testament  (Judg. 
iv.  5).  "  The  Martiloge  in  englysshe  after 
the  use  of  the  churche  of  Salisbury  and  as 
it  is  redde  in  Syon  with  addicyons.  By 
the  sayd  wretche  of  Syon  By  chard  Whyt- 
ford."  Flavius  Josephus,  Of  the  Anti- 
quities of  the  Jews,  bk.  v.  ch.  v. 
Cunningham  Geikie,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Old 
Testament  Characters. 

St.  Decima,  April  14,  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Dediva,  Editna. 

St.  Deel,  or  Deicola,  said  to  be  an 
abbess  of  Lure,  in  Franche-Comte. 
Probably  it  is  a  mistake  for  St.  Deicoins, 
or  Dielf,  Jan.  18,  abbot  of  Lure,  M. 
about  625.    Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Degnamerita,  Dignamerita  (2). 

St.  Deidre,  or  Deirdre,  the  Irish 
Ita. 

St.  Deivota,  Devota,  Jan.  27,  V.M. 
St.  Delbora,  Deborah. 
St.  Delinaria.    Formerly  hououred 
in  the  Abruzzi.    Guerin.    Mas  Latrie. 


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222 


ST.  DELPHINE 


St.  Delph,  or  Dieppe  (man  or 
woman).  Gives  name  to  the  church  and 
village  of  Landulph,  in  Cornwall,  and 
is  there  commemorated.  (See  Deppa.) 
Parker. 

St  Delphine,  or  Dauphine,  Nov.  27, 
Sept.  26,  Nov.  16,  Deo.  17.  t 13G0- 
O.S.F.  Delphine  de  Glandeve  de 
Puy-Michel,  afterwards  de  Sabran. 
Countess  of  Ariano,  called  "The  Poor 
Countess."  Wife  of  St.  Elzear,  daughter 
of  Guillaume  de  Signe.  The  Signes 
were  a  branch  of  the  powerful  family 
of  the  Viscounts  of  Marseilles,  who 
descended  from  the  Kings  of  Burgundy. 
Guillaume  married  Delphine  de  Barras, 
a  great  heiress,  who  had  immense  estates 
in  Provence.  They  lived  in  the  castle 
of  Puy-Michel,  which  belonged  to  her, 
and  there  St.  Delphine  was  born  about 
1283.  She  was  the  sole  heiress  to  her 
mother's  vast  possessions.  She  had  a 
sister  named  Alasacie,  who  although  a 
nun  of  the  Convent  of  St.  Catherine  de 
Sorps,  generally  lived  with  her.  Del- 
phine's  parents  died  while  she  was  very 
young,  and  she  was  styled  Dame  de  Puy- 
Michd,  a  title  which  she  bore  all  her  life. 
She  is  thought  to  have  been  educated  by 
her  aunt  Mabel  de  Signe,  abbess  of  St. 
Catherine  de  Sorps,  and  there  to  have 
acquired  the  habit  of  reading  the  Bible, 
and  also  the  art  of  working  that  extra- 
ordinary fine  needlework  in  which  gold, 
silver,  and  silk  were  artistically  blended, 
and  that  unceasing  industry  which  dis- 
tinguished her  to  her  latest  days.  She 
wished  to  spend  her  life  in  the  convent 
which  had  been  her  school,  but 
Charles  II.,  king  of  Naples  and  Sicily 
(1285-1309),  as  count  of  Provence, 
was  guardian  of  every  heiress  in  that 
province,  and  insisted  on  marrying  her  to 
his  cousin  and  hers,  Elz6ar,  or  Aulzias  de 
Sabran.  He  was  about  two  years  younger 
than  Delphine.  His  father  Hermengaud 
had  received  from  Charles  I.,  with  the 
title  of  Count  of  Ariano,  lands  in  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  confiscated  from 
families  who  had  sided  with  the  house 
of  Arragon  against  that  of  Anjou. 
Elzear's  mother,  Laudune  d'Aube,  had 
presented  him  to  God  from  his  birth, 
and,  like  the  sainted  Queen  Blanche, 
she  said  she  would  rather  see  her  first- 


born child  die  at  once  than  that  he 
would  live  to  offend  his  Creator. 

Delphine's  family  were  much  alarmed 
by  her  fixed  objection  to  marriage,  as 
they  feared  to  offend  the  king.  So, 
through  her  Confessor,  they  persuaded 
her  that  it  was  her  first  duty  to  relieve 
their  anxiety  by  consenting  to  the 
alliance,  and  also  to  trust  that  if  it 
was  God's  will  for  her  to  serve  Him 
in  virginity,  He  would  open  a  way 
for  her  to  do  so.  Accordingly,  she 
was  married  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  in 
1298,  in  the  chapel  of  her  castle  of  Puy- 
Michel,  her  husband  being  thirteen. 
His  mother  was  dead ;  his  father,  Her- 
mengaud de  Sabran,  had  married  again, 
and  had  a  large  family.  He  was  at  the 
court  of  Naples,  where  he  held  the 
lucrative  post  afterwards  conferred  on 
St.  Elzear,  of  Master  Justiciar  of  the 
Abruzzi.  The  young  couple  lived  with 
Elzear's  grandparents  at  the  castle  of 
Ansois,  or  Ansouis.  Delphine  was  a 
beautiful  girl,  very  tali,  with  good 
features  and  a  singularly  sweet  voice. 
She  had  received,  for  the  times,  a  superior 
education,  and  possessed  an  extremely 
amiable  disposition,  and  uncommon  pene- 
tration and  discretion.  It  was  no  wonder 
that  she  soon  obtained  a  great  ascendency 
over  a  youth  of  thirteen.  They  entirely 
sympathized  with  each  other  in  piety 
and  zeal  for  all  good  works.  Delphine 
was  blessed  with  extraordinary  insight 
into  the  character  and  thoughts  of  others. 
Elzear  was  favoured  with  ecstasies  and 
heavenly  visions.  Very  soon  after  her 
marriage  Delphine  was  very  ill.  Elzear 
was  in  great  distress.  She  told  him 
she  would  certainly  die  unless  he 
promised  to  respect  her  vow  of  virginity ; 
that  she  would  much  rather  die  than 
break  it;  and  was  praying  to  God  to 
take  her  rather  than  let  her  be  untrue  to 
her  vow  made  to  Him.  Elzear  would 
not  at  that  time  make  a  vow  to  bind  him 
for  life,  but  assured  her  that  her  wishes 
should  always  be  law  to  him.  On  this 
she  immediately  recovered.  During  the 
five  and  twenty  years  of  their  union  they 
lived  like  a  brother  and  sister  in  the 
greatest  affection  and  confidence.  They 
practised  from  the  first  the  same  asceticism 
as  if  each  were  in  a  monastery,  but  it 


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was  not  until  about  sixteen  years  later, 
when  Delphine  was  tbirty-two  and  ber 
husband  nearly  thirty,  that  they  bound 
themselves  by  a  vow  of  perpetual  vir- 
ginity. While  they  lived  with  their 
grandparents  the  old  lady  was,  accord- 
ing to  the  English  translation  of 
Bioet,  "  extremely  passionate  to  see  her- 
self a  great-grandmother ;  she  sent  for 
skilful  Phisitians,  and  caused  them  to 
appoint  recipes  that  quickly  Delphine 
might  be  with  child.  From  time  to 
time  needs  must  she  swallow  most  bitter 
potions  and  be  let  bloud,  which  she 
did  with  great  courage,  as  well  to  obey 
this  ladie  as  to  couer  the  secrecie  of  her 
vow." 

The  old  Count  Elzear,  the  grand- 
father, suspected  that  they  spent  great 
part  of  the  night  in  prayer,  and  began 
singing  psalms  much  too  early  in  the 
morning,  so  he  made  some  of  their 
attendants  sleep  in  their  room  to  restrain 
their  devotions,  and  report  to  him  what 
passed.  Delphine  soon  found  it  prudent 
to  keep  her  windows  and  shutters  shut 
until  a  late  hour  in  the  morning,  that 
she  might  be  supposed  to  be  sound 
asleep,  although  she  and  Elz6ar  were,  in 
fact,  reading  the  Bible  together,  and 
going  through  their  morning  prayers  or 
conversing  untrammelled  by  observers. 
At  this  time  there  were  glass  windows 
and  wooden  shutters  in  the  rooms  of 
rich  people,  and  the  walls  were  hung  with 
tapestry.  One  evening,  when  she  was 
washing  her  husband's  head  and  comb- 
ing out  his  long  hair,  he  asked  her  to 
make  haste  and  finish  her  labours,  as  he 
felt  the  approach  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
and  he  spent  the  whole  of  that  night  in 
ecstasy,  his  soul  transported  into  heaven. 
Towards  morning,  when  she  took  a  lamp 
to  look  at  him,  to  be  sure  that  he  was 
alive,  she  saw  his  face  transfigured, 
perfectly  beautiful,  and  surrounded  with 
heavenly  light  such  as  is  represented  in 
pictures  of  saints  and  angels.  The 
espionage  of  their  retainers  was  irksome, 
and  the  rollicking  life  of  a  numerous 
household  under  the  rule  of  a  not  very 
scrupulous  old  man  was  not  at  all  to  the 
taste  of  the  two  young  saints,  and  after 
enduring  this  uncongenial  atmosphere  for 
three  or  four  years,  they  removed  to 


Delphino's  own  house,  Puy-Michel,  and 
there  they  kept  a  strict,  though  bene- 
volent rule,  above  all  things  setting  their 
faces  against  swearing  and  profane  or 
immodest  language,  which  must  havo 
been  a  very  common  sin  at  that  time, 
as  all  pious  people  found  it  necessary  to 
protest  so  much  against  it.  Elz6ar 
exacted  of  every  member  of  his  house- 
hold attendance  at  morning  prayer,  and 
at  one  Mass  at  least  in  each  day,  and 
greatly  insisted  on  purity  of  conduct. 
The  count  and  countess  watched  over 
their  dependents  as  if  they  were  their 
own  children,  and  so  their  house  was  a 
school,  their  discipline  a  kind  of  aposto- 
late.  Elzear's  cousin  Raymond,  bishop 
of  Digne,  copied  their  rule  and  estab- 
lished it  in  his  episcopal  palace,  and 
Sister  Alasaoie,  who  lived  with  Delphine, 
declared,  when  giving  her  evidence  at 
the  canonization  of  Elzear,  that  the  life 
at  Puy-Michel  was  more  strict  and 
religious  than  the  life  in  the  convent 
of  Sorps.  Their  charity  and  prudence 
were  especially  shown,  and  were  favoured 
by  miracles  during  the  famines  of  1303 
and  1305.  Hermengaud,  Elz6ar's  father, 
died  in  1310,  and  Elzear  now  became 
count  of  Ariano,  and,  leaving  Delphine 
in  charge  of  all  their  property  in  Pro- 
vence, had  to  go  to  settle  his  affairs  in 
Italy.  He  soon  became  a  great  favourite 
with  King  Robert  the  Wise  (1309-1343), 
who  at  once  conferred  on  him  the  order 
of  knighthood.  During  the  vigil  that 
preceded  the  ceremony,  Elzear  prayed 
for  grace,  and  firmly  resolved  to  lead, 
amid  the  luxuries  and  pleasures  of  the 
court,  the  same  holy  life  he  had  led  at 
Puy-Michel.  On  this  occasion  he  had 
one  of  those  ecstasies  by  which  he  was 
confirmed  and  encouraged  in  his  virtuous 
resolutions.  During  his  absence  Del- 
phine spent  part  of  her  time  at  his  fortified 
castle  of  Ansouis.  The  parish  church  is 
still  standing  close  to  the  old  castle  to 
which  it  was  evidently  joined  in  former 
times.  In  1314,  as  St.  Elzear  could  not 
leave  Italy,  Delphine  joined  him  there. 
She  was  now  over  thirty,  but  was  still 
very  beautiful — a  beauty  enhanced  by 
her  charming  manner  and  her  edifying 
conversation. 

When  she  arrived  at  Ariano,  she  was 


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224 


ST.  DELPHINE 


shocked  to  find  her  husband  dressed  as 
gaily  as  the  most  worldly  of  his  com- 
panions, and  feared  that  the  life  of  court 
and  camp  had  rubbed  the  bloom  off  his 
piety  and  sullied  the  purity  of  his  soul. 
He  saw  the  sadness  of  her  look,  and, 
divining  its  cause,  soon  revealed  to  her 
that  beneath  his  embroidered  silk  coat 
and  velvet  mantlo  he  wore  the  rough 
woollen  shirt  of  his  former  days,  and 
under  that  his  cilicium.  In  their  new 
abode  they  practised  the  same  holiness 
and  patience,  charity  to  the  poor,  and 
earnest  efforts  for  the  moral  and  spiritual 
welfare  of  those  under  their  authority, 
that  had  characterized  their  life  at  Puy- 
Michel. 

Delphine  soon  found  that,  being  one 
of  the  great  ladies  of  the  court,  she  had 
to  wear  the  magnificent  dress  that  her 
station  demanded ;  but  under  her  gay 
attire  she  wore  a  cilicium.  She  was 
always  very  generous  to  friends  and 
attendants,  and,  finding  two  ladies  of  the 
court  who  were  too  poor  to  dress  like 
their  companions,  she  gave  her  green 
gown  to  one  and  her  violet  gown  to  the 
other,  and  thus  enabled  them  to  appear 
at  court  as  became  their  rank. 

St.  Elzear  was  much  impressed  with 
the  duty  of  doing  justice  to  all  the 
creditors  of  his  family,  and  discharging 
the  different  obligations  his  father  had 
left  him ;  and  he  thought  that  when  all 
these  affairs  were  settled,  God  would 
release  him  from  his  earthly  life. 

As  Master  Justiciary  of  the  Abruzzi, 
he  might  have  enriched  himself  to  any 
extent.  Presents  were  a  recognised  form 
of  profit  to  those  holding  high  offices; 
but  the  line  between  a  present  and  a 
bribe  is  so  faint  that  on  avaricious  man 
cannot  see  it,  and  Elzear  was  too  up- 
right and  too  scrupulously  conscientious 
to  see  it  either.  One  day  the  nun 
Alasacie,  who  was  in  constant  attend- 
ance on  her  sister  Delphine,  and  always 
had  access  to  her  room,  found  St.  Elzear 
there,  saying  his  prayers  aloud.  She 
heard  him  say,  "  Lord  God,  Thou  wilt 
have  to  repay  me  in  Thy  paradise  a 
hundred  ounces  of  gold  and  two  pieces  of 
scarlet."  Alasacie  asked  him  afterwards 
what  he  meant,  and  he  told  her  it  was  a 
present  he  had  refused  for  love  of  God. 


Many  touching  instances  are  related 
of  the  impartiality  and  kindness  with 
which  he  attended  to  the  petitions  of  the 
poorest,  as  well  as  of  the  good  influenco 
the  saintly  couple  exercised  over  their 
equals  and  superiors  at  court,  including 
the  Duke  of  Calabria,  heir  to  the  throne. 

During  these  years  Elzear  travelled 
about  a  good  deal,  sometimes  on  warlike, 
but  oftener  on  pacific  errands  for  King 
Robert,  and,  like  all  the  nobles  who  had 
estates  in  both  Italy  and  France,  he  had 
to  go  from  one  country  to  the  other  to 
attend  to  his  own  property.  Accord- 
ingly, in  1316,  he  and  Delphine  asked 
and  obtained  from  the  king  a  year's 
leave  of  absence,  and  went  to  visit  each 
of  their  estates — Ansoui's,  Cucurron, 
Yaugine,  Robians,  Oabrieres,  la  Motto 
d'Aigues,  which  belonged  to  tho  Sabrans, 
and  Delphine's  estates  of  Glandeve, 
THospitalet,  Puy-Michel,  etc.  In  the 
following  year  they  returned  to  their 
places  at  the  court  of  Naples.  It  seems 
to  have  been  during  this  visit  to  Provence 
that  they  were  enrolled  as  members  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St  Francis,  and 
bound  themselves  by  a  solemn  vow  of 
celibacy. 

It  must  have  been  about  1321  that 
Elzear,  finding  all  his  debts  paid  and 
his  worldly  embarrassments  set  to  rights, 
told  his  wife  he  was  sure  God  would 
soon  call  him  away.  In  1 323  the  King 
and  Queen  of  Sicily  were  at  Avignon, 
where  the  Pope  also  resided  at  this  date, 
and  where  the  Count  and  Countess  of 
Ariano  joined  them  immediately  after 
they  had  attended  the  last  moments  of 
Catherine  of  Habsburg,  duchess  of 
Calabria.  As  the  duchess  left  no  chil- 
dren, King  Robert  was  impatient  to  have 
his  son  married  again  without  delay,  and 
Elzear  was  chosen  to  go  to  Paris  and 
ask,  in  the  name  of  the  Duke  of  Calabria, 
the  hand  of  the  Princess  Mary  of  Valois. 
He  was  to  marry  her  as  proxy,  and  bring 
her  away.  Ho  could  not  refuse  this 
service  to  his  friend  and  sovereign,  but 
before  leaving  Delphine  at  Avignon  he 
said  to  her,  "  If  it  please  God  that  I 
return  from  this  mission,  we  will  with- 
draw from  temporal  cares  and  business, 
and  live  in  our  own  house  at  Ansouls, 
and  there,  far  from  the  tumult  and 


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ST.  DELPHINE 


• 

225 


struggle  of  the  world,  devote  ourselves 
exclusively  to  spiritual  things."  Delphine 
was  overjoyed.  She  looked  forward  to 
their  spending  some  years  together  in 
the  manner  she  had  always  considered 
the  best  and  happiest.  She  stayed 
contented  with  Queen  Sancha,  and  her 
husband  went  to  Paris. 

One  day  he  was  in  the  Place  Saint- 
Jacques  just  as  a  priest  was  coming  out 
of  the  church,  carrying  the  sacrament  to 
a  sick  person.  All  the  people  who  hap- 
pened to  be  there  fell  on  their  knees,  as 
their  custom  was,  at  the  passing  of  the 
Holy  Sacrament.  Elzear  alone  remained 
standing.  The  Bishop  of  Paris,  having 
heard  so  much  of  the  piety  of  the  Nea- 
politan ambassador,  wondered  much 
when  this  act  of  irreverence  was  repeated 
to  him,  and  requested  the  Count  of 
Ariano  to  explain  his  motive.  Elzear 
said, "  The  wafer  which  the  priest  carried 
was  not  consecrated,  and  I  should  have 
been  guilty  of  idolatry  if  I  had  wor- 
shipped it  as  the  Body  of  our  Lord." 
The  bishop,  more  surprised  than  ever, 
sent  for  the  priest,  who  confessed  with 
tears  that  such  was  the  fact,  and  ex- 
plained that  the  person  who  had  sent 
for  the  Holy  Sacrament  was,  to  his  cer- 
tain knowledge,  unworthy  to  receive  it, 
but  that,  intimidated  by  his  followers, 
and  not  daring  to  refuse  the  demand  of 
so  powerful  a  personage,  he  had,  in  his 
perplexity,  thought  to  avoid  sacrilege  by 
the  ruse  which  the  Count  of  Ariano  had 
detected. 

The  embassy  had  been  in  Paris  about 
three  weeks,  and  preparations  were  be- 
ing made  to  celebrate  the  royal  marriage 
with  due  pomp  and  splendour,  when  the 
proxy  bridegroom  was  seized  with  fever 
and  died  in  a  few  days,  at  the  King  of 
Sicily's  hotel,  Sept.  27,  1323.  He  said 
on  his  death-bed  that  if  he  had  any  good 
in  him  he  owed  it  to  the  prayers  and  the 
example  of  his  wife.  At  the  hour  of  his 
death,  Delphine,  who  was  praying  for 
him  in  her  oratory  at  Avignon,  had  a 
vision  of  the  lugubrious  procession  of  his 
servants,  clothed  in  mourning,  issuing 
from  the  gates  of  Paris,  and  taking  the 
road  to  Avignon.  She  flew  to  the  kiug 
and  queen,  to  see  if  they  could  give  her 
any  tidings ;  but  they  had  heard  nothing, 


and  tried  to  calm  her.  After  a  few 
days,  however,  the  king  received  the  sad 
news  of  the  death  of  his  ambassador,  and 
soon  afterwards  the  friends  and  servants 
who  had  accompanied  the  count  to  Paris 
arrived  in  mourning,  just  as  Dolphino 
had  seen  them  in  her  vision.  The 
widow  was  inconsolable.  She  left  the 
court,  and  went  to  live  at  Cabrieres, 
near  Eobians,  her  husband's  birth-place, 
and  near  Ansouls,  where  their  first  homo 
had  been. 

About  a  year  after  his  death  his  body 
was  brought,  according  to  his  directions, 
to  be  buried  in  the  Franciscan  church  at 
Apt.  She  went  there  to  meet  it,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  did  homage  in  that  church 
for  her  lands,  between  the  hands  of  the 
seneschal  Scaletta.  About  three  years 
after  this,  the  Franciscans  and  all  the 
clergy  and' people  of  Apt  petitioned  the 
Pope,  John  XXII.,  who  was  living  at 
Avignon,  to  enrol  the  name  of  Elzear 
amongst  the  saints.  The  Pope  showed 
himself  willing,  but  was  too  much 
troubled  by  his  struggles  with  the  anti- 
pope,  the  Germans,  and  his  other  ene- 
mies to  take  at  once  the  necessary  steps ; 
but  Delphine,  who  had  been  assured  in  a 
vision  that  her  husband  was  in  paradise, 
worshipped  him  as  a  saint  without  wait- 
ing for  his  canonization,  which  was 
accomplished  by  his  godson,  Urban  V. 

Elzear  left  Ansouis  and  Ariano  to 
his  brother  William,  and  to  Delphine 
he  restored  all  the  estates  she  had 
brought  him  as  dowry — Puy-Michel, 
Saint  Etienne,  Hospitalet,  etc. ;  he  left 
her  the  castles  of  Kobians  and  Cabrieres 
absolutely,  and  for  her  life  she  was  to 
have  the  castle  and  lands  of  Madalon, 
near  Naples ;  he  also  left  her  quantities 
of  plate,  jewels,  money,  silk  and  fur 
robes,  flocks  and  herds,  and  furniture 
of  various  sorts.  She  soon  resolved  to 
sell  all  these  appendages  of  luxury, 
henceforth  useless  to  her;  but  it  took 
some  time  to  realize  so  much  and  such 
various  property.  Some  of  her  relations 
were  willing  to  buy  the  family  estates 
from  her,  and  some  undertook  to  assist 
her  in  getting  rid  of  her  superfluities 
and  making  over  the  money  to  the 
different  classes  of  poor  on  whom  she 
wished  to  bestow  it ;  but  this  could  not, 

Q 


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226 


ST.  DELPHINE 


be  done  in  a  short  time.  She  had  to 
obtain  the  king's  permission  to  alienate 
the  lands  which  she  held  of  the  crown, 
with  their  conditions  of  military  service 
and  other  feudal  dues;  this  permission 
was  always  difficult  to  procure,  and 
Delphine,  by  the  advice  of  her  friends, 
to  avail  herself  of  the  queen's  friend- 
ship, set  out  for  Naples  about  1326. 
The  court,  in  its  mourning  for  the 
Duke  of  Calabria,  she  found  more  to  her 
taste  than  in  the  brilliant  days  of  yore. 
The  queen  and  Delphine,  with  their 
sorrows  and  their  piety,  loved  to  retire 
from  the  crowd  of  friends  and  courtiers 
and  converse  alone  together.  At  this 
time  are  placed  many  of  the  miracles 
of  healing  recorded  of  Delphine.  She 
went  to  visit  one  of  the  queen's  ladies 
who  was  very  ill,  merely  to  express 
sympathy  and  exhort  her  to  patience ; 
holding  her  hands  affectionately  while 
she  spoke,  the  patient  instantly  felt 
better,  and  two  days  afterwards  her 
malady  was  completely  and  permanently 
cured.  Another  of  the  court  ladies 
suffered  excruciating  pains  in  her  eyes 
and  ears,  and  had  tried  *  all  sorts  of 
remedies,  the  king  himself  had  in  vain 
prescribed  for  her.  Delphine  went  to 
see  her,  and,  in  her  affectionate  sym- 
pathy, took  the  sufferer's  head  tenderly 
between  her  hands,  in  order  to  kiss  her, 
and  thereby  cured  her  at  once  and  for 
ever.  Delphine's  own  health  began  to 
break  down,  and  she  often  suffered  a 
great  deal.  When  her  friends  condoled 
with  her,  she  said  that  if  people  only 
knew  tho  real  value  of  suffering,  they 
would  send  to  buy  it  at  the  market  as 
a  thing  of  great  price.  She  lived  a 
great  deal  at  Casasana,  now  Quisisana, 
a  charming  place  built  by  King  Eobert, 
between  Naples  and  Castellamare,  and 
here  she  began  to  practise  the  austere 
life  which  she  continued  to  lead  to  the 
end  of  her  days.  She  solemnly  re- 
nounced all  her  property,  distributing 
some  to  her  companions  and  servants. 
She  seems  to  have  dreaded  pride  as  a 
great  enemy  of  the  soul,  for  she  more 
than  once  said  she  feared  she  would  lose 
her  soul  unless  people  counted  her  a 
fool,  so  she  was  as  greedy  of  contempt 
as  others  are  of  respect  and  approbation. 


When  she  went  begging,  she  was  glad 
if  people  who  knew  her  laughed  at  her 
and  pushed  her  rudely  from  the  path. 
She  left  Italy  about  1334,  returned  to 
her  own  country,  and  resided  chiefly  at 
Apt,  where  her  husband  was  buried. 
She  sold  Cabrieres  to  her  brother-in-law, 
reserving,  however,  a  hermitage  there, 
where  she  could  occasionally  enjoy  com- 
plete seclusion ;  but  even  this  she  would 
owe  only  to  his  charity,  and  not  to  any 
legal  right.  She  plunged  into  absolute 
poverty,  begging  from  door  to  door, 
sometimes  churlishly  dismissed,  some- 
times insolently  treated  by  other  beggars. 
Once  they  said  grudgingly  one  to  an- 
other, alluding  to  the  dropsy  which  dis- 
figured her  shape,  "  They  will  give  this 
woman  two  loaves,  because  she  has  such 
a  big  stomach,  while  a  poor  starveling 
like  me  will  get  but  one ! "  Then  the 
saint  would  rejoice  that  neither  beauty, 
rank,  nor  wealth  any  longer  distinguished 
her  from  the  lowest.  Now  that  all 
earthly  comforts  and  interests  were  put 
away  from  her,  amid  the  pain  of  her 
disease  and  the  privations  of  her  con- 
dition, in  long  vigils  she  communed  with 
God,  and  learnt  what  it  was  to  love  Him 
alone.  It  was  probably  now  that  she 
received  her  extraordinary  gift  of  read- 
ing the  thoughts  of  others.  She  often 
answered  questions  which  persons  were 
afraid  to  ask  her,  and  calmed  scruples 
they  had  not  dared  to  avow.  She  often 
said  that  if  reading  and  tears  do  not 
suffice  to  dissipate  scruples  and  anxieties, 
one  ought  to  betake  one's  self  to  manual 
labour,  in  which  occupation  she  con- 
sidered souls  least  liable  to  offend  God. 
After  the  death  of  King  Eobert,  Queen 
Sancha  sent  for  her  again  to  Naples, 
and  during  the  three  or  four  years  that 
remained  of  Sancha's  life  the  two  widows 
spent  much  of  their  time  in  the  Fran- 
ciscan convent  of  the  Holy  Cross.  The 
queen  died  there,  and  Delphine  imme- 
diately returned  to  Provence,  and  settled 
at  Apt,  where  her  house  is  still  shown. 

She  lived  for  nearly  a  year  at  Ca- 
brieres in  a  cell  as  an  absolute  recluse, 
but  her  advisers  persuaded  her  to  give 
up  this  entire  solitude  and  return  to 
Apt,  where  she  edified  many  by  her 
wisdom  and  spirituality.    In  her  youth 


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ST.  DE3 

she  used  to  instruct  her  servants  and 
yassals,  and  to  work  conversions  among 
the  friends  whom  she  received  or  met 
in  society,  but  now,  in  her  poor  little 
house  at  Apt,  her  life  was  an  apostolate ; 
she  seemed  to  have  a  special  mission  to 
bring  near  to  God  all  persons  who  came 
to  her;  she  only  spoke  out  of  the 
abundance  of  her  heart,  and  every  word 
seemed  to  go  to  the  heart  of  the  listener. 
All  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  came 
to  consult  her  about  their  spiritual 
difficulties. 

A  priest  who  wished  his  niece  to 
become  a  nun,  spoke  on  the  subject  to 
Delphine,  who,  knowing  by  her  wonder- 
ful intuition  that  the  girl  had  no  voca- 
tion to  the  religious  life,  opposed  the 
plan,  and  told  the  priest  he  would  en- 
danger the  soul  of  his  niece  if  he  exerted 
his  authority  to  drive  her  into  the 
cloister.  Throughout  her  life,  one  of 
Delphine's  favourite  works  of  charity 
was  making  up  quarrels,  of  which  many 
instances  are  given  in  her  biography. 
She  died  at  Apt,  Nov.  26,  1360,  and  was 
at  once  venerated  as  a  saint.  Little 
more  than  two  years  afterwards  steps 
were  taken  towards  her  canonization, 
by  Urban  V.,  her  husband's  godson,  but 
before  all  the  formalities  were  com- 
pleted this  Pope  died,  and  it  was  not 
until  1410  that  her  body  was  solemnly 
taken  up  from  the  tomb,  enclosed  in 
a  shrine  ornamented  with  silver,  and 
placed  beside  that  of  St.  Elzear. 

The  memory  of  these  saints  still  lives 
in  Provence,  and  their  fete  is  kept  with 
great  devotion.  Their  cousin,  B.  Rosb- 
lyne,  is  also  remembered  at  Apt  to  this 
day. 

St.  Elzear's  name  is  in  the  R.M., 
Sept.  27.  Blessed  Delphine  is  men- 
tioned with  him  on  the  same  day,  and 
also  Nov.  27,  in  the  Mart.  Set  aphid 
Ordinis,  and  they  are  also  named  on 
those  days  in  the  Mart.  Romano  Sera- 
phicum,  A.R.M.  His  Life  is  in  the 
AA.SS.,  Bollandi,  and  much  of  the  in- 
formation regarding  B.  Delphine  is 
derived  from  it  She  is  generally  called 
"  Saint,"  but  the  title  hitherto  accorded 
by  authority  of  the  Pope  is  "  Blessed." 
Their  Lives  and  Singular  Virtues  are 
described  by  Father  Etienne  Binet,  S.J., 


ETRIA  227 

and  translated  into  English  by  T.  H.  , 
1638.  A  very  readable  book  is  the 
Marquise  de  Forbin  d'Oppede's  Delphine 
et  lea  Saints  de  Provence.  She  quotes, 
among  other  authorities,  an  old  Pro- 
vencal Life  of  Delphine  preserved  in 
the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  and  a  his- 
tory of  the  process  of  her  canonization. 

St.  Demergothia,  or  Denegothia, 
Oct.  1,  M.  at  Tomis,  in  Lower  Moesia. 
AA.SS. 

St  Demetria  (l),  June  21,  V.  M. 
+  362.  Daughter  of  St.  Flavianus  and 
St.  Dapro8A.  Sister  of  St.  Bibiana.  Con- 
demned with  them  to  be  scourged  to 
death  under  Julian  the  Apostate,  but 
died  at  the  stake  before  the  executioner 
touched  her.  According  to  Butler,  after 
the  death  of  St.  Dafrosa,  St.  Demetria 
and  her  sister  were  imprisoned  in  their 
house,  and  attempts  were  made  to  per- 
vert them  from  the  faith.  They  were 
then  brought  before  the  governor,  who 
had  condemned  their  parents.  Demetria 
confessed  her  faith,  and  fell  dead  before 
the  tribunal.  (See  Bibiana.)  AA.SS. 
Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred  and  Legendary 
Art. 

St.  Demetria  (2),  June  3,  M.  in 
Africa  with  more  than  a  hundred  others. 
AA.SS. 

St  Demetria  (3),  or  Demetrias. 
5th  century.  Daugnter  of  Olybrius,  of 
the  illustrious  house  of  the  Anicii.  Ho 
and  his  brother  Probinus  were  consuls 
in  395,  being  appointed  to  that  dignity 
by  Theodosius  the  Great,  at  the  request 
of  the  Koman  Senate. 

They  were  distinguished  by  every  good 
quality.  They  were  the  first  instance  of 
two  brothers  not  of  the  imperial  family 
being  consuls  together.  Olybrius  died 
prematurely,  and  was  mourned  by  all 
Borne,  but  he  was  thus  spared  the  grief 
and  humiliation  of  seeing  Home  sacked  by 
the  barbarians.  His  widow  Juliana,  his 
mother  Proba,  and  his  daughter  Demetria 
left  Rome  and  went  to  Carthage  (where 
they  had  property),  to  avoid  the  invasion 
of  the  Goths.  They  saw  the  burning  of 
Home  from  their  ship  as  they  left  the 
shores  of  Italy.  Count  Heraclian  seized 
a  great  deal  of  their  African  property. 

St.  Demetria,  in  the  midst  of  a  large 
and  luxurious  house,  surrounded  by 


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ST.  DEMUTH 


eunuchs  and  maids  devoted  to  her  ser- 
vice, affected  a  life  of  poverty,  fasting, 
wearing  coarse  clothing,  and  sleeping 
on  the  ground.  These  austerities  were 
known  only  to  her  maids.  About  413 
a  suitable  marriage  was  arranged  for  her, 
but  she  threw  herself,  weeping,  at  the 
feet  of  her  grandmother  Proba,  and  her 
mother  Juliana,  and  besought  them  to 
let  ber  remain  unmarried  and  consecrate 
herself  to  her  Lord.  They  joyfully  con- 
sented, and  she  took  the  veil  from  the 
Bishop  of  Carthage,  at  the  same  time 
bestowing  her  dowry  on  the  poor.  This 
event  made  a  great  sensation  at  the  time. 
Proba  and  Juliana  wrote  to  announce 
it  to  St.  Augustine,  whose  preaching 
at  Carthage  had  contributed  much  to 
confirm  Demetria  in  her  religious  dis- 
positions. He  wrote  them  a  letter  of 
congratulation.  They  also  wrote  to  St. 
Jerome,  beseeching  him  to  send  her 
some  instructions  for  her  religious  life, 
which  he  did  in  a  long  letter,  exhorting 
her,  among  other  things,  to  work  with 
her  hands  daily,  and  to  study  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  not  trouble  herself  about 
the  difficult  questions  which  were  bo- 
ginning  to  be  raised  within  the  Church. 
Pelagius,  afterwards  a  celebrated  heretic, 
also  wrote  her  a  long  letter  of  encourage- 
ment. SS.  Augustine  and  Alypius  after- 
wards wrote  to  Juliana  to  bid  her  caution 
Demetria  against  Pelagius.  Proba,  Juli- 
ana, and  Demetria  returned  to  Borne, 
where  the  latter  was  living  in  the  time 
of  St.  Leo,  who  was  Pope  440-461. 

W.  W.  Storey,  Roba  di  Roma,  ii.  30, 
tells  that  at  the  third  milestone  on  the 
Via  Latina  were  unearthed  the  founda- 
tions of  the  early  Christian  basilica 
dedicated  in  the  name  of  St.  Stephen, 
and  built  by  St.  Demetria  at  the  instance 
of  Pope  St.  Leo  the  Great.  It  had  been 
razed  to  the  ground,  but  columns  of  rare 
and  beautiful  marble  of  different  sorts, 
capitals,  bases,  and  other  architectural 
ornaments,  broken  and  scattered,  testified 
to  the  richness  of  the  original  building. 

Jerome's  Epistles,  torn.  i.  ch.  exxz.  p. 
969,  edition  Vallais, contains  curious  facts 
concerning  the  siege  and  sack  of  Borne. 

Tillemont,  Mem.  Eccl,  xiii.  620-635. 
Lebeau,  Bas.  Empire,  v.  92.  Butler, 
Life  of  St.  Augustine,  Aug.  28. 


St.  Demuth,  Diemutha. 

St.  Denecutia,  or  Benecutia,  May 
14,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Denegothia,  or  Demergothia, 
Oct.  1.  AA.SS. 

St.  Denise,  Denysa,  or  Denyse, 
Dionysia. 

St.  Denyw,  or  Dwynwen,  Welsh  for 
Thenew.    Forbes,  Scottish  Kalendnrs. 

St.  Deodata,  July  31,  M.  probably 
in  the  time  of  Diocletian.  Wife  of  St. 
Fautius.  While  they  were  still  heathens, 
they  were  given  to  charity  and  good 
works.  They  were  long  childless,  to 
their  great  regret.  One  night  Fautius 
dreamed  that  he  and  Deodata  were  stand- 
ing before  the  judgment-seat  of  God, 
condemned  to  eternal  damnation;  but 
Jesus  Christ,  showing  His  wounds  to  His 
Father,  entreated  that  they  might  be 
forgiven.  He  awoke  in  a  fright,  and 
told  the  dream  to  Deodata,  who  then 
devoted  herself  more  than  ever  to  good 
works.  Not  long  afterwards  they  were 
rejoiced  by  the  birth  of  a  son,  whom 
they  named  Fautinus.  The  day  he  was 
twelve  years  old,  he  was  hunting  a  stag, 
which  led  him  by  chance  (or  by  provi- 
dence) into  a  cave  where  lived  a  Chris- 
tian hermit.  Fautinus  and  his  servant, 
Leontius,  were  instructed  in  the  Christian 
faith  and  baptized  by  the  hermit.  Fau- 
tinus returned  to  his  parents,  and  told 
them  what  had  happened.  They  re- 
membered the  dream,  and  were  converted, 
and  very  soon  called  to  the  crown  of 
martyrdom.  Their  son  was  arrested 
with  them,  but  liberated  on  account  of 
his  youth.  Fautius  and  Deodata  were 
beheaded.  Their  Acts  are  in  a  history 
of  the  saints  of  Sicily,  where  they  are 
said  to  have  been  martyred  at  Syracuse, 
but  it  is  not  certain  whether  Syracuse 
or  Tauria  in  Calabria  was  the  scene  of 
their  death. 

Pinius,  in  AA.SS.  Boll,  July  31 ;  and 
Ferrarius,  Dec.  13.  Ferrarius  says 
Fantius  and  Fan  tin  us,  instead  of  Fautius 
and  Fautinus. 

St.  Deotila,  July  14.  8th  century. 
Second  Abbess  of  Blangy.  Daughter  of 
Sigfrid,  count  of  Pontivy,  and  of  St. 
Bertha  of  Blangy.  Sister  of  St.  Ger- 
trude (7)  of  Blangy.  Mas  Latrie.  AA.SS. 

St.  Deppa,  June  26,  M.  Belies  with 


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BB.  DIANA,  CECILIA,  AND  AMATA 


229 


those  of  bis  or  her  companions,  names 
unknown,  brought  from  Borne  and  placed 
in  the  Jesuits'  Church  at  Tournay,  1612. 
Called  by  Guerin,  Ste.  Deppe,  perhaps 
the  same  as  St.  Delph,  or  Dieppe. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Derbhfraich,  Dareroa  (3). 

St.  DerbhUedh,  Darbile. 

St.  Dercain,  a  name  of  St.  Kairecha, 
or  Chinreacha.  O'Hanlon,  i.,  in  Life 
of  Ita. 

St.  Derchairthinn.  An  Irish  saint 
of  royal  descent,  and  of  the  family  of 
St.  Maedhof  (6th  or  7th  century),  pro- 
bably of  Oughterard,  co.  Kildare.  Gam- 
mack,  in  Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Derfroechea,  Darerca  (3). 

St.  Derinella.  An  Irish  nun,  sup- 
posed to  have  lived  in  the  6th  century, 
and  to  be  the  same  as  St.  Tuella. 
Lanigan,  from  Colgan. 

St.  Derivla,  Darbile. 

St.  Derlugdacha,  Darluodacha. 

St.  Derlughach,  Darluodacha. 
'  St.  Dermor,  July  6.    An  Irish 
saint,  daughter  of  Maine,  and,  perhaps, 
sister  of  the  virgins  Ethne  and  Cumman. 

St.  Derphuta,  March  2<>,  M.  with 
Alexandra  (3).  B.M. 

St.  Derthrea,  or  Dorothea,  Ita. 
Colgan,  Ita,  chap.  iii.  Donegal  and  other 
MartyrologieB. 

St.  Derwa,  "the  Martyr,"  gives 
name  to  a  place  "  Mertherderwa,"  now 
Menadarva,  in  the  parish  of  Camborne, 
Cornwall.  Eev.  C.  W.  Boase,  in  Smith 
and  Wace's  Dictionary. 

St.  Detta,  Tetta  (2). 

St.  Deuris.    (See  Acrabonia  and 

ASKAMA.) 

St.  Devota,  Jan.  27  (Deivota,  Di- 
vota  ;  in  some  parts  of  France,  Divtje), 
M.  during  the  persecution  under  Diocle- 
tian.   Patron  saint  of  Monaco. 

Devota,  a  young  girl  in  Corsica,  took 
refuge  in  the  household  of  Eutychius,  a 
senator,  that  she  might  serve  God  in 
safety  under  his  protection.  Soon  after- 
wards Barbaras,  the  governor,  or  a  bar- 
barian chief,  came  with  a  fleet  to  Corsica, 
and  held  a  great  feast  and  sacrificed. 
When  he  heard  that  Eutychius  had  a 
girl  in  his  house  who  worshipped  some 
crucified  Jew  and  despised  the  gods  of 
the  Romans,  he  demanded  that  she 


should  be  given  up  and  compelled  to 
sacrifice.  Eutychius  refused  this  de- 
mand, saying  that  no  power  on  earth 
would  compel  her  so  much  as  to  bend 
her  head  to  a  heathen  god. 

"  Give  her  up  to  me :  she  shall  soon 
obey,"  said  the  tyrant. 

"  I  would  not  give  her  up  for  all  your 
gold,"  replied  Eutychius. 

The  enraged  persecutor,  not  daring 
to  attack  Eutychius  openly,  had  him 
poisoned,  and  then  he  seized  Devota, 
who,  on  her  renewed  refusal  to  sacrifice, 
was  tied  by  the  hands  and  feet,  and 
dragged  over  sharp  stones ;  she  mean- 
while sang  a  psalm  of  praise,  and  prayed 
that  Eutychius  might  be  numbered 
among  the  elect,  because  he  had  died 
for  his  kindness  to  her. 

When  she  was  stretched  on  the  equu- 
leus,  a  voice  from  heaven  was  heard 
encouraging  her,  and  her  spirit  was  seen 
to  ascend  thither  in  the  form  of  a  dove. 
The  Christians  took  her  body  by  night, 
and  placed  it  in  a  ship  to  take  to  Africa ; 
but  the  wind  was  contrary,  their  lives 
were  endangered  by  a  fearful  tempest, 
and  they  were  compelled  to  take  the 
opposite  course.  They  were  then  guided 
by  a  dove  to  the  place  now  called 
Monaco,  where  they  buried  the  martyr 
in  the  church  of  St.  George.  AA.SS., 
and  an  old  Italian  book  of  Corsican  and 
Sardinian  saints. 

St.  Devote,  Sept.  26.  A  pious 
woman  in  the  province  of  Gascony. 
Either  the  same  as  Devota  of  Corsica, 
or  Doda  of  Auxitania,  which  is  Gas- 
cony. Saussaye,  Mart.  Gall.  Gynecseum. 
AA.SS.,  Prsetermissi. 

St.  Dewin,  Dwynwen. 

St.  Dextra,  Dextrus,  or  Dexter, 
May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 

BB.  Diana  0)  (+  1236),  Cecilia 
(+  1290),  and  Amata,  June  10,  VV. 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  Each  of 
them  commemorated  on  other  days  in 
other  calendars,  but  Papebroch,  AA.SS., 
mentions  them  all  three  together,  and 
gives  their  Life  by  Malvenda,  collected 
from  various  authors.  B.  Diana  was 
founder  of  the  convent  of  St.  Agnes,  in 
Monte,  at  Bologna.  She  was  an  only 
child  of  the  family  of  Andalo,  one 
of  the  richest  and  most  important  in 


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230 


B.  DIANA 


Bologna.  During  the  life  of  St.  Dominic, 
a  monastery  of  bis  order  was  built  at 
Bologna,  and  dedicated  in  the  name  of 
St.  Nicholas.  As  the  number  of  the 
friar-preachers  increased,  the  monastery 
became  too  small  for  them,  and  Diana, 
then  a  young  girl,  persuaded  her  father 
to  give  them,  without  payment,  a  vine- 
yard of  his,  which  lay  beside  their  narrow 
piece  of  ground,  so  that  they  might  en- 
large their  house.  She  used  to  go  often 
to  hear  them  preach,  and  soon  she  took 
a  vow  of  virginity  in  the  presence  of 
St.  Dominic  and  of  several  pious  matrons 
of  Bologna,  1219.  This  vow  was  kept 
secret  for  a  time,  as  she  knew  that  her 
parents  would  not  approve  of  it.  She 
confided  to  St.  Dominic  her  wish  to 
found  a  convent  of  his  order  for  women. 
He  approved,  and  ordered  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  monastery  of  St.  Nicholas  to 
be  suspended,  and  all  the  resources  of  the 
community  to  be  devoted  to  constructing 
the  convent  of  St.  Agnes  in  Monte. 

Meantime  Diana  tried  to  prepare  her- 
self in  her  father's  house  for  monastic 
life  by  secret  austerities  and  increased 
devotion.  This  life,  however,  neither 
satisfied  her  heart  nor  tended  towards 
fulfilling  the  promise  she  had  made  to 
St.  Dominic  that  she  would  build  a 
convent ;  so  one  day  she  went  with  a 
great  many  of  her  friends — for  recreation, 
as  6he  said — to  the  Benedictine  convent 
of  Bonzano,  and,  going  into  the  dor- 
mitory, she  asked  the  nuns  to  give  her 
the  dress  of  their  order.  They  had  already 
prepared  everything  for  her,  and  now 
received  her  gladly  as  one  of  themselves. 
So  she  dismissed  her  companions,  telling 
them  she  intended  to  remain  in  the 
convent. 

When  her  parents  heard  what  had 
happened,  they  came  in  great  indigna- 
tion, with  many  of  their  friends  and 
relations,  entered  the  convent  with  fury 
and  violence,  and  carried  Diana  off  by 
force ;  her  rib  was  broken  in  the  scuffle, 
and  she  was  so  much  exhausted  that  she 
appeared  to  be  dead  when  first  they 
brought  her  home.  Everybody  was  more 
or  less  hurt,  and  the  whole  place  was 
in  an  uproar,  as  great  as  if  Bologna  had 
been  invaded  by  a  hostile  army.  She 
was  confined  to  bed  for  a  long  time,  and 


was  not  allowed  to  see  any  one,  except 
in  the  presence  of  her  parents. 

About  this  time  (1221)  St.  Dominic, 
who  had  been  absent,  returned  to  Bo- 
logna, and  soon  lay  on  his  death-bed. 
Diana  grieved  that  she  could  not  go  and 
visit  him  on  account  of  her  own  illness, 
and  of  the  strict  watch  her  parents  kept 
over  her;  but  he  wrote  her  several 
letters,  exhorting  her  to  persevere  in  the 
religious  life  she  had  undertaken.  Soon 
after  his  death  Diana  recovered,  and 
took  the  first  opportunity  of  returning 
to  the  convent  of  Bonzano.    Her  father 
saw  that  all  his  efforts  to  reconcile  her 
to  a  secular  life  were  vain,  and  molested 
her  no  more,  lest  he  should  fight  against 
God.     The  convent  of  St.  Agnes  in 
Monte  was  finished  in  1223,  and  Diana 
with  four  other  Dominican  nuns  moved 
thither,  and  in  the  same  year  they  were 
joined  by  two  illustrious  matrons  of 
Ferrara.    They  then  sent  to  the  convent 
of  St.  Sixtus  at  Borne,  with  permission 
of  the  Pope,  Honorius  III.,  to  beg  that 
some  of  the  sisters  might  be  sent  to 
teach  them  all  the  rules  and  holy  cus- 
toms enjoined  by  St.  Dominic.  Among 
those  who  came,  the  chief  was  B.  Cecilia, 
who  had  received  the  religious  veil  at 
seventeen  from  St.  Dominic  himself,  and 
was  the  first  nun  who  ever  received  it 
from  him.  It  is  supposed  that  B.  Amata 
was  one  of  those  nuns  of  St.  Sixtus  who 
came  to  establish  the  new  order  at  St. 
Agnese,  in  Bologna.   No  particulars  are 
recorded  of  her,  but  she  is  commemorated 
with  the  other  two. 

Diana  died  1236,  being  probably  about 
thirty-five  years  of  age.  Cecilia  lived 
in  great  sanctity  to  the  age  of  eighty- 
nine,  and  died  1290. 

A  letter  from  B.  Giordano,  the  second 
general  of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic,  to 
Diana,  "  Priora  del  venerabile  monastero 
di  St.  Agnese  in  Bologna,1'  was  published 
at  Borne  in  1860.  AA.SS.,  from  the 
Life  of  Diana,  by  Malvenda.  (See  also 
Histories  of  the  Dominicans  by  Pio 
and  Fernando  del  Castillo,  who  give 
her  Life  with  slight  variations  in  the 
order  of  the  events.) 

B.  Diana  (2),  or  Jeanne.  +  1300. 
First  Prioress  of  Sobrives,  aunt  of  St. 
Rosseline. 


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ST.  DIGNA 


231 


St.  Diateria,  Oct.  2,  V.  Time  un- 
certain. Worshipped  at  Milan.  Some- 
.  times  called  Martyr.  A  virgin  who, 
carrying  the  oil  of  good  works  with  her 
ever-lighted  lamp,  went  out  to  meet  the 
Bridegroom.  AA.SS. 

St.  Dibamona,  June  4.  Sister  of 
St.  Bistamona,  and  daughter  of  St. 
Sophca.  All  martyred  in  Egypt.  AAJSS. 

St.  Dicessa,  May  19,  M.  in  Africa. 
Mas  Latrie.  Guerin. 

St  Dida  (1),  June  3,  V.  Mart,  of 
Tallaght. 

St.  Dida  (2),  Jan.  25.  8th  century. 
Abbess  of  St.  reter's  at  Lyons.  Men- 
tioned in  Life  of  St.  Bonitus  (Bishop  of 
Auvergne),  Jan.  15,  and  placed  by  Saus- 
saye  in  his  supplement  to  the  Gallican 
Martyrology.  One  of  her  nuns  was 
cured  of  paralysis  by  touching  the  body 
of  St.  Bonitus,  or  Bon.    Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Didara,  June  23.  Honoured  in 
the  Abyssinian  Church,  with  her  sons, 
Bisoe  and  Nor.  The  former  was  a 
soldier,  and  suffered  martyrdom  by 
being  tied  to  a  wild  bull.  Didara  and 
Nor  are  also  believed  to  have  been 
martyred.  AA.SS. 

St  Diemode,  March  29.  Nun,  and 
afterwards  recluse  in  Suabia.  Guerin. 

St  Diemutha,  or  Demuth  (Humi- 
lity), March  17.  Recluse.  Lived  several 
years  hidden  in  a  cave  near  the  monas- 
tery of  St.  Gall.  Died  holy.  Bucelinus, 
March  17.  Burgener,  Helvetia  Sancta. 
Possibly  a  duplicate  of  Diemode. 

St.  Dieppe,  or  Dblph.  Commemo- 
rated at  the  village  and  church  of  Lan- 
dulph,  Cornwall.  (See  Deppa.)  Parker. 

SS.  Digna  (1),  or  Celestina,  and 
Merita,  or  Emerita,  Sept.  22,  VV.  MM. 
3rd  century.  Two  Christian  sisters 
living  in  Home  in  the  reign  of  Valerian 
(253-260).  Gains,  the  judge,  com- 
manded them  to  sacrifice,  and,  on  their 
refusal,  ordered  them  to  be  beaten. 
When  the  executioner  raised  his  arm  to 
strike  them,  it  became  immovable,  and 
he  screamed  in  terror.  Accused  of 
magic  arts,  the  sisters  cured  him,  that 
he  and  the  judge  might  believe  in  the 
power  of  their  God.  As  they  persisted 
in  their  resolution  not  to  sacrifice  to  the 
heathen  gods,  they  were  threatened  with 
torture  and  death.    They  replied  that 


they  had  always  wished  to  suffer  and 
die  for  their  Lord.  They  died  on  the 
rack,  and  were  buried  in  the  cemetery 
of  Commodilla,  on  the  Ostian  Road. 
The  authenticity  of  their  Acts  is  very 
doubtful.  Their  relics  are  kept  in  the 
church  of  St.  Marcellus.  B.M.  Suysken, 
in  AAJSS. 

St  Digna  (2),  or  Dignus,  May  15, 
M.  AA.SS. 

St  Digna  (3),  Aug.  12,  M.  Servant 
of  St.  Afra  of  Augsburg.  B.M. 

St.  Digna  (4,  5),  or  Pigba,  Oct.  1, 
and  another  St.  Digna,  MM.  at  Tomis, 
in  Lower  Mcesia,  under  Diocletian. 
One  of  these  was  the  wife  of  a  martyr 
named  Nicander.  AA.SS. 

St.  Digna  (6),  Aug.  11,  V.  At 
Todi,  in  the  reign  of  Diocletian  and 
Maximian.  A  very  holy  woman,  not  a 
martyr.    B.M.  AA.SS. 

St  Digna (7),  June  14, V.M.  +853. 
A  young  nun  in  the  convent  of  Tabana, 
near  Cordova,  under  the  venerable 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  the  martyr  Jeremiah, 
its  founder.  Digna  was  remarkable  for 
her  humility,  and  begged  her  sister-nuns 
to  call  her  Indigna,  unworthy,  instead  of 
Digna. 

Mahomet,  successor  of  Abderrahman, 
renewed  the  persecution  begun  by  his 
father,  and  ordered  the  expulsion  of 
Christians  from  his  dominions ;  but  as 
his  ministers  represented  to  him  that  he 
was  depopulating  his  kingdom,  he  limited 
the  persecution  to  those  who  should 
openly  oppose  the  religion  of  Mahomet. 
When  Digna  heard  of  the  martyrdom  of 
SS.  Anastasius  and  Felix,  encouraged  by 
a  vision  of  St.  Agatha,  she  left  her 
convent  without  asking  leave  or  even 
informing  the  abbess  of  her  intention, 
and  went  to  Cordova,  where  she  arrived 
just  as  the  bodies  of  the  martyrs  were 
put  upon  stakes.  This  sight  increased 
her  zeal,  and  she  went  to  the  judge  who 
had  condemned  them,  and  told  him  that 
if  they  were  guilty,  she  was  no  less  so, 
as  she  held  the  same  opinions,  and  asked 
no  better  fate  than  to  die  for  them. 
The  judge  replied  that  she  might  easily 
be  gratified,  and,  without  trial  or  more 
ado,  she  was  beheaded.  St.  Benilda,  a 
very  old  woman  living  in  the  world,  i.e. 
not  a  nun,  was  martyred  next  day,  and 


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232 


ST.  DIGNA-MERITA 


all  the  bodies,  after  hanging  a  few  days 
on  stakes  or  gibbets,  were  burnt,  and  the 
ashes  thrown  into  the  river.  B.M.  Baillet. 

St.  Digna-Merita  (1),  June  17,  M. 
2nd  century,  or  end  of  .*Jrd  or  beginning 
of  4th.  Died  under  torture  at  Brescia, 
in  the  reign  of  Adrian  (117-138)  or  else 
in  that  of  Diocletian  (284-305).  Her 
two  little  sons  were  thrown  out  of  a 
window,  and  thus  shared  with  her  the 
palm  of  martyrdom.  They  are  said,  in 
a  book  of  the  saints  of  Brescia,  to  have 
been  of  the  noble  family  of  Lavelunga. 
Papebroch  considers  this  so  unlikely 
that  the  assertion  throws  doubt  on  the 
whole  story.  AA.SS. 

St.  Dignamerita  (2),  or  Deoname- 
hita.  Daughter  of  King  Isofo,  wonder- 
fully beautiful  and  learned.  At  twelve 
years  old  she  began  to  wear  the  Gospel 
in  her  bosom  and  in  her  mind.  Hearing 
much  of  St.  Matthew  in  Salerno  and  in 
Rome,  she  prayed  continually  to  him 
and  to  God.  Her  father  wanted  to  make 
a  good  marriage  for  her,  promising  to 
give  her  half  his  kingdom;  but  she 
answered — 

"  Father,  I  am  married  to  a  rich  and 
powerful  Husband,  beautiful  beyond  all 
others.  His  riches  never  waste  away; 
His  wisdom  is  never  mistaken;  His 
knowledge  is  infinite;  and  He  is  King 
of  all  kings  and  Lord  of  all  lords." 

The  king  said,  "  Who  is  this  that  you 
have  married  without  consulting  me  ?  " 

She  said,  "If  you  do  not  renounce 
your  false  gods,  you  do  not  deserve  to 
see  my  Husband." 

He  was  very  angry,  beat  her,  and, 
taking  her  by  the  hair,  dragged  her  all 
about  the  palace. 

After  having  imprisoned  her  for  some 
time,  Isofo  tried  to  make  her  sacrifice  to 
the  idols ;  but  she  ordered  the  devil  who 
inhabited  the  idol  to  appear,  which  he 
did,  breaking  the  image  with  a  great 
crash.  After  undergoing  many  tortures, 
she  was  beheaded,  and  buried  by  the 
Christians.  Her  father  was  destroyed 
by  fire  from  heaven.  Leggendario  delle 
Sante  Vergini. 

St.  Dignefortis,  Wiloeportis. 

St.  Dimna,  Damhnade. 

Dina.  The  name  of  St.  Apollonia 
before  her  baptism.    Italian  Legend. 


St.  Dinach,  Nov.  20,  M.  Nun  in 
Persia.  Guerin. 

Dinalia.  Migne's  Jerome  has  Dinalia  • 
for  Minalia. 

St.  Dioclia,  April  7,  M.  at  Pompeio- 
polis,  in  Cilicia.  Mother  of  Calliopus, 
martyr.  She  died  embracing  his  dead 
body.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Diodfe  (Dieu-donnee?).  Daughter 
of  a  lord  and  lady  who  were  long  child- 
less. They  made  a  pilgrimage  to  St. 
Anne  d'Auray,  always  praying  for  a 
child.  Their  prayer  was  answered,  but 
her  mother  died  in  giving  her  birth. 
Her  stepmother,  who  had  a  daughter  of 
her  own  by  a  former  marriage,  tried 
various  means,  with  the  aid  of  a  sorceress, 
to  get  rid  of  Diodie,  but  could  not  suc- 
ceed in  injuring  the  young  saint.  At 
last  she  put  her  into  the  hollow  trunk 
of  an  old  oak,  and  left  her  to  starve. 
Diodie's  little  dog  followed  her,  and 
scratched  a  subterranean  passage  for 
himself  from  the  tree  to  the  kitchen,  and 
brought  her  food  every  day.  The  step- 
mother meantime  tried  to  make  the 
father  believe  that  Diodie  had  decamped 
for  some  wicked  purpose,  but  he  suc- 
ceedea  in  finding  her  by  means  of  the 
dog.  He  asked  her  what  vengeance  she 
would  take  on  her  stepmother  and  the 
sorceress.  She  said  she  forgave  them  in 
the  name  of  God,  but  he  had  them  both 
burnt  alive.  Soon  afterwards  Diodie 
became  very  ill,  and  her  mother  came, 
took  her  in  her  arms,  and  carried  her 
straight  to  heaven.  The  details  of  the 
legend  are  very  like  those  of  many  well- 
known  fairy  stories.  Luzel,  Ligendes 
OhrStiennes  de  la  Basse  Brctagne.  Another 
legond  of  a  saint  in  the  same  collection 
is  that  of  St.  Touine,  or  Twina. 

Diomeda,  Aug.  12,  M.  at  Augsburg. 
(See  Nimonia.)  AA.SS. 

St.  Diona,  March  14,  M.  at  Nico- 
media,  with  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Dionina,  April  15,  M.  Daughter 
of  Veronica  (3),  and  martyred  with  her 
and  several  others  at  Antioch. 

St.  Dionysia  (1),  June  28.  +  202. 
M.  with  St.  Potamkena,  at  Alexandria. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Dionysia  (2),  Dec.  12  and  Feb. 
22,  M.  249,  at  Alexandria,  with  SS. 
Ammonaria,  Mercuria,  and  others. 


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SS.  DIONYSIA  AND  DATIVA 


233 


"Dionysia  was  the  mother  of  many 
children,  whom  she  tenderly  loved,  but 
she  loved  the  Lord  better."  With  Mer- 
curia  and  Antha,  she  was  put  to  death 
without  torture.  (See  Ammonaria.)  R.M., 
Dec.  12.  AA.SS.,  Feb.  22.  Crake,  Hist, 
of  the  Church.  He  quotes  the  letter  of 
St.  Dionysius,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  in 
which  he  describes  the  seventh  perse- 
cution. 

St  Dionysia  (3),  May  15,  M.  with 
others  at  Porto  Romano.  G.  H.  in 
AA.SS. 

St  Dionysia  (4),  or  Denise,  May 
15,  V.  M.  3rd  century,  about  240,  ac- 
cording to  Neale,  who  places  the  martyr- 
dom at  Troas  instead  of  Lampsacus. 
SS.  Dionysia,  Peter,  Andrew,  and  Paul 
are  commonly  called  the  Martyrs  of 
Lampsacus. 

During  the  persecution,  under  Decius, 
a  young  Christian,  named  Peter,  was 
arrested  as  a  Christian  and  brought 
before  Optimus,  the  proconsul,  at  Lam- 
psacus, a  town  on  the  Hellespont,  not  far 
from  the  Island  of  Chio,  where  St.  Isidore 
had  lately  glorified  God  by  his  martyr- 
dom. On  his  persistent  refusal  to  sacri- 
fice to  Venus,  Peter  was  beheaded. 
Immediately  afterwards,  as  Optimus  was 
leaving  Lampsacus  to  go  to  Troas,  a 
town  of  Phrygia,  three  other  Christians 
were  brought  to  him  amid  the  cries  and 
hootings  of  the  mob.  They  were  Andrew, 
Paul,  and  Nicomachus.  He  asked  them 
who  they  were,  and  of  what  religion. 
Nicomachus  eagerly  proclaimed  himself 
a  Christian,  and  was  at  once  put  on  the 
rack,  but  soon  found  himself  unable  to 
endure  the  tortures  to  which  he  was 
subjected,  and  cried  out,  "  I  never  was  a 
Christian.  I  will  sacrifice  to  the  gods." 
The  proconsul  ordered  him  to  be  taken 
down  instantly,  but  the  apostate  had  no 
sooner  burnt  incense  before  the  idol  than 
he  was  seized  by  the  devil,  and  threw 
himself  on  the  ground  in  convulsions, 
foaming  at  the  mouth  and  biting  his 
tongue,  and  in  a  few  minutes  he  died. 

A  girl  of  sixteen,  called  Dionysia, 
seeing  this  frightful  occurrence,  ex- 
claimed, "  Alas,  wretch !  to  save  thyself 
an  hour's  suffering  thou  art  gone  to 
eternal  torments ! " 

Optimus  inquired  whether  she  was  a 


Christian,  and  told  her  that  the  great 
goddesses  Venus  and  Diana  had  taken 
Nicomachus  away  lest  the  Christians 
should  taunt  him  with  his  renunciation 
of  their  superstitions,  and  had  given  him 
rest  as  soon  as  he  had  sacrificed  to  them, 
adding  that  unless  she  followed  his  ex- 
ample, by  sacrificing  at  once  to  the  gods, 
she  should  be  degraded  and  burnt  alive. 
Dionysia  answered,  "  My  God  is  greater 
than  you,  and  can  defend  me."  Andrew 
and  Paul  were  then  put  in  prison,  and 
Dionysia  was  given  to  two  young  men, 
who  took  her  to  their  lodgings  and  tried 
to  ill  use  her.  She  wearied  them  with 
her  resistance,  until  an  angel  came  to 
her  rescue,  and  appeared  to  her  tor- 
mentors in  the  form  of  a  young  man  of 
gigantic  stature,  whose  presence  lighted 
up  the  whole  house.  Next  day  Andrew 
and  Paul  were  tied  by  the  feet  and 
dragged  out  of  the  city  to  be  stoned. 
Dionysia  escaped  from  her  guards,  and 
followed  the  two  martyrs,  begging  to  be 
stoned  with  them  that  she  might  share 
their  eternal  glory.  Her  words  being 
repeated  to  Optimus,  he  ordered  her  to 
be  taken  to  another  place  and  beheaded. 

Baillet  says  their  Acts  are  authentic, 
and  taken  from  the  records  of  the  public 
courts  of  law  of  the  place  of  their 
martyrdom.  AA.SS.  Bollandi.  Butler, 
May  15.    Ruinart.  Neale. 

SS.  Dionysia  (5)  and  Dativa,  Dec. 
6.  MM.  +  484.  Two  ladies  of  rank, 
sisters,  who,  in  the  persecution  of  the 
African  Catholic  Christians,  by  the 
Vandals,  under  Hunnericus,  the  Arian 
king,  suffered  grievous  torments,  and 
were  numbered  among  the  confessors. 

St.  Dionysia  had  a  boy,  St  Majoricus, 
who  trembled  at  the  torments  inflicted 
and  threatened,  but  was  so  encouraged 
by  the  words  and  looks  of  his  mother, 
that  he  became  more  courageous  than 
the  rest,  and  died  praying.  His  mother 
buried  him  in  her  own  house,  and  prayed 
at  his  sepulchre  daily.  St.  jEmilius,  a 
physician,  cousin  of  SS.  Dativa  and 
Dionysia,  also  SS.  Leontia,  Victoria 
(19),  Tertiosa,  and  others  were  tortured 
at  the  same  time.  When  Dionysia  was 
going  to  be  scourged,  she  said  she  was 
willing  to  suffer  all  their  tortures,  but 
begged  that  they  would  leave  her  one 


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234 


B.  DIORCHILD 


garment.  They  not  only  refused  this, 
but  set  her  on  the  highest  spot  in  the 
market-place,  to  be  seen  by  everybody, 
and  there  they  beat  her  till  the  blood 
ran  in  streams  on  the  ground. 

In  Callot's  Images  she  is  represented 
with  her  son,  who  is  being  scourged  by  a 
soldier.    B.M.    Baillet.  Euinart. 

B.  Diorchild,  Oct.  20,  V.  Bene- 
dictine near  Meaux.  The  Bollandists 
and  Stadler  mention  her  on  the  authority 
of  Arturus  only. 

St.  Dirce,  M.,  praised  by  St.  Clement. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Disca,  Aug.  17,  M.  with  Mammes, 
at  Alexandria.  AA.SS. 

St.  Disciola,  May  13,  V.  +  about 
582.  A  nun  of  the  convent  of  the  Holy 
Cross  at  Poitiers,  under  St.  Agnes,  its 
first  abbess,  and  commemorated  with  her. 
Disciola  was  niece  of  B.  Salvius,  bishop 
of  Albi  in  Languedoc,  who  died  Sept.  10, 
585.  She  is  mentioned  in  the  Lives  of 
St.  Radegund,  founder,  and  St.  Agnes, 
abbess  of  Ste.  Croix.  AA.SS.  Mas 
Latrie,  March  10. 

St  Dista,  or  Misa,  June  28,  M.  + 
202,  with  St.  Potamkena,  at  Alexandria. 
AA.SS. 

St  Distaff's  Day,  Jan.  7.  So  called 
because  the  Christmas  holidays  end  on 
Twelfth  day  (Jan.  6),  and  on  the  follow- 
ing day  women  return  to  their  distaffs, 
or  daily  occupations.  "  Distaff"  stands 
for  a  woman,  as  in  old  times  women 
span  from  morning  till  night.  Dr. 
Brewer,  Dictionary  of  Phrase  and  Fable. 

St.  Divota,  Devota. 

St  Divue,  honoured  at  Monaco. 
Devota,  of  Corsica. 

St  Doba,  Nymphadoba. 

St.  Dobrotiva,  companion  of  St. 
Ursula.  Mas  Latrie.  Migne. 

St.  Doda  (1),  April  24,  V.  Abbess. 
Niece  of  St.  Bova,  and  brought  up  by 
her  in  the  convent  of  St  Peter  at 
Bheims.  She  was  promised,  by  her 
parents,  in  marriage  to  a  young  noble- 
man of  Austrasia,  who,  hearing  that 
she  wished  to  become  a  nun,  resolved  to 
carry  her  off  by  force  from  the  convent, 
but  when  he  attempted  to  touch  her,  his 
arm  and  hand  withered,  and  he  was  only 
restored  to  health  by  the  prayers  of 
Doda  on  repenting  of  his  contemplated 


sacrilege.  Baillet  says  that  before  he 
arrived  at  Bheims,  as  he  was  riding 
from  Metz  with  the  intention  of  carrying 
off  the  holy  nun,  he  was  thrown  from 
his  horse  and  so  seriously  injured  that 
he  died  soon  afterwards.  AAJSS.  Bail- 
let.  Butler. 

St  Doda  (2),  ancestor  of  Charle- 
magne. Wife  of  St.  Arnulf  of  Metz,  a 
great  patron  saint  of  the  French.  She 
was  a  woman  of  noble  birth,  and  great 
wealth  and  piety.  She  was  married  in 
609  to  Arnulf,  who  held  positions  of  the 
highest  importance  and  trust  under 
Theodebert  II.  and  Clothaire.  Arnulf 
and  Doda  had  two  sons,  Clodulfus  (one 
of  the  many  SS.  Cloud),  bishop  of  Metz, 
and  Ansigisilus,  who  married  St.  Begga, 
daughter  of  Pepin  of  Landen.  Soon 
after  the  birth  of  her  second  son,  Doda 
became  a  nun  at  Treves.  Arnulf  wished 
to  join  St.  Bomario  and  became  a  monk, 
but  the  king  and  the  people  could  not 
dispense  with  his  services.  About  612 
the  bishopric  of  Metz  was  forced  upon 
him,  although  he  was  a  layman,  but  he 
was  still  retained  as  the  king's  chief 
adviser  and  minister.  He  died  a  monk 
about  640.  Many  years  after  their 
separation,  Arnulf  and  Doda  had  to  meet 
to  settle  some  of  their  affairs.  She  was 
so  afraid  that  her  presence  might  revive 
his  mundane  affections  that  she  shaved 
her  head ;  her  precaution  was  successful, 
— he  was  horrified  at  the  sight  of  her. 

At  July  18,  Bosch  the  Bollandist  gives 
two  lives  of  St.  Arnulf,  the  earliest  of 
which  is  by  a  contemporary  author.  He 
also  gives  an  inscription  in  which  she 
is  called  "St.  Doda  Herezogin  von 
Schbbeina  St.  Arnulphen  Gemachel." 
But  he  does  not  seem  to  attach  much 
credit  to  this  last.  Doda  is  com- 
memorated with  her  son  St.  Cloud,  in 
Greven  and  Usuard.  Clarus,  Die  Heilige 
Mathilde.  Butler.  Baillet.  Smith  and 
Wace. 

St  Doda  (3),  Dole,  or  Dolla,  Sept. 
28,  V.  Perhaps  M.  Sister  of  St. 
Quiteria.  The  village  of  Dole  in  the 
ancient  diocese  of  Aucb,  where  her  relics 
are  venerated,  is  called  after  her. 
Stilting,  in  AAJSS. 

St  Doga,  Toga,  or  Tosa,  June  tt. 
M.  at  Rome  with  many  others.  AA.SS. 


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ST.  DOMINICA 


235 


St.  Dole,  Doda  (3). 

St.  Dolendis,  Rolendis. 

St.  Dolgar,  Oct.  20.  6th  century. 
Daughter  of  St.  Aneurinus,  or  Gildos. 
Sister  of  St.  Gwinnoc  and  six  other 
saints,  and  aunt  of  St  Garci.  Her 
grandfather  Caw  came  from  Strathclyde 
(Arecluta)  in  Scotland,  and  settled  in  the 
Isle  of  Anglesea.  His  son,  St.  Aneurinus, 
or  Gildas,  was  a  soldier  and  poet  in 
Wales,  and  sang  of  the  battle  of  Caltraeth, 
which  some  say  was  in  472,  some  510,  or 
the  end  of  the  6th  century.  Key.  Canon 
Hole,  in  Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Dolla,  Doda  (3). 

St.  Domaine,  or  Domanie,  Domana. 

B.  Domana,  Domaine,  or  Domanie, 
May  20.  7th  century.  Wife  of  St.  Gere- 
mar,  or  Germer,  a  distinguished  personage 
at  the  court  of  Dagobert,  and  afterwards 
of  Clovis  II.  (husband  of  St.  Bathilde). 
Geromar  resigned  his  honours  and  pro- 
perty, c.  648,  to  his  son  Amalbert,  and 
became  a  monk,  and  subsequently  abbot 
at  Fentallum,  near  Rouen.  Amalbert 
was  killed  a  few  years  afterwards,  and 
Geremar  again  had  to  dispose  of  his 
paternal  estate  of  Vardes,  on  the  Epte. 
He  built  there  the  monastery  of  Flavi- 
acum,  afterwards  of  St.  Germer  de  Flay, 
which  he  ruled  until  his  death,  Sept.  24, 
658.  AA.SS.  Smith  and  Wace.  Martin. 

St.  Domania,  Domana. 

Domenica,  Dominica. 

Domicilla,  May  7.  In  Canisius' 
Calendar,  Y.  M.  Perhaps  the  same  as 
Domitilla  (2),  who  is  worshipped  on 
May  7. 

St  Domina,  April  5.  AA.SS. 

St.  Dominata,  Sept.  14.  Martyred 
with  her  three  sons,  Senator,  Viator,  and 
Cassiodorus,  at  Argentanum,  in  Calabria 
Citeriori,  now  St.  Marco  in  Lamis,  in 
Calabria.  AA.SS.  Bollandi.  Ferrarius, 
Nova  Topographia  in  Martyrologio  Ro- 
mano. 

St.  Dominica  (l),  July  6,  V.  M. 
+  about  302.  Patron  of  Tropea,  in 
Calabria. 

Represented  carried  by  angels  to  her 
sepulchre  at  Tropea,  as  St.  Catherine 
to  Mount  Sinai  (Cahier,  Sepulchres). 

Her  story  is  from  an  old  breviary  in 
the  church  at  Tropea,  in  Calabria.  Her 
parents,  Dorotheus  and  Arsenia,  appear 


to  have  been  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor. 
They  were  long  childless,  and  at  last 
had  this  daughter,  born  on  a  Sunday, 
wherefore  they  called  her  Cyriaca,  which 
is  Dominica  in  Latin. 

When  the  persecution  arose  under 
Maximian,  the  parents  were  constant  in 
the  faith,  and  their  daughter  no  less  so. 
She  was  condemned,  at  Nicomedia,  to 
death  by  wild  beasts,  fire,  and  other 
evils,  from  all  of  which  she  escaped 
unhurt.  She  was  then  sentenced  to  be 
beheaded.  She  asked  for  a  short  time 
for  prayer,  and  kneeled  down,  and  died 
peacefully  while  praying.  Her  parents 
were  exiled  to  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates, 
and  her  body  was  miraculously  trans- 
ported to  Tropea. 

Various  other  names  are  attributed  to 
her,  but,  Janning  seems  to  think,  without 
good  ground:  Sicula,  Palma,  Martha, 
Battona,  Nicetbia,  and  Euphemia.  B.M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Dominica  (2),  Domneca,  or  Dom- 
nina,  Jan.  8,  Jan.  10.  +  474.  Born 
and  baptized  at  Carthage,  where  she  led, 
for  many  years,  a  holy  and  solitary  life, 
and  had  the  gift  of  propheoy.  She  is 
perhaps  the  same  as  Domnina,  mother  of 
St.  George  the  Cozebite.  AA.SS.  Neale, 
Holy  Eastern  Church.  Menology  of  the 
Emperor  Basil. 

St.  Dominica  (3),  May  13,  V.  End 
of  6th  century.  Sister  of  St.  Agrippinus, 
bishop  of  Como ;  emulated  his  good  works 
and  holy  life,  and  died  soon  after  him. 
She  is  sometimes  supposed  to  have  been 
a  nun  and  companion  of  SS.  Liberata 
and  Faustina  in  the  convent  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  afterwards  of  St.  Margaret,  at 
Como;  but  Papebroch  thinks  she  attained 
to  holiness  in  a  secular  life  and  dress. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Dominica  (4),  or  Dbusa,  Feb.  5, 
V.  M.  Sister  of  St.  Indract,  or  Hidra- 
chus.  End  of  7th  and  beginning  of  8th 
century. 

These  two  saints  were  the  children  of 
an  Irish  king.  They  left  Ireland  as 
pilgrims  with  nine  companions,  intending 
first  to  visit  Glastonbury.  They  landed 
at  a  port  in  England,  called  Tamerworth, 
or  Tremanton,  near  Plymouth.  Thore 
they  made  a  long  stay,  dug  a  well,  and 
built  an  oratory.  Soon  after  their  arrival, 


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B.  DOMINICA  TORRES 


St.  Indract  planted  his  staff  in  the  ground ; 
it  immediately  put  forth  roots  and  leaves, 
and  in  course  of  time  became  a  great  oak 
tree.  Ho  found  in  a  little  pool  just 
enough  fish  for  them  all  to  eat,  and  every 
day  the  same  number  were  ready  there, 
neither  more  nor  less,  until  one  of  his 
companions  took  one  of  the  fish  without 
his  leave,  after  which  the  supply  di- 
minished by  one  fish  daily.  Indract 
understood  it  as  a  sign  that  God  wished 
them  no  longer  to  remain  there,  so  taking 
leave  of  his  sister,  he  hastened  with  his 
nine  companions  to  Rome,  to  visit  the 
churches  and  relics  of  the  apostles.  On 
their  return  they  were  joined  by  Do- 
minica, and  all  set  out  for  Glastonbury. 
On  the  way  thither  they  stayed  some 
days  with  St.  Ina,  or  Yne,  king  of  the 
West  Saxons,  who  held  his  court  at 
Pederton,  while  some  of  his  attendants 
lodged  in  the  neighbouring  villages. 
One  of  these,  Hone,  a  son  of  iniquity, 
supposing  the  pilgrims'  scrips  to  be  full 
of  money,  lay  in  wait  for  them  with  his 
accomplices  when  they  got  to  Shapwith, 
near  Glastonbury,  and  murdered  them  all 
in  the  night,  throwing  their  bodies  into 
a  deep  pit,  where  he  hoped  they  would 
never  be  found.  That  night  the  king 
was  not  able  to  sleep ;  he  looked  out  of 
the  window,  and  saw  a  pillar  of  fire 
in  the  sky  over  the  place  where  the 
bodies  were  hidden.  As  he  saw  the 
same  thing  on  the  two  following  nights, 
he  had  the  place  searched,  and  the  pil- 
grims buried  with  great  honour  at 
Glastonbury.  The  murderers  were 
seized  by  demons,  and  tore  themselves 
to  pieces.  The  fiery  pillar  was  also 
seen  by  a  woman  who  had  served  idols 
from  her  childhood,  and  whom  no  preach- 
ing had  been  able  to  convert.  She  did 
not  dare  to  approach  the  bodies  of  the 
holy  men,  but  went  and  confessed  her 
sins  to  a  priest,  and  was  baptized. 
Various  miracles  of  healing  are  recorded 
of  the  relics  of  these  martyrs. 

Henschenius,  in  AA.SS.,  from  a  Life 
taken  from  Malmesbury  and  Capgrave, 
and  the  Salisbury  Martyrology.  St. 
Dominica  was  invoked  in  the  Exeter 
Litany  in  the  1 1th  century. 

B.  Dominica  (5)  Torres.  O.S.D. 
Of  Chutilla,  a  village  eight  leagues  from 


Valencia.  She  began  her  austerities  at 
seven.  She  went  with  two  companions 
to  the  hermitage  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene, 
at  Massamagrel,  took  the  habit  of  the 
Beatas  of  the  order  of  B.  John  Micone, 
and  was  prioress.  She  appears  to  have 
had  fits  in  consequence  of  her  austerities, 
for,  after  many  details  of  her  wounds, 
vermin,  starvation,  etc.,  it  is  related  that 
the  devil  tempted  her  as  he  did  St. 
Anthony,  and  once  knocked  her  off  a 
bench  where  she  was  sitting,  and  threw 
her  out  of  the  window;  she  was  not 
killed,  but  permanently  injured.  Once 
he  locked  her  up  in  her  cell,  deprived 
her  of  the  use  of  her  hands  and  feet,  tied 
her  tongue,  and  hid  her  under  a  mat. 
Thus  she  lay  for  two  days,  until  the 
nuns,  tired  of  looking  for  her  and  call- 
ing her,  got  in  at  the  window,  and  rescued 
her.  She  received  the  Holy  Sacrament 
every  day  for  forty  years.  She  was 
charitable,  and  begged  from  the  marquis 
the  release  of  many  prisoners,  which  he 
always  granted,  so  great  was  his  respect 
for  her  sanctity.  She  was  so  modest  that 
she  could  not  endure  the  word  "flesh" 
to  be  mentioned  even  in  a  sermon.  She 
obtained  sundry  favours  from  God  by  her 
prayers.  In  her  last  illness  it  was  re- 
vealed to  her  that  she  should  die  at  a 
certain  hour  on  the  festival  of  a  saint  of 
her  order ;  which  happened  on  B.  Louis 
Bertrand's  day.  She  was  honoured  as  a 
saint  by  the  people,  who  thronged  to  the 
bier,  and  carried  off  pieces  of  her  garland 
as  sacred  relics.  Pio. 

B.  Dominica  (6)  Ongata,  Sept.  10. 
1622.  Martyred  in  Japan  on  the  same 
day  and  place  as  Lucy  Freitas. 

St.  Domitiana,  April  28,  M.  with 
St.  Cyrillus  and  others.  Their  names 
were  found  in  a  very  ancient  martyrology 
in  Lombard ic  characters  at  Monte  Cas- 
sino.  AA.SS. 

St.  Domitilla  (1 ).  Flavia  Domitilla 
the  Elder  was  the  daughter  of  the 
Emperor  Titus  Vespasian  (79-81),  and 
niece  of  Titus  Flavins  Domitian,  his 
brother  and  successor  (81-06).  She 
married  her  first  cousin,  Titus  Flavins 
Clemens,  son  of  Titus  Flavius  Sabinus, 
brother  of  Vespasian. 

The  ruins  of  the  villa  of  Flavia 
Domitilla  are  still  to  be  seen  at  Rome  a 


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237 


the  farm  of  Tor  Narancia,  on  the  Via 
Ardeatina.  The  relics  of  Flavia  Domi- 
tilla  and  those  of  the  other  saint  bearing 
the  same  name  are  said  to  have  been 
preserved  for  many  years  in  this  villa, 
below  which  are  some  of  the  earliest 
known  catacombs  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Rome,  known  as  the  catacombs  of 
Nerens  and  Achilles,  and  sometimes  as 
the  catacombs  of  Domitilla.  9 

Domitilla  allowed  her  Christian 
brethren  to  be  buried  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  her  estate.  The  immense 
subterranean  cemetery  which  now  ex- 
tends far  around  the  original  nucleus  is 
not  entirely  a  work  of  the  first  century. 
At  the  beginning  there  were  only  small 
isolated  groups  of  crypts  at  wide  inter- 
vals, in  which  eminent  Christians  had 
been  allowed  to  secure  their  burial-places 
"  ex  indulgentia  Flavi©  Domitill©."  It 
was,  perhaps,  in  the  third  century  that 
cross  galleries  were  excavated  to  connect 
these  original  deeply  venerated  cubicuhe, 
so  as  to  make  an  uninterrupted  network 
of  catacombs  from  one  end  of  the  prmdium 
to  the  other. 

Clemens  and  Domitilla  had  two  sons. 
These  children  were  adopted  by  the 
Emperor,  who  changed  their  names  to 
Vespasian  and  Domitian,  and  appointed 
the  famous  Quintilian  to  be  their  tutor. 
They  did  not,  however,  succeed,  and 
their  history  is  unknown. 

In  the  year  95  Clemens  was  consul, 
having  as  his  colleague  the  Emperor 
Domitian.  As  soon,  however,  as  his 
consulate  was  over,  Domitian  had  him 
put  to  death  on  a  charge  of  atheism, 
which  probably  meant  Christianity,  this 
being  then  regarded  as  a  sect  of  the 
hated  J e wish  religion.  C  lemens,  though 
in  reality  a  Christian  martyr,  would  not 
declare  himself  as  a  Christian,  and  so 
lost  the  honour  of  a  place,  in  the  Martyro- 
logies,  unless  he  is  the  Si  Clemens 
(Nov.  7  or  21 ),  history  unknown,  spoken 
of  in  the  Mart,  of  St.  Jerome.  The 
accusation  of  sloth  was  also  brought 
against  him  by  the  Emperor,  because  he 
refused  to  assist  him  in  his  persecution 
of  the  Christians. 

Within  a  few  days  of  her  husband's 
death,  the  Emperor  wished  Domitilla  to 
marry  again.    On  her  refusal  she  was 


accused  of  impiety,  and  banished  to  the 
island  of  Pandataria,  now  Isola  di  Santa 
Maria,  in  the  gulf  of  Pozzuoli,  near 
Gaeta.  Domitian  was  murdered  a  few 
months  afterwards  by  Stephen,  steward 
of  Clemens  and  Domitilla,  probably  in 
revengo  for  his  cruelty  to  Stephen's 
master  and  mistress. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Nerva,  who  re- 
called the  banished  Christians,  and  with 
them  Domitilla,  who  returned  to  Home. 

The  little  that  is  known  with  any 
certainty  of  either  of  the  two  SS.  Flavia 
Domitilla  is  from  the  heathen  writers 
Dion  and  Suetonius,  and  from  Eusebius 
and  St.  Jerome. 

Baillet,  Vie  des  Saints.  Tillemont, 
Ecclesiastical  History,  vol.  ii.  Hare, 
Walks  in  Borne.  Milner,  History  of  the 
Church.    Lightfoot,  Clement. 

St.  Domitilla  (2),  May  7,  V.  +  c.  100. 
St.  Flavia  Domitilla  the  Younger  was 
great-niece  of  the  Emperor  Domitian, 
and  daughter  of  St.  Plautilla,  sister 
of  Clemens,  the  husband  of  Flavia 
Domitilla  (1). 

At  her  death  Plautilla  left  her 
daughter  under  the  guardianship  of 
Auspicius,  with  two  eunuchs  named 
Nereus  and  Achilles  as  servants  and 
companions.  They  converted  Auspicius 
to  Christianity,  and  devoted  themselves 
to  the  study  of  science  and  learning. 
Domitilla  was  betrothed  by  her  uncle, 
the  Emperor,  to  Aurelian,  son  of  the 
consul,  but  was  not  yet  old  enough  to 
be  married.  She  was  naturally  very 
beautiful,  took  every  means  to  make 
herself  more  so,  and  was  fond  of  dress 
and  jewels. 

Nereus  and  Achilles  were  sorry  to  seo 
her  turning  her  thoughts  to  worldly 
pleasures,  and  advised  her  to  give  up 
Aurelian,  who  was  despicable  on  account 
of  his  sloth,  and  consecrate  herself  to 
Christ  by  a,  vow  of  virginity.  She 
immediately  sent  for  St.  Clement,  the 
Pope,  and  took  the  veil  from  his  hands. 
Aurelian,  hearing  of  it,  came  in  great 
haste  and  anxiety  to  Domitilla's  palace, 
and  sent  the  porter  to  tell  her  he  wished 
to  speak  to  her.  But  she  replied  that 
he  might  go  and  speak  to  the  devil,  for 
she  would  not  see  him.  Aurelian  com- 
plained to  the  Emperor,  who,  having 


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238 


ST.  DOMNA 


reasoned  in  vain  with  Domitilla,  banished 
her  to  the  island  of  Pontia,  a  hundred 
miles  from  Borne,  not  far  from  the  island 
of  Pandataria,  whither  her  aunt  was 
banished.  She  was  accompanied  in  hor 
exile  by  Auspicius,  Nereus,  Achilles, 
and  several  of  her  servants.  She  had  a 
cell  bnilt,  in  which  she  spent  her  time  in 
prayer. 

Aurelian,  finding  that  she  did  not 
change  her  mind,  and  thinking  that 
Achilles  and  Nereus  influenced  her, 
obtained  the  Emperor's  permission  to  do 
as  he  chose  with  them.  He  offered  them 
large  bribes  to  persuade  Domitilla  to 
marry  him,  and  on  their  refusal  he  had 
them  tortured  and  beheaded  at  Terracina, 
thirty  miles  from  the  island.  At  Domi- 
tilla's  request  their  bodies  were  taken  to 
Borne,  and  buried  near  that  of  St. 
Petronilla. 

Three  other  Christians,  Maro,  Victor, 
and  Eutirio,  hearing  of  Domitilla's  loss, 
went  to  console  her  and  share  her  exile, 
but  Aurelian  put  these  also  to  death. 
He  then  took  Domitilla  to  his  brother's 
house  in  Terracina,  and  induced  his  two 
friends,  Servilian  and  Supplicius,  to  send 
Theodora  and  Euphrosyne,  who  were 
betrothed  to  them,  and  were  friends  of 
Domitilla,  to  try  and  persuade  her  to  be 
married  on  the  same  day  with  them. 
But  Domitilla  by  her  prayers  restored 
sight  to  Herod,  the  brother  of  Theodora, 
and  cured  a  child  of  dumbness  at  the 
request  of  Euphrosyne,  which  so  im- 
pressed these  young  women  that  they 
became  Christians  and  took  the  veil. 
Their  affianced  husbands  were  also  con- 
verted to  Christianity. 

Aurelian  remained  unconverted,  and 
insisted  on  the  marriage,  and  invited 
many  people  to  dance  in  honour  of  the 
occasion.  When  he  began  to  dance, 
however,  he  could  not  stop,  but  danced 
for  two  whole  days  and  nights,  and  was 
at  last  thrown  down  and  torn  by  the 
devil,  and  so  died.  All  the  people  who 
had  followed  him  from  Borne  were  con- 
verted, but  his  brother  accused  Domitilla 
of  having  killed  Aurelian  by  magic,  and 
obtained  from  Trajan,  who  had  meantime 
succeeded  to  the  imperial  throne,  an 
order  to  put  to  death  all  who  would  not 
adore  the  gods.    He  then  had  Supplicius 


and  Servilian  beheaded,  and  locking  up 
Domitilla,  Theodora,  and  Euphrosyne 
in  the  house  at  Terracina,  he  set  fire  to 
the  building.  St.  Caesar,  coming  to  bury 
them,  found  them  [kneeling,  dead,  but 
their  bodies  and  clothes  uninjured. 
Leggendario  deUe  Santi  Vergini. 

Theodora  and  Euphrosyne  are  men- 
tioned in  the  Roman  Martyrology  as 
•companions  of  the  martyrdom  of 
Domitilla. 

Tillemont  says  that  among  the  martyrs 
in  the  persecution  of  Domitian  none  are 
more  illustrious  than  his  nearest  relations 
— Clement  his  cousin-german  and  the  two 
Domitillas,  wife  and  niece  of  Clemont. 
Some  persons,  much  impressed  with  the 
multiplication  of  the  saints  and  martyrs, 
have  supposed  that  there  was  only  one 
Saint  Flavia  Domitilla,  and  that  the 
discrepancies  in  the  account  of  her 
relationship  to  the  Emperor,  and  tho 
probable  mistakes  made  in  copying  from 
the  manuscripts  the  name  of  the  island 
to  which  she  was  banished,  which  is 
given  by  some  writers  as  Pontia  and  by 
others  as  Pandataria,  led  to  the  supposi- 
tion that  there  were  two. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  legends 
have  been  made  concerning  real  person- 
ages whose  histories  were  unknown, 
and  it  is  probable  enough  that,  on  the 
discovery  of  reliable  information  con- 
cerning the  hero  or  heroine  of  a  story, 
the  discrepancies  between  the  two  ac- 
counts would  give  rise  to  the  assertion 
that  the  saint  of  history  was  one  and  tho 
saint  of  legend  another  person  of  the 
same  name.  It  is,  however,  not  the 
least  unlikely  that  there  were  two  Domi- 
tillas, aunt  and  niece.  The  elder  is 
well  known  to  history,  the  younger  is 
the  subject  of  the  legend.  St.  Paula,  on 
her  journey  from  Borne  to  Palestine 
about  the  year  385,  visited  the  cell  of 
St.  Domitilla  in  Pontia  (now  Panza). 

St.  Domna  (1),  or  Dannb,  Dec.  28. 
Galerius  Maximinianus  (305-311)  at 
the  beginning  of  his  reign  favoured  tho 
Christians.  He  allowed  them  to  keep 
up  their  churches  and  monasteries,  and 
employed  many  of  them  in  his  house- 
hold. Among  tho  gentlemen  who  held 
office  in  his  palace  at  Nicomedia  were 
Anthimius  (afterwards  bishop),  Mar- 


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239 


donius,  Mygdonius,  and  Indes.  Indes 
had  a  sister,  Domna,  who  was  brought 
up  in  the  palace,  and  was  destined  to  be 
the  priestess  of  twelve  gods ;  bnt  when 
she  was  about  fourteen,  she  became 
disgusted  with  the  ceremonies  observed 
in  their  worship,  and,  hearing  of  the 
simplicity  and  innocence  of  the  Christian 
religion,  she  desired  to  know  more  about 
it.  She  happened  to  meet  with  the 
Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  which 
impressed  her  very  much,  and  soon  after- 
wards she  procured  some  of  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul.  She  studied  these,  and 
became  more  averse  to  the  religion  in 
which  she  had  been  brought  up,  and 
more  anxious  for  instruction  in  Christian 
doctrine. 

In  those  days  of  tranquillity  Domna 
easily  made  acquaintance  with  a  Chris- 
tian lady,  who  procured  for  her  and 
Indes  the  teaching  of  one  of  the  deacons. 
After  a  time  he  took  them  to  St.  Cyril, 
bishop  of  Nicomedia,  to  be  baptized. 
From  this  time  she  fasted  frequently, 
and  gave  to  the  poor  nearly  everything 
that  was  allowed  her  for  her  own  wants 
and  pleasures. 

When  the  governor  of  the  palace 
discovered  this,  he  was  very  angry, 
locked  her  up,  and  tried  to  starve  her ; 
but  she  was  fed  by  some  unknown  help. 
When  the  officer  who  provided  for 
members  of  the  court  perceived  this,  he 
tried  to  tempt  her  with  dainties,  and 
ordered  her  to  have  money  and  every 
comfort  and  luxury.  She  feared  some 
snare  of  the  evil  one,  and  pretended  to 
be  mad,  so  she  was  sent  to  the  Christians 
to  be  cured.  Anthimius  arranged  that 
she  should  be  given  into  the  charge  of 
the  holy  abbess  Agape  (4).  For  this 
service  he  was  degraded  from  his  office 
in  the  palace  to  be  a  camel-driver,  and 
was  eventually  beheaded. 

Galerius  soon  missed  the  names  of 
Indes  and  Domna  from  among  the 
persons  officiating  at  a  great  ceremony, 
and  his  chamberlains  told  him  that 
Domna  was  mad,  and  Indes  had  gone 
with  her  to  attend  upon  her  in  a  place 
where  she  could  be  taken  care  of. 
Galerius  had  by  this  time  resolved  on 
the  destruction  of  the  Christians,  and, 
knowing  that  they  would  all  flock  to  the 


churches  on  Christmas  Day,  ho  ordered 
every  church  to  be  set  fire  to.  Many 
martyrs  met  their  death  in  the  flames — 
14,000,  according  to  the  tradition  of  the 
Greek  Church. 

Galerius  now  thought  he  had  exter- 
minated the  Christian  religion,  and  gave 
games  to  celebrate  the  feat.  A  sacrifice 
to  Ceres  preceded  the  sports  of  the 
theatre.  While  the  victims  were  being 
prepared,  a  soldier  named  Zeno  called 
out,  in  the  midst  of  a  solemn  silence, 
"  What  folly,  O  Emperor,  to  sacrifice  to 
sticks  and  stones!  Look  at  the  sky! 
Do  you  think  your  gods  made  it  ?  Do 
you  think  the  Creator  of  the  world  cares 
for  the  blood  of  beasts  and  the  smell  of 
incense?  No;  rather  for  pure  hearts 
and  upright  souls." 

"  Smite  him  on  the  mouth ! "  cried  the 
president  of  the  games. 

"  Break  his  jaws ! "  roared  some  of  the 
peopla 

"Off  with  his  head!"  cried  others. 
And  so  this  witness  against  the  brutal 
sport  of  the  arena  was  suppressed,  and 
the  games  went  on. 

About  this  time  Anthimius,  in  his 
obscure  station  as  an  exile  from  court, 
had  succeeded  St.  Cyril  as  bishop,  and 
now  thought  it  well  to  write  to  some  of 
his  flock  who  were*  in  prison,  to  en- 
courage them  to  hold  fast  their  faith. 
He  sent  the  letter  by  a  deacon,  who 
succeeded  in  delivering  it  to  Indes.  It 
was  addressed  to  him  and  to  SS.  Mar- 
donius  and  Mygdonius,  who  had  been  in 
prison  a  considerable  time.  Indes  was 
seized  by  the  guards,  and  the  letter  was 
found  upon  him.  When  Galerius  heard 
of  it,  the  name  of  Indes  reminded  him 
of  Domna.  He  ordered  all  the  monas- 
teries to  be  searched  for  her,  and  in  the 
execution  of  this  order  the  guards  were 
guilty  of  the  greatest  atrocities.  {See 
Theophila.)  While  this  search  was 
proceeding,  Mardonius  was  burnt,  Myg- 
donius was  buried  alive,  and  Indes  was 
thrown  into  the  sea  with  a  stone  tied 
round  his  neck.  The  Christians  of  the 
town  told  it  to  those  in  the  mountains, 
among  whom  was  Domna.  When  she 
heard  of  her  brother's  death,  she  rejoiced 
that  he  had  witnessed  a  good  confession. 
At  night  she  left  the  cave  where  she 


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ST.  DOMNA 


was  hiding,  and  went  into  the  town  of 
Nicomedia.  She  first  inquired  of  the 
Christians  where  Agape  was,  and  heard 
that  she  and  Theophila  had  been  burnt 
in  one  of  the  churches  on  Christmas 
Day.  In  the  morning  she  went  down  to 
the  beach,  and  there  she  saw  some 
fishermen.  As  she  was  disguised  in 
man's  clothes,  they  called  to  her  to  help 
them  with  their  nets.  She  did  so,  and 
went  out  with  them  in  their  boat.  "When 
they  hauled  up  their  nets,  they  found 
them  wonderfully  heavy,  and  soon  ascer- 
tained that  this  was  because  there  were 
several  corpses  of  men  in  them.  Lest 
this  occurrence  should  get  them  into 
trouble,  they  resolved  to  go  off  to  some 
distant  port  instead  of  landing  again  at 
Nicomedia,  and  they  invited  her  to  come 
with  them  ;  but  she  begged  them  to  put 
her  ashore  before  they  went  away.  They 
therefore  gave  her  a  quantity  of  fish  and 
some  bread  and  left  her.  She  examined 
the  faces  of  the  dead  men,  and  found 
that  one  of  them  was  Indes.  She  saw 
another  ship  approaching,  and  made 
signs.  The  master  thought  she  wanted 
to  sell  her  fish,  and  asked  her  the  price. 
She  said, "  Nothing."  He  did  not  under- 
stand, and  got  angry,  and,  being  a 
sailor,  he  had  to  swear,  although  he  was 
a  Christian.  So  h«  said,  "By  Christ! 
tell  me  what  you  will  take  for  your  fish." 
When  she  knew  he  was  a  Christian,  she 
explained  her  difficulty,  and  he  brought 
some  linen  and  perfumes  out  of  his  ship, 
and  he  and  his  men  helped  her  to  bury 
the  martyrs  near  the  wall  of  the  town. 
Then  he  would  have  taken  her  away  in 
his  ship,  but  she  would  not  leave  the 
grave,  and  said  she  would  not  have  long 
to  wait,  and  she  would  be  buried  beside 
her.  brother  and  his  fellow-martyrs. 
When  Galerius  heard  where  she  was,  he 
sent  and  had  her  beheaded  on  the  spot. 

According  to  some  accounts,  Indes 
was  not  the  brother  of  Domna,  but  a 
eunuch  devoted  to  her  service. 

In  the  Soman  Martyrology,  Dec.  28, 
are  commemorated  "The  holy  martyrs 
Indes  the  Eunuch,  Domna,  Agape,  and 
Theophila,  virgins,  and  their  com- 
panions." Daru,  Les  Chretiens  d  la  Cour 
de  Diocletien.    Menology  of  Basil. 

St.  Domna  (2),  or  Alumna.    Que  of 


the  martyrs  of  Lyons,  who  died  in  prison. 
(See  Blandina.) 

St.  Domna  («*),  Domnina  of  Syria. 

St.  Domna  (4),  March  12.  V.  M. 
Same  as  Donata.  Put  to  death  with 
St.  Peter,  the  chamberlain  of  Diocletian. 

Domne,  Domna. 

Domneca,  Dominica. 

St.  Domniata,  Sept  14.  M.  in 
Calabria.    Mas  Latrie. 

Domnica,  Dominica. 

St.  Domnicella,  Nov.  11.  M.  Mas 
Latrie. 

St.  Domnina  (1),  April  14.  M.  at 
Terano,  in  Umbria,  under  Nero.  S.M. 
She  is  honoured  with  St.  Valentine, 
St.  Agape  (2),  and  other  MM.  in  the 
3rd  century.  Jacobilli  places  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  Domnina  in  the  time  of  Totila, 
6  th  century. 

St.  Domnina  (2),  Aug.  23.  +  c.  285. 
Called  Donvina  in  the  B.M.,  but  Domnina 
by  Butler  and  some  others. 

She  was  martyred  at  iEgea,  a  sea-port 
in  Cilicia,  forty-six  miles  south-east  of 
Tarsus,  with  SS.  Claudius,  Asterius, 
Neon,  Theonilla,  and  a  child  whose 
name  we  do  not  know,  early  in  the  reign 
of  Diocletian  and  Maximian. 

The  great  persecution  of  Diocletian 
had  not  begun,  that  Emperor  being  as 
yet  indulgent  towards  the  Christians, 
and  averse  to  tyranny  and  cruelty ;  but 
some  of  the  laws  against  the  Christians 
had  never  been  repealed,  and  here  and 
there  were  brought  into  play  to  gratify 
personal  grudges,  or  the  cupidity  of 
governors,  relations,  or  neighbours  of 
the  Christians.  This  was  the  case  when 
the  three  brothers,  Claudius,  Asterius, 
and  Neon  were  accused  by  their  step- 
mother, who  only  wanted  the  magistrates 
to  authorize  her  to  take  possession  of 
their  estate.  At  the  same  time  were 
arrested  two  pious  women,  Domnina  and 
Theonilla,  and  a  child,  who  may  have 
been  the  child  of  Domnina  or  the  grand- 
child of  Theonilla.  Just  then,  Lysias, 
the  proconsul  of  Cilicia,  arrived  at  ^Egea, 
and  ordered  that  all  the  Christians  should 
come  up  for  judgment.  The  magistrates 
made  strict  inquiry  for  Christians,  and 
apprehended  six,  of  whom  three  were 
young  men  and  brothers,  two  were 
women,  and  one  a  small  child.  The 


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241 


brothers  were  brought  one  by  one  to 
the  proconsul,  who  inflicted  horrible 
tortures  on  each,  and  finally  had  them 
crucified.  Domnina  was  next  led  forth, 
and  being  threatened  with  torture  by  fire, 
she  said  she  was  more  afraid  of  eternal 
fire,  which  she  would  incur  if  she  obeyed 
the  governor  by  sacrificing  to  his  gods. 
She  was  then  stripped,  and  beaten  until 
she  died.  The  executioner  said,  "May 
it  please  you,  Domnina  is  dead."  To 
which  Lysias  answered,  "Throw  her 
into  the  river."  The  jailor  at  once 
brought  another  prisoner,  saying, "  Here 
is  Theonilla."  B.M.  Martyrum  Acta. 
Butler,  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  from  the 
authentic  Proconsular  Acts  given  by 
Buinart,  Surius,  Baronius,  etc. 

St.  Domnina  (3),  or  Donvina,  of 
Antioch,  Oct.  4  and  14.  305  or  306. 
Martyred  with  her  two  daughters, 
Berinna,  or  Berenice  (2),  and  Prosdoce 
They  fled  from  their  home  in  Syria. 
They  were  going  to  Edessa,  but  were 
overtaken  by  Domnina's  husband  with 
soldiers,  and  recaptured  and  taken  to  or 
towards  Hierapolis.  On  the  way,  a  river 
was  found  to  be  swollen  and  overflowing 
its  banks.  When  the  soldiers  were  eat- 
ing and  drinking,  the  three  women 
quietly  walked  into  the  river,  and  were 
drowned.  They  are  mentioned  in  a 
homily  of  St.  Chrysostom,  who  holds 
them  up  to  veneration.  As  the  Chris- 
tians did  not  encourage  suicide,  it  is 
supposed  they  were  driven  to  it,  as  the 
only  way  of  saving  themselves  from  the 
brutality  of  the  soldiers.  Compare  St. 
Pelagia(6).  2*.ilf.,Oct.  14.  C.  Byeus, 
in  AA.SS. 

St  Domnina  (4),  Oct.  12,  M.  Of 
Anazarba,  in  Cilicia  (or  in  Lycia,  accord- 
ing to  the  B.M.)  In  the  time  of  Diocle- 
tian. Many  times  tortured  and  imprisoned 
to  shake  her  constancy.  One  of  her  tor- 
tures was  that  her  feet  were  burnt.  At 
last  she  died  of  her  wounds  while  praying 
in  prison.    Menology  of  Basil.  AA.SS. 

St.  Domnina  (5;f  July  10,  M.  at 
Antioch.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Domnina  (6)  and  Maura  (4;. 
Codinus  says  that,  in  the  time  of  Theo- 
dosius  the  Great  (379-395),  St.  Domnina 
came  from  Borne  to  Constantinople  with 
another  person,  apparently  named  Maura. 


They  found  a  place  in  the  new  city,  not 
yet  built  upon,  and  asked  the  emperor  to 
give  it  to  them.  He  did  so,  and  with 
his  help,  they  built  two  monasteries,  one 
called  the  monastery  of  St.  Domnina,  or 
of  Alexander,  and  the  other  the  monas- 
tery of  Maura.  Tillemont,  Empereurs, 
vi.  404. 

St.  Domnina  (7),  Jan.  8.  The 
mother  of  St.  George  the  Chozebite,  i.e. 
a  monk  of  Choseba,  a  laura  near  Jeru- 
salem. She  was  living  in  Palestine, 
and  fled  with  her  son  to  Byzantium,  to 
escape  an  inroad  of  the  Saracens.  Sho 
was  already  old  when  she  came  to  Byzan- 
tium, and  lived  there  many  years  in  great 
holiness.  Neale,  Holy  Eastern  Church. 
Byzantine  Calendar,  Jan.  8.  She  is 
perhaps  the  same  as  St.  Dominica  (2), 
of  Carthage.  AA.SS. 

St.  Domnina  (8),  or  Domna,  March  1. 
+  about  460,  a  V.  of  Syria.  Moved  by 
the  example  or  teaching  of  St.  Maro  to 
lead  a  religious  life,  she  built  herself  a 
hut  in  her  mother's  garden,  where  she 
spent  much  time  in  prayer  and  tears, 
going  to  church  every  day  at  cock-crow, 
but  never  looking  anybody  in  the  face ; 
she  fasted  till  she  was  wasted  to  a  skele- 
ton. Many  women  joined  her  prayers, 
and  followed  her  pious  example.  AA.SS., 
from  Theodoret. 

St.  Donata.  Twenty-eight  saints  of 
this  name  are  mentioned  in  the  calendars 
and  martyrologies.  Of  these,  ten,  or 
eleven,  or  thirteen  suffered  martyrdom 
at  Borne,  and  two  or  three  in  other  parts 
of  Italy ;  nine  in  Africa ;  one  at  Nico- 
media ;  one  in  Syria ;  one  at  Byzantium ; 
one  in  Thrace,  and  one  in  Bulgaria ;  and 
others  whose  place  of  martyrdom  is  un- 
certain. 

Of  those  put  to  death  for  the  Christian 
faith  at  Borne — 

Five  SS.  Donata  are  among  227 
martyrs,  June  2,  in  a  list  in  the  Martyro- 
logy  of  St.  Jerome. 

Two  commemorated  June  3. 

One  with  many  other  saints,  Feb.  17. 

One  in  the  cemetery  of  Priscilla,  on 
the  Via  Salaria,  Deo.  31,  with  five  other 
women,  SS.  Paulina,  Bustica,  Nomi- 
nanda,  Serotina,  Hilaria,  and  their 
companions.  These  are  in  the  Roman 
Martyrology. 

B 


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242 


ST.  DONATA 


One  in  the  Via  Nomentana,  April  20. 

One  put  to  death  with  St.  Cyriacus 
and  others,  at  Home,  Aug.  8.  (See 
Memmia.) 

In  some  old  Martyrologies,  Donata, 
Feb.  4  and  July  30,  is  mentioned  as  one 
of  several  who  were  pnt  to  death  either 
at  Rome  or  Fossombrone,  in  Urbino. 

One  was  martyred  at  Capna,  April  12. 

One  with  other  martyrs  in  Italy, 
Feb.  12,  mentioned  in  the  Martyrology 
of  St.  Jerome. 

One  with  St.  Aucega,  either  at  Borne 
or  at  Thessalonica,  June  1. 

Of  the  Donatas  in  Africa,  one,  July 
17,  is  in  the  Boman  Martyrology  as  one 
of  the  Scillitan  martyrs  at  Carthage. 
(See  Januaria  (1).) 

Four  are  in  a  long  list  of  MM.  in 
Africa,  May  7. 

One  with  Gaiola  and  many  others, 
March  3. 

Two  in  Africa,  June  7  and  8  severally. 

Another  Donata,  M.  in  Africa,  Sept.  28, 
is  also  called  Donatula,  or  Donatella. 

One  in  Mauritania,  probably  304, 
Oct.  17. 

St.  Donata,  or  Domna,  March  12,  V. 
M.,  was  a  companion  of  the  tortures 
and  death  of  St.  Peter,  chamberlain  of 
the  Emperor  Diocletian,  who  suffered 
with  several  other  Christians  at  Nico- 
media  in  304. 

St.  Donata,  or  Donatus,  was  a  martyr 
in  Syria,  Oct.  12. 

St.  Donata,  M.  in  Thrace,  Sept.  29. 

St.  Donata,  M.  at  Dorostorum,  in 
Bulgaria,  June  18. 

St.  Donata,  M.  at  Byzantium,  May 
8,  with  St.  Aoacius  and  others.  (See 
Agatha  (2).) 

Another  Donata  is  commemorated, 
Sept.  16,  with  Secunda  and  others;  but 
these  are  supposed  to  be  the  same  as 
some  of  those  elsewhere  described  or 
commemorated  on  other  days.  AA.SS. 

St  Donatella  (1),  April  15,  M.  in 
Gallatia,  or  Galasoia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Donatella  (2),  Donatula,  or 
Donata,  Sept.  28.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Donatella  (3)  and  Secunda, 
June  12,  MM.  at  Borne.  They  are  com- 
memorated with  St.  Basilides,  but  not 
mentioned  in  his  Acts.  He  was  a 
Boman  soldier,  martyred  with  four  of 


his  comrades  about  the  year  309 :  Baillet 
says  we  know  nothing  authentic  about 
them,  as  a  sermon  by  St.  Ambrose, 
sometimes  erroneously  quoted  concerning 
St.  Nazarius,  one  of  the  five,  refers  not 
to  him,  but  to  St.  Nazarius  of  Milan 
(July  28). 

SS.  Donatilla,  July  30,  V.M.,  Maxi- 
ma and  Secunda,  VV.  MM.  under  Gal- 
lienus,  at  Turburbum  Lucernarium,  in 
Africa.  The  two  first  were  compelled 
to  drink  vinegar  and  gall,  racked  on  the 
equuleus,  broiled  on  a  gridiron,  and 
rubbed  with  hot  lime;  then,  with  St. 
Secunda,  who  was  twelve  years  old, 
thrown  to  wild  beasts,  which  would  not 
hurt  them.  Finally  they  were  beheaded. 
Their  friend  and  companion,  St.  Cris- 
pina,  was  beheaded  at  Thebeste,  under 
Diocletian,  304.  B.M.  AA.SS.  Callot. 
Husenbeth.  There  were  three  other 
martyrs  of  the  same  name  in  the  early 
persecutions,  Feb.  4  and  March  1. 

St.  Donatula.  There  were  four 
martyrs  of  the  name  on  different  days. 
One  of  them  is  also  called  Donatella, 
or  Donata,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Dontula,  June  2.  One  of  227 
Boman  Martyrs  commemorated  together 
this  day  in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Donvina.  Domnina  (2)  and 
Domnina  (3)  are  sometimes  called  Don- 
vina. 

St.  Doria.  Daughter  of  St.  Etjlalia, 
and  sister  of  St.  Odilia,  companions  of 
St.  Ursula.  Stadler. 

St.  Dorlaie.    French  for  Darlug- 

DACHA. 

St  Dorothy  (1),  Sept.  3.  Sister  of 
St.  Euphemia  (1).  B.M.  Mart  of 
Salisbury.  AA.SS. 

St.  Dorothy  (2),  or  Dorothea,  Feb. 
6,  March  28,  V.  M.  303.  Patron  of 
apples,  of  brewers,  gardeners,  lovers, 
young  couples. 

Perhaps  it  is  this  great  St.  Dorothy 
who  is  patron  of  Poland  and  Silesia; 
but  it  may  be  Dorothy  (6),  14th  cen- 
tury, native  and  patron  of  Prussia. 

Represented  with  a  sword  and  a  palm, 
wearing  a  wreath  of  roses  on  her  head, 
and  having  an  angel  or  a  little  boy 
beside  her,  carrying  a  basket  of  apples 
and  roses.    Husenbeth  tells  of  many 


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243 


representations  of  her,  six  of  which  are 
in  England,  with  fruit  and  flowers  in 
her  hands  or  in  her  lap,  or  an  angel 
bringing  them  to  her.  Two  different 
stories  are  told  of  her:  the  first  is 
supposed  to  be  fabulous  and  the  second 
true,  but  referring  to  the  person  known 
as  St.  Catherine. 

The  legend  of  St.  Dorothy  of  Cappa- 
docia  is  as  follows :  She  lived  at  Crasarea. 
Sapritius,  or  Fabricius,  the  governor  of 
Cresarea,  put  her  in  prison,  and  offered 
great  rewards  to  her  sisters,  Callista 
and  Christa,  or  Christeta,  who  were 
apostates  from  the  Christian  faith,  if 
they  would  persuade  Dorothy  to  apos- 
tatize also,  which  task  they  undertook, 
but  were  converted  by  Dorothy,  and  fell 
at  her  feet,  entreating  her  to  pray  for 
forgiveness  for  them.  They  were  con- 
demned to  be  burned,  Dorothy  looking 
on  and  encouraging  them.  She  was  then 
sentenced  to  be  tortured  and  beheaded. 
Theophilus,  a  young  lawyer,  mockingly 
asked  her  to  send  him  some  of  the  fruits 
and  flowers  from  the  garden  of  the  Lord, 
where  she  said  she  was  going,  and  she 
promised  to  do  so.  At  the  place  of 
execution  she  prayed,  and  an  angel 
appeared  by  her  side  with  a  basket  con- 
taining three  fragrant  roses  and  three 
apples,  which  she  begged  him  to  take  to 
Theophilus.  He  tasted  the  fruit  and 
smelt  the  roses,  and  straightway  became 
a  Christian,  and  afterwards  a  martyr. 

Her  Acts,  though  very  ancient,  are 
not  authentic,  and  her  name  is  not  in 
early  Greek  Calendars.  Her  legend  was 
widely  known  throughout  the  Western 
Church,  and  her  worship  universal  there 
in  the  beginning  of  the  8th  century. 

The  second  version  of  the  story  of 
St.  Dorothy  is  this:  Maximianus  Daia 
Galerius  Caesar,  nephew  of  the  Emperor 
Galerius  Maximianus,  was  not  only  a 
cruel  persecutor  of  the  Christians,  but  a 
sensual  ruffian.  Toung  girls  were  the 
chief  objects  of  his  persecution,  and 
their  religion  was  in  many  instances 
made  the  pretext  for  bringing  them  into 
his  power.  St.  Dorothy  was  a  beautiful 
maiden,  of  the  noblest  and  wealthiest 
family  of  Alexandria,  remarkable  for  her 
learning  and  her  knowledge  of  science 
and  philosophy,  and  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 


tures, which  had  been  publicly  taught 
for  a  hundred  years  to  the  young  girls 
of  Alexandria. 

Maximianus  had  already  put  to  death 
many  Christians  whom  he  had  vainly 
tried  to  seduce ;  but  whether  his  admira- 
tion of  Dorothy  was  greater  than  his 
anger  against  her,  or  whether  he  was 
afraid  such  a  measure  would  be  too 
unpopular,  he  contented  himself  with 
seizing  all  her  property  and  banishing 
her.  Eusebius  relates  the  circumstance, 
but  does  not  mention  her  name,  which, 
however,  is  given  by  Rufinus. 

It  is  said  that,  on  her  banishment,  she 
went  to  the  mountains  of  Arabia,  and 
was  eventually  martyred.  Some  say  she 
voluntarily  left  her  possessions  and  fled 
from  the  pursuit  of  Maximianus.  Sho 
is  counted  among  the  martyrs,  although 
it  is  not  certain  what  became  of  her 
after  she  left  Alexandria. 

She  is  the  same  person  who  was 
honoured  in  the  Eastern  Church  as 
Catherine  centuries  before  Catherine 
became  a  popular  saint  in  the  West,  and 
as  the  names  and  legends  differed  so 
widely,  they  came  to  be  regarded  as  two 
different  persons,  an  example  of  one  way 
of  multiplying  saints.  B.M.  Le  Beau, 
Bos  Empire,  i.  73.  Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred 
and  Legendary  Art.  Baillet.  Villegas. 
Leggendario.  Mart,  of  Salisbury.  Husen- 
beth.   Ott.  Cahier. 

St.  Dorothy  (3),  or  Dorotheas,  and 
Januaria,  or  Januariana,  Oct.  20,  MM. 
at  Puteoli,  probably  at  the  beginning  of 
the  4th  century. 

St.  Dorothy  (4),  May  11,  M.  at 
Eome  with  St.  Cyrillus  and  others. 
Their  relics  were  taken  to  the  monastery 
of  St.  Lambert,  in  Styria,  by  order  of 
Innocent  X.    AAJSS.  Stadler. 

St  Dorothy  (5),  Jan.  15.  An  Irish 
woman  of  high  rank,  or,  as  the  Martyro- 
logy  of  Salisbury  has  it,  "  Of  grete  blode, 
and  whan  she  sholde  haue  ben  maryed 
vnto  a  gentyle,  she  fledde  onto  a  monas- 
tery of  virgyns,"  where  she  was  chosen 
abbess.  Such  was  her  contempt  for 
earthly  riches  that,  when  she  had  touched 
money,  she  always  said  she  must  wash 
her  hands  "  for  touching  of  that  fylthy 
mucke."  (Mart,  of  Salisbury.)  She  is 
the  same  as  Ita  (1). 


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B.  DOROTHY 


B.  Dorothy  (6),  June  25,  Oct.  30. 
14th  century.  Born  about  1330. 
+  1300. 

Patron  saint  of  Prussia,  and  perhaps 
of  Poland  and  Silesia.  Compare 
Dorothy  (2). 

Represented  in  an  old  woodcut  in 
Lilienthal's  Life  of  her  in  a  long  cloak, 
holding  in  one  hand  a  rosary,  in  the 
other  a  lantern,  one  arrow  sticking  in 
her  heart  and  one  in  each  arm.  Some- 
times represented  with  three  burning 
darts  in  her  heart  and  four  spears  in  her 
right  side ;  sometimes  in  the  same  picture 
with  St.  Jutta  (5),  of  Sangherhausen  in 
Saxony. 

She  was  born  at  Montau,  on  the  island 
of  Marienburg,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Vistula,  in  Pomerania,  about  1 336.  Her 
father  was  Wilhelm  Swartz,  a  Dutchman. 
Her  mother's  name  was  Agatha.  Dorothy 
was  the  seventh  of  nine  children,  and 
the  youngest  of  five  daughters.  She 
was  pious  from  her  earliest  childhood, 
and  this  tendency  decidedly  increased 
after  she  was  scalded  with  boiling  water 
at  the  age  of  seven.  She  was  a  hard- 
working, useful  girl,  and  when  her  elder 
sisters  were  married,  she  took  care  of 
the  house,  though  scarcely  ten  years  old. 
At  seventeen  she  married  Adalbert,  an 
honest  man  of  Dantzig,  pious  and  well- 
to-do.  They  spent  the  first  fourteen 
days  of  their  married  life  in  a  strictly 
ascetic  manner.  They  had  seven  sons, 
all  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  and  lastly, 
they  had  one  daughter.  They  had  now 
been  married  twenty-six  years,  and 
Dorothy  was  forty-four  years  of  age,  so 
she  resolved  to  have  no  more  children, 
and  took  a  vow  of  celibacy. 

Her  daughter,  who  is  variously  called 
Elizabeth,  Gertrude,  and  Agatha,  be- 
came a  Benedictine  nun  at  Culm,  and 
afterwards  took  the  Cistercian  habit  at 
Oliva. 

In  1382,  when  her  daughter  must 
have  been  nearly  two  years  old,  Dorothy 
and  her  husband  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  thence  they  went  to 
visit  a  hermit  in  Yinsterwaldt,  and  re- 
turned home  in  winter.  The  next  year 
they  went  again.  Between  their  first 
and  second  pilgrimages  to  Aix  the  Lord 
took  out  her  bodily  heart  and  put  in  a 


new  one.  She  suffered  mental  aliena- 
tions, in  which  she  sat  stupid,  so  that 
many  thought  she  was  insane.  Their 
second  journey  was  difficult,  as  there  was 
war  in  the  country  they  passed  through. 
They  went  to  Hamburg  and  Lauenburg, 
and  were  nearly  drowned  in  the  Elbe 
among  the  ice.  Then  they  came  home 
by  sea  to  Dantzig. 

In  October,  1380,  Dorothy  went  with- 
out her  husband  to  Borne  for  the  Jubilee 
of  1300.  She  stayed  there  until  after 
Easter,  1300,  and  came  home  by  Cologne. 
Meantime  her  husband  died. 

In  May,  1304,  she  obtained  leave  to 
build  a  cell  in  the  church  of  Marieninsel, 
and  there  she  was  built  up,  her  mother 
weeping,  and  all  the  people  applauding. 

Here  she  lived  for  six  or  sixteen  years, 
during  which  she  wrought  miracles  and 
had  visions,  and  converted  sinners.  Hutt. 
Beatse  Dorothese  by  T.  Christ.  Lilienthal, 
M. A.,  Dantzig,  1744. 

Many  miracles  were  wrought  at  her 
tomb  after  her  death,  and  her  fame  soon 
spread  over  Poland,  Silesia,  Bohemia, 
Livonia,  and  Lithuania.  She  was  said 
to  have  had  the  stigmata,  but  she  never 
showed  them  or  mentioned  them,  so  that 
there  is  no  contemporary  authority  for  the 
assertion.  She  is  said  by  de  Buck, 
AA.SS.,  Supplement,  Oct.  30,  to  have 
been  a  recluse  at  Kwidzyn,  in  Borussia 
Polonica.  He  says  the  first  life  of 
Dorothy  is  supposed  to  be  written  by 
John  Marienwerder,  her  confessor. 

St.  Dorothy  (7),  V.  at  Aries,  in 
France,  where  her  tomb  is  venerated  in 
the  famous  crypt  of  St.  Honorat.  Migne. 

B.  Dorothy  (8)  Lissonia,  Oct.  30 
or  Sept.  11,  V.  O.S.F.,  at  Milan.  Sup- 
posed 1447.  Stadler. 

B.  Dorothy  (0),  March  23.  15th 
century.  At  Unterwald,  in  Switzerland. 
Wife  of  the  B.  Nicolas  de  Bupe.  They 
had  ten  children,  and  then  he  became  a 
monk  and  she  a  nun.  Stadler. 

B.  Dorothy  (10),  or  Dorotba,  of 
Ferrara.  Dec.  16.  +  1507.  O.S.D. 
Wife  of  Luca  Perinati,  led  a  holy  life 
in  the  world,  and  after  her  husband's 
death  became  a  nun  in  the  Dominican 
convent  of  St.  Catherine  of  Siena,  at 
Ferrara,  called  "  Le  Sanesi."  When  she 
had  become  a  nun  her  piety  increased, 


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ST.  DWYNWEN 


245 


and  was  blessed  with  visions.  She  saw 
Christ  several  times  with  her  bodily 
eyes.  She  is  mentioned  by  the  three 
historians  of  the  Order  of  Preachers, 
Manoel  de  Lima,  Agiologio  Dominico; 
Eazzi,  Predicatori ;  and  Pio,  Uomini  e 
Donne  TUustri  per  Santita. 

St.  Dota,  Feb.  22,  M.  with  St.  Antiga. 

St.  Douceline,  Dulcelina. 

St.  Drosis,  Drozela,  or  Drusilla, 
Sept.  22,  V.  M.  Burnt  at  Antiooh,  in 
Syria,  with  five  others.  She  was  yonng 
and  weak  and  delicate.  Sometimes  said 
to  have  been  daughter  of  the  Emperor 
Trajan,  and  this  belief  prevails  among 
the  Russians  and  Wallachians,  but  does 
not  rest  on  any  good  authority.  She  is 
commemorated  in  the  Greek  Meneas, 
where  her  companions  are  called  canon- 
esses,  i.e.  nuns,  or  deaconesses.  By  one 
account  SS.  Callinica  and  Basilissa 
were  among  her  five  co-martyrs.  By 
another  they  lived  in  the  following  cen- 
tury. Stilting  in  AA.SS.  Qreeco~Slav. 
Calendar. 

St  Drozela,  March  22.  AAJS8. 
Probably  Drosis. 

St.  Drusa,  Feb.  5,  Dominica  (4)  of 
Glastonbury. 

St.  Drusilla,  Drosis. 

B.  Duglioli,  Sept.  23.  Mas  Latrie. 
Helen  (19)  Duglioli. 

St.  Dula  (1),  March  25,  V.  M.  at 
Nicomedia.  Bepresented  dead,  watched 
by  a  dog.  Servant  to  a  certain  soldier. 
She  was  slain  in  defence  of  her  chastity, 
and  thus  obtained  the  crown  of  martyr- 
dom.   B.M.    Cahier,  CaractSristiques. 

SS.  Dula  (2)  and  Cyria  (3),  April*  5. 
Qreeco-Slav.  Calendar.  Possibly  same 
as  Pherbutha  and  Etria. 

St.  Dulcelina,  Dulcina,  or  Douce- 
line. Oct.  26  or  29.  Third  O.S.F.  at 
Marseilles.    +  c.  1282. 

The  piety  of  Italy  and  southern  France 
in  the  middle  of  the  13th  century  showed 
itself  in  a  rage  for  doing  penance  and 
crucifying  the  flesh.  B.  Hugh  de  Digne 
and  his  sister,  Douceline,  both  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  were  dis- 
tinguished actors  in  this  movement. 

She  never  took  the  veil,  but  wore  the 
cord  of  St.  Francis,  and  travelled  through 
Provence,  accompanied  by  eighty  ladies 
of  Marseilles,  encouraging  people  to 


penitence.  She  was  credited  with  the 
gift  of  healing  the  sick,  and  even  raising 
the  dead.  She  made  a  vow  to  observe 
with  the  greatest  strictness  the  holy 
poverty  of  Jesus  Christ  as  it  was  taught 
by  St.  Francis.  She  founded  an  institute 
of  beguines.  Virgins,  widows,  and  even 
wives  left  their  families  to  follow  her. 

She  went  into  all  Franciscan  churches 
on  her  way,  and  remained  in  ecstasy, 
with  her  arms  in  the  air,  from  the  first 
mass  to  complines  entirely  absorbed  in 
God.  One  day,  being  in  a  Franciscan 
church,  a  woman  who  did  not  believe  in 
the  reality  of  the  ecstasy,  pierced  her 
spitefully  with  a  bodkin.  Dulcelina  was 
unconscious  of  it,  and  did  not  move,  but 
when  she  returned  to  her  ordinary  state 
she  suffered  from  the  wound. 

Charles  I.,  of  Anjou,  king  of  Naples, 
the  first  time  he  saw  her  in  ecstasy, 
wished  to  ascertain  whether  there  was 
any  trick  about  it.  He  had  a  quantity 
of  molten  lead  ready,  and  had  it  thrown 
at  her  bare  feet.  She  did  not  feel  it. 
After  this  he  had  a  great  esteem  and 
affection  for  her.  He  was  a  little  afraid 
of  her,  but  consulted  her  on  every  im- 
portant occasion.  She  was  buried  by 
the  side  of  her  brother  Hugh  at  Mar- 
seilles, and  her  sepulchre  was  honoured 
with  miracles.  Gebhart,  Ultalie  mystique, 
on  the  authority  of  "  La  Vie  de  Sainte 
Douceline,  texto  et  traduction  par  l'Abbe 
Aubanes"  (or  Albanes?),  Marseille, 
1879.  Mas  Latrie. 

She  was  aunt,  or  great-aunt,  of  SS. 
ElzSar  and  Delphine. 

She  is  mentioned  by  Wadding  in  his 
Annals  of  the  Franciscans,  vol.  ii.,  and  in 
the  Franciscan  calendar,  year  1282. 
The  compilers  of  the  AA.SS.  consider 
her  worship  unauthorized. 

St.  Dulcissima,  Sept.  16,  V.  M.  at 
Sutri,  in  Tuscany.  AA.SS.  "ex  Fcr- 
rarius."    Mas  Latrie. 

Dulzelina,  Dulcelina. 

St.  Durach,  Ddthrucht. 

St.  Duthrucht  of  Lemchoille,  or 
Durach,  Oct.  25.  Daughter  of  Enna, 
son  of  Corbmach,  of  the  family  of 
Colla-da-Chrioch.  AA.SS.  inter  prse- 
termissos  from  the  Mart,  of  Tamlacht. 

St.  Dwynwen  (1),  Jan.  2r>.  Patron 
of  lovers.    Daughter  or  granddaughter 


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246 


ST.  DWYNWEN 


of  Brychan.  (See  Almheda.)  Accord- 
ing to  the  Welsh  bards,  she  was  founder 
of  a  chnrch  in  Anglesey,  called  Lland- 
dwynwen  and  Llanddwyn.  At  one  time 
it  was  called  Andewin,  a  corruption  of 
Llandewin.  The  parishes  of  St.  Advent 
and  Ludgvan,  in  Cornwall,  are  supposed 
to  be  named  after  her.  Rees.  Miss  Arnold 
Forster  says  she  was  the  fifth  daughter 
of  Brychan.    Probably  St.  Edwen  (2). 

St.  Dwynwen  (2),  or  Denyw,  a 
Welsh  form  of  Thenew.  Forbes. 

St.  Dwywe.  End  of  6th  century  or 
beginning  of  7th.  Daughter  of  Gwallog, 
abbess  of  Llenog,  wife  of  St.  Dunawd, 
who  was  abbot  of  Bangor  at  the  time 
when  that  monastery  sent  many  learned 
monks  to  attend  the  Welsh  bishops  in 
their  conference  with  St.  Augustine, 
Bishop  of  Canterbury.  No  churches  bear 
her  name.  Dunawd  had  one  brother,  a 
prince  and  saint,  another  a  saint  and 
monk,  and  a  sister,  St.  Arddun  Benas- 
gell.    Rees,  207. 

St.  Dymna,  Damhnade. 

St.  Dympna,  May  15,  V.  M.  7th 
century.  Daughter  of  a  pagan  king  of 
Ireland. 

Patron  of  Gheel,  and  of  mad  and  pos- 
sessed persons. 

According  to  Husenbeth,  she  is  repre- 
sented in  four  ways :  (1)  beheaded  by  a 


king  her  father  (Callof);  (2)  sword  in 
hand  (Iconographie) ;  (3)  leading  the 
devil  bound  (Die  Attribute) ;  (4)  kneeling 
at  mass,  her  father  murdering  the  priest 
(Solitudo). 

To  escape  from  the  guilty  love  of  her 
father,  she  fled  to  Antwerp  with  Gere- 
bern,  a  priest,  and  her  father's  jester  and 
his  wife.  They  went  to  the  village  of 
Ghele,  and  settled  near  the  church  of 
St.  Martin.  Her  father  traced  her  to 
that  region,  and  came  to  look  for  her. 
When  he  paid  for  his  entertainment,  the 
landlord  said  he  had  money  like  that, 
but  did  not  know  the  value  of  it. 
"  Where  did  you  get  that  money  ?  "  asked 
the  king.  "  A  certain  virgin,  a  stranger 
still  living  in  the  desert,  sent  that  kind 
of  coin  to  buy  victuals."  Her  retreat 
was  soon  discovered.  Her  father  killed 
Gerebern,  and  then  cut  off  his  daughter's 
head  with  his  own  hands.  Lunatics  and 
persons  possessed  of  devils  were  cured 
at  her  shrine.  The  town  of  Gheel  is 
said  to  owe  its  origin  to  the  crowds 
brought  to  her  tomb  to  be  healed. 

Brit.  Saneta.  B.M.  Women  Saints  of 
our  Contrie  of  England,  edited  by  Horst- 
mann  for  the  Early  English  Text  Society. 
Baillet,  Vies  den  Saints,  says  there  is  no 
authority  for  the  legend. 

St.  Dyomada.  See  Nimonia. 


St.  Eaba,  Ermenburga. 

St.  Eadburga,  Edburga  (5). 

St.  Eadburgis,  Edburga  (6). 

St.  Eadgyth,  Edith. 

St.  Eadwora.  8th  century.  British. 
Sister  of  St.  Jdthwara.  Bees. 

St.  Ealswide  (1),  or  Alswyth,  etc., 
Nov.  27,  V.,  the  purity  of  whose  soul 
and  body  was  evidenced  by  her  incor- 
ruption  after  death.  Memorial  of  British 
Piety.    Buried  at  Glastonbury. 

St.  Ealswide  (2),  Dec.  5.  Lady  of 
the  Angles.  Mentioned  in  the  Sanctorale 
Catholicum,  E.E.T.S.  I  cannot  identify 
her  unless  she  is  Alswytha,  wife  of 
Alfred  the  Great. 

St.  Eanfleda,  Dec.  11  (Enfleda, 
Eonfled,  Heanplet).  7th  century. 
Queen.    Daughter  of  Edwin,  king  of 


Northumbria,  by  his  second  wife,  St. 
Ethelburga.  Wife  of  St.  Oswy,  king  of 
Northumbria,  mother  of  St.Elpleda  (1). 

Eanfleda  was  born  at  Easter,  626,  and 
baptised  at  Pentecost  by  Paulinus,  her 
mother's  chaplain.  On  the  defeat  of  her 
father  in  633,  she  shared  the  flight  of 
her  mother  and  Bishop  Paulinus  to 
Kent,  and  was  brought  up  partly  at  the 
court  of  her  uncle,  King  Eadbald,  and 
partly  at  the  first  nunnery  built  in 
England,  at  Lyming,  where  her  mother 
was  abbess. 

Oswy  succeeded  his  brother,  St.  Oswald, 
as  King  of  Bernicia,  and  by  conquest 
became  King  of  Deira,  the  other  part  of 
Northumbria.  In  642  he  married  his 
cousin,  St.  Eanfleda.  Like  his  wife,  ho 
was  a  Christian,  and  during  his  twenty- 


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ST.  EANFLEDA 


247 


eight  years'  reign  did  so  much  for  the 
advance  of  Christianity  in  his  own  and 
the  neighbouring  kingdoms,  that  he  has 
been  numbered  among  the  English  saints, 
notwithstanding  some  inexcusable  ac- 
tions, chief  among  which  was  the  assas- 
sination of  his  rival  and  cousin,  Oswin, 
king  of  Deira. 

At  the  instigation  of  Eanfleda,  and  in 
expiation  of  the  murder  of  Oswin,  Oswy 
built  a  monastery  at  Gilling,  the  scene 
of  the  tragedy,  that  holy  men  might 
make  constant  intercession  for  the  souls 
of  the  murdered  and  the  murderer. 

During  the  reign  of  Oswy  and  Ean- 
fleda, the  dreaded  Penda,  pagan  king  of 
Mercia,  several  times  invaded  Northum- 
bria.  After  the  invasion  of  G51,  peace 
was  concluded  between  him  and  Oswy, 
and  further  cemented  by  a  double  mar- 
riage between  the  families ;  Oswy's  son 
and  daughter,  Alchfrid  and  Alohfleda, 
married  St.  Kyneburga  (1)  and  Peada, 
children  of  Penda. 

A  direct  consequence  of  these  alliances 
was  the  spread  of  the  Christian  religion 
in  the  kingdom  of  Mercia,  Peada  and  all 
his  followers  having  been  baptised  by 
St.  Finan,  a  Celtic  bishop,  before  leaving 
Oswy's  Court  in  653. 

The'  rugged  old  heathen,  Penda,  re- 
mained true  to  his  gods  and  his  Valhalla. 
In  his  eightieth  year  (655)  he  turned  his 
arms  against  Northumbria  for  the  third 
time,  undeterred  by  the  alliance  of  four 
years  before.  This  time  he  refused  to 
come  to  terms  with  Oswy,  and  prepared 
for  battle.  Oswy  prayed  to  God  to 
defend  him  and  his  cause,  and  vowed,  in 
the  event  of  victory,  to  give  his  infant 
daughter  St.  Elfleda  (1),  to  be  conse- 
crated to  God.  A  great  battle  was  fought 
at  Winwidfield,  near  Leeds.  Oswy  was 
victorious,  and  among  other  princes  and 
commanders,  Penda  himself  was  slain. 
After  the  victory,  Oswy  gave  thanks 
lo  God,  and  redeemed  his  vow  by  giving 
his  daughter  to  be  brought  up  in  His 
service  by  his  kinswoman,  the  abbess 
Hilda.  He  did  not  give  his  daughter 
to  God  empty-handed;  her  dowry  was 
twelve  estates,  where  holy  men  and 
women  should  carry  on  spiritual  warfare 
and  pray  for  the  peace  of  the  nation. 

Eanfleda  was  the  friend  and  patron  of 


St.  Wilfrid  of  York  (633-709),  a  man 
very  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  early 
Anglo-Saxon  Church,  and  the  friend  of 
many  of  the  English  sainted  queens,  St. 
Etheldreda,  St.  Sexburga,  St.  Ermen- 
ilda,  and  others.  It  was  through  Ean- 
fleda's  influence  that  Wilfrid  was  enabled 
to  become  a  monk  at  the  age  of  thirteen, 
and  five  years  afterwards  she  assisted 
him  to  make  his  first  journey  to  Rome, 
a  pilgrimage  which  became  the  rage 
among  the  English  of  the  next  genera- 
tion. 

The  controversy  which  divided  the 
English  Church  in  the  7th  century,  rela- 
tive to  the  keeping  of  Easter  according 
to  the  Roman  or  the  Celtic  Calendar,  was 
productive  of  so  many  disputes  that  it 
became  necessary  to  have  some  rule  to 
which  all  should  conform.  To  further 
this  end,  a  conference  was  hold,  in  664, 
at  St.  Hilda's  monastery  at  Streaneshalch 
(Whitby),  and  was  largely  attended  by 
all,  whether  clergy  or  laity,  who  had  a 
right  to  vote  in  national  affairs.  St. 
Eanfleda  was  on  the  side  of  St.  Wilfrid, 
the  champion  of  the  Roman  cause.  The 
result  of  the  conference  was  a  decree,  by 
King  Oswy,  that  Easter  should  be  every- 
where observed  according  to  the  Roman 
Calendar.  But  it  was  not  until  679  that 
this  command  was  obeyed  throughout 
the  country.  The  year  664  is  memorable 
for  two  other  events  besides  the  Con- 
ference of  Whitby :  the  dedication  of  the 
great  Abbey  of  Medehamstede,  now 
Peterborough  (see  St.  Ermenilda),  of 
which  King  Oswy  was  one  of  the  founders, 
and  a  dreadful  visitation  called  the  Yellow 
Plague.   {See  St.  Sexburga.) 

Eanfleda's  piety  and  good  works  were 
well  known  to  the  Pope.  In  appreciation 
of  her  virtues,  he  sent  her  a  cross,  made 
out  of  the  chains  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
with  a  gold  key  to  it. 

Oswy  was  going  to  Rome  to  repent 
and  be  absolved  of  the  murder  of  Oswin, 
but  died  Feb.  15,  670,  aged  fifty-eight. 
He  was  buried  at  Whitby,  where,  after 
his  death,  Eanfleda  spent  the  rest  of  her 
life  as  a  nun,  under  her  daughter,  St. 
Elfleda.  She  was  buried  in  the  monas- 
tery beside  her  husband,  and  there  also 
were  laid  the  bones  of  her  father,  King 
Edwin. 


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ST.  EANSWITH 


Children  of  Obwy  :  Sons — 

Alchfrid,  reigned  with  his  father,  688; 
m.  St.  Kynebukga  (1). 

Egfrid,  king,  670-085;  m.,  1st,  St. 
Etheldreda  ;  2nd,  Ermenburga. 

Aldfrid,  king,  685-705  ;  m.  St.  Cuth- 

BURGA. 

Alfwin,  killed,  670. 
Daughters — 

Alchfleda,  m.  Feada,  son  of  Penda. 

St.  Elfleda,  abbess  of  Whitby. 

St.  Osthrida,  +  679 ;  m.  Ethelred, 
king  of  Mercia. 

It  is  not  certain  that  Eanfleda  was  the 
mother  of  any  of  the  children  of  Oswy, 
except  Elfleda. 

Bede,  iiL  14.  Montalembert,  Monks 
of  the  West.  Analecta,  iii.,  year  1824. 
Strutt. 

St.  Eanswith,  or  Eanswida,  Aug.  31. 
+  c.  640.  Abbess  and  founder  of  Folke- 
stone. Daughter  of  Eadbald,  king  of 
Kent  (616-640),  and  Emma,  a  princess 
of  France.  Represented  carrying  two 
fishes. 

Eanswith  was  sister  of  the  religious 
King  Ercombert,  and  niece  of  St.  Ethel- 
burga,  queen  of  Northumberland.  From 
her  infancy  she  despised  all  that  usually 
amuses  and  interests  children,  and  grew 
up,  devoting  herself  to  a  religious  life. 
She  prevailed  on  her  father  to  allow  her 
to  decline  all  alliances  proposed  for  her, 
and  retired,  with  his  consent,  to  a  lonely 
place  between  Folkestone  and  the  sea, 
accompanied  by  other  young  women  of 
kindred  inclination.  There  King  Ead- 
bald built  a  church  and  a  monastery  for 
her. 

St.  Eanswith  made  her  monastery  a 
great  agricultural  establishment,  as  well 
as  an  ascetic  sanctuary  and  literary 
school.  She  died  young,  and  was  buried 
in  her  own  church.  There  are  many 
legends  about  her  miraculous  powers. 
Her  monastery  was  built  on  a  cliff,  and 
water  being  wanted  there,  she  dug  a 
canal  with  the  tip  of  her  crozier,  and 
made  the  water  run  uphill.  She  mi- 
raculously lengthened  a  beam  which  the 
carpenters  had  made  too  short. 

After  her  death  the  encroaching  sea 
ruined  the  buildings,  and  the  body  of 
the  saint  was  moved  to  the  church  at 
Folkestone,  which  Eadbald  had  built  in 


honour  of  St.  Peter.  In  process  of  time, 
by  the  devotion  of  the  people  to  her 
memory,  the  church  was  called  St. 
Eanswide's.  AA.SS.  Capgrave.  Butler. 

St.  Earcongoda,  or  Earcongotha, 
Ercongota. 

St.  Eargneath,  Jan.  8.  Ancient 
Irish.  Perhaps  same  as  Ernach,  Oct.  30. 
AAJS8. 

St.  Eartongatha,  Ercongota. 

St.  Eatha,  Teath. 

St.  Ebba  (1),  Aug.  25  (Abb,  ^Ibba, 
Tabbs),  V.  +  688  or  679.  Abbess. 
O.S.B.  Founder  of  Coldinghame  and 
Ebbchester. 

Two  saints  of  the  name  of  Ebba  were 
abbesses  of  the  double  Benedictine  monas- 
tery of  Colud,  or  Coldinghame,  near 
Berwick,  with  an  interval  of  about  two 
hundred  years.  The  first  was  daughter  of 
Ethelfrid  the  ravager,  granddaughter  of 
Ida  the  burner,  sister  of  St.  Oswald  (634- 
642)  and  Oswin,  kings  of  Northumbria ; 
and  on  her  mother's  side,  niece  of  Edwin, 
king  of  Northumbria. 

On  the  death  of  Ethelfrid,  Edwin, 
chief  of  the  rival  race  of  Deira,  became 
king,  and  Ebba,  then  about  ten  years  old, 
fled  with  her  seven  brothers  to  Scotland. 
They  were  hospitably  received  by  Donald 
Brek,  the  king,  and  there  they  became 
Christians. 

Adan,  or  Edan,  another  Scottish  king, 
wished  to  marry  Ebba,  and  her  brothers 
favoured  his  suit,  but  Ebba,  bent  on  a 
religious  and  celibate  life,  took  the  veil 
from  St.  Finan,  bishop  of  Lindisfarne 
(652-661).  Edan  followed  her,  intend- 
ing to  take  her  by  force  and  make  her 
his  queen,  but  Ebba  betook  herself  to  a 
high  rock,  round  which,  at  her  prayer, 
a  high  tide  ran  for  three  days,  forming 
a  perfect  defence  against  her  pursuers. 
Her  brother  Oswy,  who  succeeded  Oswald 
(642),  gave  her  an  old  Boman  camp. 
There  she  founded  her  first  monastery, 
called  Ebbchester  (Ebba's  castle  or 
camp),  in  the  county  of  Durham. 

She  built  her  greater  and  more  famous 
monastery  on  a  promontory  in  Berwick- 
shire, which  rises  on  three  of  its  sides 
perpendicularly  from  the  sea,  and  was 
cut  off  from  the  land  on  the  fourth  side 
by  an  almost  impassable  morass,  further 
strengthened  by  a  high  wall.  The 


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ST.  EBBA 


249 


building  was  a  little  way  south  of  the  rock 
now  called  St.  Abb's  head.  From  it  can 
be  seen  the  Scotch  coast  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  Forth,  and  the  English  coast 
as  far  as  Lindisfarne  and  Bamborough. 

A  legend  of  the  foundation  is  given  in 
Carr's  Coldinghame. 

Once,  when  Oswy's  kingdom  was  dis- 
tracted by  broils  and  wars,  Ebba  became 
a  prisoner,  but  escaped.  Finding  a  boat 
on  the  Humber,  she  went  in  it  alone 
down  the  river,  and  out  to  sea.  Some 
monks  were  singing  in  a  church  on  the 
cliff,  afterwards  called  by  her  name. 
They  saw  the  boat,  steered  through 
tremendous  waves  by  a  superhuman 
being,  come  safely  to  land  a  little  to 
the  south  of  the  Head,  and  on  that  spot 
she  built  her  church  and  monastery. 

Here  she  ruled  one  of  the  double 
communities  of  monks  and  nuns  usual 
in  those  times  and  always  governed  by 
the  abbess.  She  invited  St.  Cuthbert, 
abbot  of  Melrose,  and  afterwards  of 
Lindisfarne,  to  visit  her  and  her  nuns. 
He  generally  avoided  the  society  of 
women,  but  thought  so  highly  of  Ebba 
that  he  came  to  stay  with  her ;  she  gave 
him  a  piece  of  cloth,  in  which  eventually 
he  was  buried. 

Egfrid,  king  of  Northumbria,  was 
Ebba's  nephew.  When  his  first  wife, 
St.  Etheldreda,  left  him,  she  took 
refuge  at  Coldinghame,  and  the  pheno- 
menon which  had  saved  Ebba  from 
pursuit  was  repeated  in  favonr  of  Ethel- 
dreda, for  on  Egfrid  arriving  to  bring 
her  back,  the  sea  flowed  into  the  marsh 
on  the  landward  side  of  the  rock,  and 
made  an  effectual  barrier  until  he  gave 
up  the  chase.  Etheldreda  became  a  nun 
under  Ebba's  care  for  a  time.  When 
she  had  become  abbess  of  Ely,  and 
Egfrid  had  married  again,  he  made  a 
tour  through  his  northern  dominions 
with  his  second  wife  Ermenburga,  and 
sought  his  niece's  hospitality  for  a  night 
on  the  way.  During  the  night,  the 
queen  suffered  a  severe  flagellation, 
which  some  ascribed  to  angelic,  some 
to  diabolic  agency.  She  was  found  in 
convulsions  in  the  morning,  and  Ebba, 
with  all  the  authority  of  aunt  and  abbess, 
and  perhaps  already  also  of  saint,  told 
the  king  this  visitation  was  in  con- 


sequence of  his  and  the  queen's  behaviour 
to  St.  Wilfrid,  abbot  of  Hexham  and 
bishop  of  York.  They  had  imprisoned 
him  at  Dunbar,  and  Ermenburga  had 
robbed  him  of  a  reliquary  which  he 
valued,  and  which  she  supers titiously 
carried  with  her  wherever  she  went, 
although,  being  ill-gotten,  it  had  only 
brought  her  ill  luck.  They  promised  to 
liberate  the  bishop  and  restore  him  his 
property  without  delay,  and  the  queen 
recovered.  This  incident  is  told  in 
Eddius'  Life  of  Wilfrid,  and  in  other 
histories  of  the  time. 

Although  Ebba  could  act  with  de- 
cision on  occasion,  she  did  not  succeed 
in  maintaining  strict  discipline  in  her 
monastery,  for  abuses  crept  in.  One  of 
the  monks,  named  Adamnan,  was  warned 
in  a  vision  that  the  place  would  be 
burnt  to  ashes  as  a  punishment  for  the 
laxity  of  the  inhabitants.  Even  the  cells, 
which  were  built  for  prayer,  were  con- 
verted into  places  of  revelling,  drinking, 
conversation,  and  other  amusements ; 
even  the  virgins,  dedicated  to  God, 
spent  their  leisure  in  making  fine 
garments  to  adorn  themselves,  "where- 
fore a  heavy  vengeance  from  Heaven 
is  deservedly  prepared  for  this  place 
and  its  inmates."  When  this  was  told 
to  Ebba,  she  was  much  distressed, 
but  Adamnan  gave  her  the  consolation 
that  it  should  not  happen  in  her 
life.  The  monks  and  nuns  having 
heard  the  vision,  began  to  be  alarmed, 
and  for  a  time  to  be  more  circumspect ; 
but  after  the  death  of  Ebba,  they  fell 
into  greater  disorders  than  ever;  and 
then,  through  carelessness,  the  monastery 
took  fire  and  was  burnt  down.  The  first 
monastery  probably  consisted  of  small 
buildings  of  wood  or  wattle  and  mud. 
It  is  not  exactly  known  when  it  was 
restored:  some  have  conjectured  that  it 
was  rebuilt  for  nuns  only,  as  there  is 
no  mention  of  monks  at  the  time  of  the 
martyrdom  of  Ebba  (2) ;  but  this  does 
not,  of  course,  prove  anything.  Some 
remains  of  the  buildings  were  to  bo 
seen  in  the  middle  of  the  19th  century 
on  the  very  edge  of  the  cliff. 

The  priory  of  Coldinghame  was  built 
by  Edgar,  king  of  Scotland,  about  1099, 
not  on  the  same  spot  as  the  monastery, 


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250 


ST.  EBBA 


but  farther  inland ;  it  was  dedicated  in  the 
name  of  SS.  Cuthbert,  Mary,  and  Ebba. 

Oxford  is  said  to  nave  been  the  first 
place  where  a  church  was  built  in  honour 
of  Ebba. 

AA.SS.  Forbes,  Scot.  Kalendars.  But- 
ler,  Lives.  Carr,  History  of  Coldingham. 
Bede,  Ecc.  Hist.,  book  iv.  cap.  25. 

St.  Ebba  (2),  April  2,  V.  +  870. 
Abbess  of  the  Benedictine  double  mon- 
astery of  Coldinghame,  near  Berwick, 
founded  202  years  before  by  St.  Ebba  (1 ). 
About  the  year  860  the  seven  pirate  sons 
of  Begner  Lodbrog,  king  of  Denmark, 
having  conquered  Norway,  invaded 
England,  wintered  among  the  East 
Angles,  sailed  northward  in  summer, 
and  landing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tweed, 
laid  waste  the  country  with  fire  and 
sword,  apparently  actuated  as  much  by 
cruelty  and  love  of  destruction  as  by 
desire  of  plunder.  They  attacked  the 
monastery  of  Coldinghame,  at  that  time 
the  largest  in  Scotland.  St.  Ebba 
assembled  all  her  nuns  in  the  chapter- 
house, and  exhorted  them  to  save  them- 
selves by  voluntary  disfigurement  from 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  barbarians. 
She  set  the  example  by  cutting  off  her 
own  nose  and  upper  lip;  all  the  nuns 
did  the  same,  and  are  commemorated 
with  her,  although  their  names  are  not 
preserved.  The  Danes  broke  into  the 
convent,  and  disgusted  with  the  horrible 
spectacle  presented  by  the  nuns,  set  fire 
to  the  house,  and  burnt  them  all  in  it. 
In  the  same  expedition  many  other 
monasteries  were  demolished  and  the 
inhabitants  massacred.  Butler,  Lives: 
"  St.  Edmund,"  Nov.  20.  Carr,  Colding- 
ham.  Forbes.  AA.SS. 

St.  Echea,  Aug.  5  (Achia,  Echt, 
Ethehea).  5th  century.  Sister  of  St. 
Lalloca.  Daughter  of  Conis  and  St. 
Darerca,  sister  of  St.  Patrick.  Echea 
had  a  nunnery  at  Killglaiss,  in  Longford. 
Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Echi,  Echea. 

St.  Echtach.  Ectacia. 

St.  Ecolace,  Scholastica. 

St.  Ectacia  or  Echtach,  Feb.  5. 
Irish.  Anciently  much  venerated  in  the 
county  of  Mayo.  Smith  and  Wace,  from 
Colgan's  Life  of  St.  Corhmac. 

St.  Edana,  July  5  (EdjEne,  Edania, 


Eixena),  V.  Irish.  Date  uncertain. 
Bishop  Forbes  says  she  is  the  pame  as 
Modwenna,  and  that  it  is  probable  Edin- 
burgh was  named  from  her.  She  gives 
her  name  to  two  parishes  and  a  famous 
holy  well  in  Ireland.  Butler. 

SS.  Edberga  and  Edgitha.  (See 
Edburga  (2)  and  Edith.) 

St.  Edburga  (1),  or  Eadburgis,  V. 
7th  century.  Said  to  be  the  first  Anglo- 
Saxon  virgin  dedicated  as  a  nun.  Daugh- 
ter of  Ethelbert,  first  Christian  king  of 
Kent.  Sister  of  St.  Ethelburga  (1), 
and  nun  with  her  in  the  first  English 
nunnery,  at  Lyming.  Montalembert, 
Monks  of  the  West.  Butler  appears  to 
think  there  was  no  St.  Edburga  at 
Lyming  with  St.  Ethelburga,  and  that 
this  is  a  confusion  between  St.  Ethel- 
burga (1)  and  a  later  St.  Edburga, 
abbess  of  Menstrey. 

SS.  Edburga  (2)  and  Edith  (l), 
July  18.  7th  century.  Daughters  of  Fre- 
wald/a  prince  or  earl  of  the  East  Angles. 
Edith  renounced  a  marriage  which  was 
arranged  for  her,  and  begged  of  her 
father  the  gift  of  the  little  town  of  Ayles- 
bury, where  the  two  sisters  built  a  small 
monastery.  The  village  of  Edburton  is 
said  to  be  named  after  Edburga.  Brit. 
Sancta.  Gynecteum.  Cahier.  Cardinal 
Newman,  in  the  list  of  English  Saints 
appended  to  his  Apologia,  calls  them 
Edberga  and  Edgitha.  The  AA.SS.  and 
Bishop  Stubbs  consider  this  Edburga 
fabulous.  Wion,  Lignum  Vxtse,  gives 
Oct.  7  as  Edith's  day,  600  as  her  date, 
and  calls  her  sister  of  St.  Osithe. 

St.  Edburga  (3),  June  20  (Ida- 

BERGA,  IDBERG,  IdUBERG,  ItISBERGA),  V. 

7th  century.  Daughter  of  Penda,  heathen 
king  of  Mercia.  One  of  four  sainted 
sisters — Kyneburga  (1),  Kynedride  (1), 
and  Kyneswitha.  They  were  all  nuns 
at  Dormundcaster,  or  Caister,  otherwise 
called  Kuneburgcaster,  in  Northampton- 
shire, founded  by  their  brother  Peada, 
c.  655.  Their  relics  were  translated  to 
Peterborough,  and  part  of  them  were 
carried,  about  1040,  from  there  to  Berg 
St.  Winnok,  in  Flanders,  where  the 
memory  of  St  Edburga  is  still  honoured. 
Butler.    Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Edburga  (4),  June  26.    4-  735. 
Widow  of   Wulphere,    king    of  the 


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ST.  EDILTRUDE 


251 


Mercians.  Consecrated  by  St.  Egwin,  in 
710.  Succeeded  K yneburg a  (2  )  as  second 
abbess  of  St.  Peter's,  Gloucester,  where 
she  ruled  for  fifteen  or  twenty-five  years. 
She  was  succeeded  by  Weeda.  Buried 
by  Bishop  Wilfrid  of  Worcester  in  735. 
Bishop  Stubbs,  in  Smith  and  Wace,  does 
not  call  her  Saint.  Miss  Arnold  Forster, 
Dedications. 

St.  Edburga  (5),  Dec.  13  or  27 
(Eadburga,  Bugga,  Heaburg).  +  759. 
Abbess  of  Minster,  or  Menstrey,  in 
Thanet.  Daughter  of  Kentwine,  king 
of  Wessex,  and  Eangyth,  who  became  an 
abbess.  Edburga  was  a  woman  of  great 
ability,  and  zealous  in  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge.  She  secured  several  royal 
charters  for  her  monastery.  She  was  a 
friend  and  correspondent  of  St.  Boniface. 
She  is  identified  with  Heaburg,  more 
commonly  called  Bugga,  to  whom  several 
interesting  letters  of  St.  Boniface  are 
addressed.  Unfortunately,  hers  to  him 
are  not  preserved.  His  letters  to  Ed- 
burga were  written  in  718  and  719, 
before  she  had  become  an  abbess.  Be- 
tween 718  and  722  her  mother  wrote  to 
Boniface,  and  soon  after,  Edburga  her- 
self wrote  to  him,  sending  him  an  altar- 
cloth  and  some  money.  She  went  to 
Borne  a  good  many  years  later,  and 
there  met  Boniface,  who  sent  a  message 
through  her  to  Ethelbert,  king  of  Kent, 
promising  to  pray  for  him.  Edburga 
built  a  new  church  for  her  monastery, 
and  removed  into  it  the  body  of  her 
predecessor,  St.  Mildred.  The  Analecta 
Juris  Pontificii,  iii.  col.  1817,  1829,  says 
she  went  to  Germany  to  work  under 
Boniface,  and  thence  travelled  to  Rome. 
Eckenstein.  Smith  and  Wace.  Monta- 
lembert.    Butler.   Analecta  Juris. 

St.  Edburga  (6),  or  Eadburgis, 
June  15,  Dec.  21.  +  960.  Patron  of 
Winchester.  Nun.  Youngest  of  four- 
teen children  of  Edward  the  Elder,  king 
of  England  (901-925).  Sister  of  Kings 
Edmund  and  Edred ;  of  Edgiva,  queen  of 
Aries  or  Provence ;  and  of  St.  Elfleda  (3). 
Half-sister  of  King  Athelstane;  St. 
Edith,  queen  of  Northumberland;  B. 
Edith,  queen  of  Germany;  Edgiva, 
queen  of  France ;  Eadhild,  countess  of 
Paris;  Elgiva,  countess  of  Aquitaiue ; 
and  Ethelhild,  nun  at  Wilton. 


When  Edburga  was  three  years  old, 
her  father  placed  before  her,  on  one  side, 
royal  ornaments,  jewels,  and  toys,  and 
on  the  other,  a  book  of  the  Gospels,  a 
chalice,  and  a  penitential  religious  habit, 
bidding  her  choose.  She  pushed  away 
the  worldly  baubles,  and  joyfully  took 
hold  of  the  religious  objects.  Her 
parents  placed  her  in  the  nunnery  of  St. 
Mary,  at  Winchester,  begun  by  her 
grandparents,  Alfred  the  Great  and 
Alswitha,  and  finished  by  King  Edward. 
Here  she  attained  to  great  holiness,  and 
died  of  fever  in  960. 

AA.SS.,  from  William  of  Malmesbury, 
etc.  Booh  of  Hyde.  Brit.  Sancta. 
Butler,  Dec.  21.  Leslie  Stephen,  Die. 
Nat.  Biog.:  "Edward  the  Elder." 
Guenn,  P.B.,  calls  her  St.  Edburg  of 
Pershore,  because  relics  of  her  were 
kept  there. 

St.  Edeldrud,  Etheldreda. 

St.  Edgith,  or  Edgyth,  same  as 
Edith. 

St.  Edgiva,  Elgiva  (4). 

St.  Edigna,  Feb.  26,  V.  +  1109. 
Represented  in  a  cart  drawn  by  oxen, 
sometimes  with  a  cock  beside  her  (per- 
haps to  denote  her  French  birth). 

Of  the  royal  family  of  France,  some- 
times said  to  be  daughter  of  Hugh  Capet, 
more  generally  believed  to  be  daughter 
of  Henry  I.,  possibly  of  his  son  Philip  I. 
She  gave  in  charity  everything  she  had, 
took  the  pilgrim's  habit  and  staff,  and 
being  too  infirm  to  travel  to  distant 
lands  on  foot,  she  had  a  cart ;  two  oxen 
voluntarily  placed  themselves  under  the 
yoke.  They  took  her  to  the  village  of 
Buch,  in  Bavaria,  and  then  stopped. 
She  resided  there  in  the  hollow  trunk  of 
a  great  lime  tree,  which  after  her  death 
gave  out  a  healing  oil.  An  attempt  was 
once  made  to  sell  the  oil  to  the  people, 
whereupon  the  supply  ceased,  and  only 
returned  on  a  promise  being  made  to 
give  it  freely  as  before. 

Raderus,  Bavaria  Pia.  AA.SS. 
Guenebault.  Miss  Eckenstein  calls  her 
a  pseudo-saint. 

St.  Edilburg,  Ethelburga. 

St.  Edilienta.  Venerated  at  the 
church  of  Endellion,  Cornwall.  Parker. 

St.  Edilthry4a,  Etheldreda. 

St.      Ediltrude,  Etheldreda, 


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ST.  EDINA 


Ethildrita.  Guerin  says  that  Ediltrude 
is  also  a  name  of  Ethelfleda,  widow  at 
Glastonbury,  Oct  23.    (See  Eloiva  (8).) 

St.  Edina,  or  Edana,  invoked  for 
women  in  child-bed.  Pettigrew,  Medical 
Superstitions.    Probably  Modwenna. 

St.  Edinia,  Cilinia. 

Edith.  This  name  has  various  forms, 
amongst  others,  Edita,  Editha,  Eadithe, 
Eadgith,  Edgyth,  Eggyth.  All  the 
S3.  Edith  are  English,  and  nearly  all 
are  of  royal  birth. 

SS.  Edith  (1)  and  Edburga  (2). 
(See  Edburga.) 

Edith  (2),  M.  with  Alprida. 

St.  Edith  (3),  March  15.  871. 
First  abbess  of  Polesworth,  in  Warwick- 
shire. Daughter  of  Egbert,  king  of 
England  (828-836).  Sister  of  Ethel- 
wolf.  Aunt  of  Alfred  the  Great. 
Polesworth  was  one  of  two  towns  or 
estates  granted  by  Ethelwolf  to  St. 
Modwenna  for  monasteries.  Osithe  and 
Atea  were  nuns  under  Edith.  Book  of 
Hyde.  Dugdale,  Monasticon,  i.  197. 
Lives  of  the  Women  Saints  of  our  Contrie 
of  England. 

St.  Edith  (4),  July  15.  Queen  of 
Northumberland.  10th  century.  Eldest 
daughter  of  Edward  the  Elder,  king  of 
England  (901-925).  Her  mother's 
name  was  Egwenna,  a  beautiful  lady 
whom  Edward  met  at  his  nurse's  house, 
and  who  was  the  mother  of  his  suc- 
cessor, Athelstane.  In  926  Athelstane 
gave  his  sister  Edith  in  marriage  to 
Sithric,  or  Siric,  king  of  the  Danes  in 
Northumberland,  who  was  tributary  to 
the  English  crown.  Sithric  died  the 
following  year.  Edith  became  a  nun  at 
Polesworth,  and  died  in  the  monastery 
she  built  at  Tamworth.  She  was  half- 
sister  of  Kings  Edmund  (940-946)  and 
Edred  (946-955),  and  of  SS.  Edburga  (6) 
and  Elfleda,  a  nun  either  at  Rumsey  or 
Wilton.  Of  her  other  half-sisters,  one 
married  Otho  the  Great,  king  of 
Germany  and  emperor,  another  was 
Queen  of  France,  being  the  wife  of 
Charles  the  Simple,  and  the  three  others 
made  marriages  nearly  as  illustrious. 
William  of  Malmesbury,  De  Oestis 
Pontificum.  Book  of  Hyde.  Stevenson, 
Church  Hist,  of  England.  Memorial  of 
Ancient  British  Piety.  Watson,  Eng.  Mart. 


B.  Edith  (5),  Jan.  26.  Queen  of 
Germany.  +  946.  Daughter  of  Edward 
the  Elder,  king  of  England  (901-925). 
First  wife  of  Otho  I.,  the  Great,  king  of 
Germany  and  emperor.  His  father, 
Henry  I.,  the  Fowler,  sent  to  ask  Athel- 
stane for  one  of  his  sisters  as  a  wife  for 
his  eldest  son.  Athelstane  sent  two, 
Edith,  who  married  Otho,  and  Edgiva,  or 
Elgiva,  who  was  married  to  "a  prince 
near  the  Alps."  Edith  was  a  pious  and 
exemplary  woman.  She  had  a  son 
Liudolf,  and  a  daughter  Liutgard. 
Otho's  second  wife  was  St.  Adelaide, 
empress. 

Edith  does  not  seem  to  be  called  Saint 
by  any  reliable  authority.  She  appears 
in  a  list  of  sainted  English  queens 
preserved  in  Analecta  Juris  Pontificii, 
iii.  col.  1823.  She  is  called  Blessed  by 
Arturus  du  Monstier,  on  the  alleged 
authority  of  Baronius,  who,  however, 
does  not  so  style  her.  She  is  not  in  the 
Manipulus,  where  every  possible  English 
princess  is  inserted. 

St.  Edith  (6)  the  Younger,  Sept.  16. 
961-984.  Patron  of  Wilton.  Daughter 
of  Edgar,  king  of  England  (958-975), 
son  of  St.  Eloiva  (4),  and  grandfather 
of  Edward  the  Confessor.  Edith's 
mother  was  St.  Wdlfkida,  a  nun  of 
noble  birth  whom  Edgar  forcibly  carried 
off  from  her  monastery  at  Winchester. 
Under  St.  Dunstan's  direction,  he  did 
penance  for  this  crime  by  not  wearing 
his  crown  for  seven  years.  As  soon  as 
Wulfrida  could  escape  from  him,  she 
returned  to  her  cell,  and  there  Edith  was 
born.  Educated  with  great  care,  she 
became  a  wonder  of  beauty,  learning, 
and  piety.  After  his  wife's  death,  Edgar 
would  have  married  Wulfrida,  but  she 
preferred  to  remain  a  nun  at  Wilton, 
where  she  received  the  veil  from  the 
hands  of  St.  Ethel  wold,  bishop  of  Win- 
chester, and  made  such  progress  in  all 
virtues  that  she  was  chosen  abbess,  and 
eventually  honoured  as  a  saint.  Edith 
took  the  veil  very  early  with  her  father's 
consent;  he  made  her  abbess  of  three 
different  communities,  but  she  chose  to 
remain  under  her  mother  at  Wilton, 
where  she  was  a  Martha  with  regard  to 
her  sister  nuns,  and  a  Mary  in  her 
devotion  to  Christ.  In  979  Edith  dreamt 


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253 


that  she  lost  her  right  eye,  and  knew  the 
dream  was  sent  to  warn  her  of  the  death 
of  her  brother,  who,  in  fact,  was  murdered 
at  that  very  time,  whilo  visiting  his 
stepmother  Elfrida,  at  Corfe,  in  Dorset- 
shire. Tho  nobles  then  offered  the 
crown  to  Edith,  but  she  declined.  Not- 
withstanding her  refusal  of  all  royal 
honours  and  worldly  power,  she  always 
dressed  magnificently,  and  as  St.  Ethel- 
wold  remonstrated,  she  answered  that 
purity  and  humility  could  exist  as  well 
under  royal  robes  as  under  rags.  She 
built  a  church  at  Wilton,  and  dedicated 
it  in  the  name  of  St.  Denis.  St.  Dunstan 
was  invited  to  the  dedication,  and  wept 
much  during  mass.  Being  asked  the 
reason,  he  said  it  was  because  Edith 
would  die  in  three  weeks,  which  actually 
happened,  Sept.  15,  984.  A  month, 
afterwards  she  appeared  in  glory  to  her 
mother,  and  told  her  the  devil  had  tried 
to  accuse  her,  but  she  had  broken  his 
head.  Many  years  after,  King  Canute 
laughed  at  the  idea  that  the  daughter  of 
the  licentious  Edgar  could  be  a  saint. 
St.  Dunstan  took  her  out  of  her  coffin, 
and  set  her  upright  in  tho  church,  where- 
upon Canute  was  terrified,  and  fell  down 
in  a  faint.  He  had  a  great  veneration 
for  St.  Edith  ever  after. 

B.M.  Eibadeneira,  Flos  Sanctorum. 
Watson,  English  Mart.  Mrs.  Jameson, 
Sacred  and  Legendary  Art.  Lappenberg, 
England  under  the  Anglo-Saxons. 

B.  Edith  (7),  June  7.  +  1159,  in 
England.  On  the  night  of  June  7,  a 
holy  monk  named  Godric  saw  her  soul 
going  up  to  heaven  with  that  of  St. 
Robert,  abbot  of  Fountains,  in  Yorkshire. 
Henriquez,  Fasciculus,  a  history  of  Saints 
of  the  Cistercian  Order,  lib.  i.  dist.  ii. 

St.  Editna,  or  Dediva.  6th  century. 
Of  noble  race,  she  was  married  four 
times,  and  was  mother  of  a  large  family, 
all  illustrious  for  their  sanctity.  They 
were  SS.  Senan,  son  of  Fintan ;  Manchin, 
son  of  Collan ;  Callin,  a  disciple  of  St. 
Columkille;  Fedlimid  of  Kilmore; 
Dagius,  son  of  Carill;  St.  Femia, 
daughter  of  Carill ;  St.  Dieemait  of 
Inis  Clothrann,  daughter  of  Tren,  son 
of  Dubtach  O'Lugair,  son  of  Lugna. 
O'Hanlon,  Irish  Saints. 

St.  Edoena,  Edana. 


St.  Eduvigis,  Hedwig. 

St  Edwen  (1),  Nov.  (5.  Honoured 
among  the  Saints  of  Wales.  Said  to  be 
a  daughter  or  niece  of  Edwin,  king  of 
Northumbria,  who  was  brought  up  at 
the  court  of  Cadfan,  king  of  North 
Wales.  Rees,  Welsh  Saints.  (See  Ethel- 

BUROA  (V).} 

St.  Edwen  (2)  (Adven,  Advent, 
Adwen).  Honoured  in  Cornwall.  Smith 
and  Wace,  from  Bees.  Probably  same 
as  Dwynwen  (1). 

St.  Edwigis,  Hedwig. 

St.  EfFam,  Euphemia  (1). 

St  Eficia,  or  Esitia,  May  30,  M.  at 
Antioch.    AA.SS.,  Supplement,  iii. 

St  Egatracia,  or  Hbgatrax,  March 
26,  M.  in  Eoumania.    AA.SS.  P.B. 

St  Egena,  May  18  (Agna,  .Egina), 
M.  at  Constantinople.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eggyth,  Edith. 

St  Eglantine,  Valentina. 

St.  Ehrentraud,  Erbwtrudb. 

St.  Eigen,  daughter  of  Caractacus, 
was  one  of  a  family  of  saints.  She  is 
said,  in  the  Welsh  Triads,  to  be  the 
first  woman  saint  among  the  Britons. 
Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould,  Lives  of  the 
Saints;  Dec.  3, "Lucius."  (Compare  St. 
Claudia  (1).) 

St.  Eimberta,  or  Eimbetha,  Ein- 
betta. 

SS.  Einbetta  (Aimbertha,  Eim- 
berta, Eimbetha,  Einbetha,  Embetta), 
Vorbetta,  and  Villbetta,  or  Wilbeth, 
Sept.  16,  VV.  at  Strasburg.  Supposed 
end  of  5th  century. 

Tradition  at  Strasburg  says  they  were 
companions  of  St.  Ursula,  and  that 
when  St.  Aurelia  was  sick  of  fever  on 
her  way  from  Eome  to  Cologne,  Ursula 
left  these  three  to  attend  on  her.  De- 
prived of  the  palm  of  martyrdom  gained 
by  the  rest  of  the  11,000,  they  were 
without  friends  or  means;  but  they 
lived  so  piously  that  when  their  grave 
was  opened  hundreds  of  years  after, 
their  bodies  were  found  in  perfect  pre- 
servation, with  a  writing  that  told  how 
they  were  separated  from  St.  Ursula, 
etc.    AA.SS.    (See  Triads.) 

B.  Ela,  Feb.  1  (Ella,  Ele).  +  1261. 
Daughter  and  heiress  of  William  Fitz- 
patrick,  earl  of  Salisbury.  Married  to 
William    Longs  word,  natural  son  of 


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ST.  ELAPHA 


Henry  II.  and  Fair  Kosamond.  He  was 
a  crusader  in  the  Holy  Land,  with  his 
half-brother,  Eichard  I.;  and  in  1219, 
went  to  a  crusade  in  Egypt  with  Jean 
de  Brienne,  titular  king  of  Jerusalem. 
William,  although  a  good  soldier,  was 
lawless  and  unscrupulous.  On  his  re- 
turn to  England,  he  was  for  days  in  a 
storm  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay;  while  in 
the  greatest  danger,  the  mast  glowed  with 
flames,  held  by  a  lovely  female  form. 
He  thought  this  a  call  to  conversion. 
On  his  return,  his  wife,  cherishing  the 
idea,  induced  him  to  go  to  St.  Edmund 
Rich,  canon  of  Salisbury,  afterwards 
archbishop  of  Canterbury.  By  him 
William  was  converted,  and  forsook  his 
sins.  He  died  in  1226,  and  was  buried 
at  Old  Sarum ;  the  tomb  was  afterwards 
removed  to  Salisbury  Cathedral.  St. 
Edmund  was  ever  after  the  friend  and 
spiritual  adviser  of  Ela.  By  his  advice 
she  built  two  monasteries,  a  Carthusian 
priory  at  Hinton,  and  an  Augustinian 
nunnery  at  Laycock ;  they  were  founded 
on  the  same  day,  April  16,  1232.  She 
took  the  habit  in  the  latter  foundation 
in  1236,  and  subsequently  became  abbess. 

Ela  was  once  dangerously  ill  of  fever, 
and  was  cured  by  St.  Edmund,  who  sent 
her  a  phial  containing  some  of  the  blood 
of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr.  She  re- 
covered as  soon  as  she  took  the  sacred 
relic  in  her  hand. 

The  baronial  seal  of  Ela.  countess  of 
Salisbury,  1226,  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
British  Museum. 

Bucelinu8,  Men.  Ben.  Miss  Yonge, 
Cameos  from  English  History,  I.  xxix. 
Hook,  Archbishops  of  Canterbury.  Lewis, 
Topographical  Dictionary  of  England. 
Nic.  Trivet,  O.S.D.,  Annates,  1227-1232. 
Brit  Mart.    Stanton,  English  Menology. 

St.  Elapha,  June  23,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.S8. 

St.  Eldetrude,  Hiltbude. 

St.  Electa,  companion  of  St.  Ursula, 
native  of  Cornwall,  where  she  has  a 
dedication.  Stanton. 

St.  Elemura,  May  21,  V.  M.  Native 
of  Syria.  Mentioned  in  the  additions  to 
Greven's  Mart.,  but  unknown  to  the 
Bollandists.  AA.SS. 

B.  Elena,  Helen  (13). 

SS.  Elenara  (l)  and  Sponsaria, 


May  2,  VV.MM.  c.  303.  Companions 
of  St.  Macua.  AA.SS. 

St.  Elenara  (2),  March  28  (Ele- 
vara,  Elvaba^).  Honoured  at  St. 
Riquier.  Guenn. 

B.  Eleonora  de  Correa,  Feb.  23. 
Nun  in  a  Benedictine  convent  at  Castris, 
in  Portugal.  She  lost  the  power  of 
speech  from  inflammation  of  the  throat, 
but  it  was  restored  just  before  her  death. 
The  day  she  died,  the  candles  that  were 
lighted  in  the  chapel,  not  only  burnt  all 
day  and  were  still  whole  at  night,  but 
the  wax  was  increased  by  one-fifth.  The 
angels  sang  at  her  death.  Bucelinus. 

B.  Eleri.  6th  or  7th  century. 
Daughter  of  Dingad.  Lived  at  Pennant, 
in  Gwytherin,  Denbighshire.    Eees,  275. 

St.  Eleutheria,  French  Lethere. 
Supposed  to  be  the  same  as  Liceria. 

St.  Elevara,  Elenara  (2). 

St.  Elevetha,  Almheda. 

St.  Elfgiva,  Elgiva. 

St.  Elfgyfe,  Elgiva. 

St.  Elfleda  (1),  Feb.  8  (/Elbfled,  - 

^CLFL^ED,  iELFLED,  ALFREDE,  ElBFLEDA, 

El8fledt,  Ethelfleta),  V.  c.  713. 
Abbess  of  Whitby.  Daughter  of  King 
Oswy  of  Northumbria  and  St.  Eaufleda. 
Niece  of  St.  Oswald. 

Elfleda,  when  scarcely  a  year  old,  was 
vowed  by  her  father  to  the  service  of 
God  in  perpetual  virginity,  as  a  thank- 
offering  for  his  victory  over  the  pagan 
Mercians,  which  liberated  his  country 
and  established  Christianity  in  it.  She 
was  at  once  consigned  to  the  care  of  the 
holy  abbess  Hilda,  then  living  at  Hartle- 
pool. Two  years  later,  Hilda  built  the 
famous  double  monastery  of  Streanes- 
halch,  afterwards  Whitby,  with  the  dowry 
bestowed  on  Elfleda  by  her  father  Oswy. 
There  Elfleda,  never  regretting  her 
destiny,  lived  for  sixty  years,  first  as  a 
learner,  and  afterwards  as  a  teacher  of 
monastic  holiness.  She  succeeded  Hilda 
as  abbess  in  680.  St.  Trumwin,  formerly 
a  missionary  bishop  among  the  Picts, 
assisted  her  in  the  management  of  her 
monastery,  where  he  rested  from  his 
labours  and  where  he  was  buried.  Once 
when  deprived  by  illness  of  the  use  of 
her  limbs,  she  was  cured  by  the  girdle 
of  St.  Cuthbert,  which  he  sent  to  her. 
This  girdle  also  cured  one  of  the  nuns 


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of  an  intolerable  pain  in  the  head. 
Elfleda  worked  a  winding-sheet  for  him 
and  sent  it  to  him. 

Theodore,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
wrote  to  Elfleda,  abbess  of  Whitby,  ask- 
ing her  to  befriend  St.  Wilfrid  when  he 
was  recalled  from  exile  by  King  Eald- 
frith.  The  king  again  quarrelled  with 
Wilfrid,  but  on  his  deathbed  he  sent  for 
Elfleda,  and  she  afterwards  declared  at 
a  council  of  prelates  that  her  brother  in 
his  last  hours  desired  a  reconciliation. 

Elfleda  outlived  Wilfrid.  Her  friend, 
St.  Cuthbert,  died  in  687  ;  she  was 
present  at  his  translation  in  098,  and 
wrapped  him  in  a  linen  cloth. 

AAJ3S.  Bede,  Eccl.  Hist,  lib.  iii. 
cap.  24.  Montalembert,  Monks  of  the 
West,  iv.  Eckenstein. 

St.  Elfleda  (2)  of  Glastonbury, 
April  13,  is  mentioned  in  an  old  English 
martyrology.  She  is  the  same  as  Elgiva 
(3). 

St.  Elfleda  (3),  or  Ethelflasd.  10th 
century.  Daughter  of  Edward  the  Elder. 
Nun  at  Eumsey  or  Wilton.  Sister  of 
St.  Edburga  (6). 

St.  Elfreda,  July  9.  Probably  same 
as  Elfleda.  AA.SS. 

St  Elgina,  or  Elgisa,  Elgiva  (3). 

St.  Elgiva  (1),  Oct.  19  (Algiva, 
Angina).  End  of  7th  century.  The 
holy  woman  who  taught  Frldeswide  to 
be  a  saint.  St.  Elgin's  church,  at  Ford- 
ingham,  near  Hull,  in  Yorkshire,  is 
supposed  to  take  its  name  from  Elgiva, 
the  festival  being  on  the  same  day  as 
that  of  St.  Frideswide.  Miss  Arnold 
Forster  thinks  Elgin  is  perhaps  Elphin, 
an  obscure  Welshman,  a  saint  who  has 
a  church  at  Warrington;  he  was  con- 
temporary with  St.  David. 

St.  Elgiva  (2),  June  4,  V.  Abbess 
of  Shaftesbury.  Daughter  of  Alfred, 
king  of  England,  who  built  that  monas- 
tery for  her  in  880.  Commemorated  in 
the  Benedictine  Martyrology,  but  the 
Bollandists  think  she  has  no  place  in 
the  Calendar,  and  that  Bucelinus  and 
others  have  confused  her  with  Elgiva  (4). 

St.  Elgiva  (3)  of  Glastonbury,  Oct. 
23  (iELGISA,  Alfgina,  Algina,  Algisa, 
Elfgiva,  Elfleda,  Elgina,  Elgisa, 
Ethelfleda,  Ethelgiva,  Ithelgeofu, 
etc.).    +  c.  936.    Niece  or  other  near 


relation  of  Athelstane,  king  of  England 
(925-940).  Yepes  calls  her  Elgina,  and 
says  she  was  earner  era  mayor  to  the 
queen,  and  governess  to  her  children. 
Hearing  of  the  sanctity  of  St.  Dunstan, 
she  determined  to  settle  at  Glastonbury, 
that  she  might  profit  by  his  instruction. 
She  therefore  built  a  house  close  to  his 
monastery  at  Glastonbury,  and  with  his 
sanction  she  built  a  chapel  in  honour  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  and  appointed  a  certain 
number  of  canons  to  perform  the  offices, 
for  which  sorvice  she  endowed  them 
with  fat  livings.  Hearing  that  the  king 
was  coming  to  Glastonbury,  she  sent 
and  asked  him,  with  all  his  followers,  to 
rest  and  dine  at  her  house.  He  accepted 
the  invitation,  and  some  of  his  attendants 
came  before  him  to  see  that  all  was  in 
order  for  his  reception.  They  said  to 
her,  "  Tour  preparations  are  perfect ;  you 
have  everything  that  king  or  man  could 
wish  for,  if  only  you  do  not  run  short  of 
mead."  She  replied  that  the  Virgin 
Mary  would  not  allow  such  a  misfortune 
to  happen.  Athelstane  arrived  with  his 
suite,  attended  mass,  and  then  came  to 
Elgiva's  house  and  sat  down  to  dinner. 
At  the  first  draught  that  he  took,  he 
emptied  a  flagon  of  mead  all  but  about 
half  a  pint.  The  saint  continued  to  help 
him  and  his  retinue  out  of  the  same 
flagon.  There  was  but  a  cupful  at  the 
bottom  of  the  flask,  but  it  was  miracu- 
lously increased,  for  she  poured  without 
stint,  and  after  her  numerous  guests  had 
all  had  enough,  there  was  still  a  cup  of 
mead  left  in  the  flask. 

After  living  very  piously  at  Glaston- 
bury for  some  years,  Elgiva  was  taken 
ill,  and  felt  that  death  was  near.  St. 
Dunstan  came  to  see  her,  and  exhorted 
her  to  bear  all  her  sufferings  with 
patience.  She  charged  him  to  give  all 
her  things  to  the  poor,  and  to  sell  her 
land  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church.  He 
stayed  so  late  talking  to  her,  that  when 
he  got  back  to  the  monastery,  the  door 
was  locked  for  the  night,  so  he  stood 
outside  it,  saying  his  prayers.  While 
he  was  singing  the  psalms,  he  saw  a 
shining  white  dove  fly  in  at  Elgiva's 
window.  He  returned  at  once  to  her 
room,  where  he  heard  two  voices  talking 
about  eternal  life.    He  saw  that  the 


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room  was  brilliantly  lit  np,  and  he  heard 
the  well-known  voice  of  Elgiva  thanking 
the  other  speaker.  He  opened  the  door, 
and  found  her  alone.  "  Who  were  you 
talking  to  ?  "  asked  he.  "  The  Lord,  who 
appeared  to  you  when  you  were  waiting 
and  praying  at  the  door  of  the  church, 
has  visited  me,  and  promised  me  eternal 
glory,  and  now  I  no  longer  fear  the  devil." 
She  then  asked  him  to  bring  her  the  last 
sacraments  next  day.  This  he  did,  and 
afterwards  buried  her  in  the  church 
where  she  had  so  often  prayed. 

AA.SS.  Acts  of  St.  Dunstan,  May  1 9. 
Yepes,  Discurso  de  la  Historia,  Sermon 
246. 

St.  Elgiva  (4),  May  18  (^lfgiva, 
^Elgysa,  Algina,  Algiva,  Algyfa, 
Edgiva,  Elfgyfb,  Ethelgiva,  Ithel- 
geofu,  etc.).  Queen  of  England.  Wife 
of  Edmund  the  Elder,  king  of  England 
(940-946).  Mother  of  Kings  Edwy 
(955-958)  and  Edgar  the  Peaceable 
(958-975).  Grandmother  of  St.  Edith 
(5).  Some  accounts  say  Elgiva  died 
before  her  husband,  and  that  he  married 
again.  According  to  others,  she  survived 
him,  founded  the  monastery  of  Shaftes- 
bury, with  the  help  of  her  son  Edgar, 
and  died  a  nun  there  about  966  or  970. 
There  seems  to  be  some  confusion  be- 
tween her  and  Elgiva  (2). 

St  Elibonbane,  May  25.  6th  cen- 
tury. Mother  of  St.  Goneri  of  Bretagne. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Elide,  Aug.  24,  nun.  O.S.B. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Elidru,  Ethelreda. 

St.  Elie,  or  ^lya,  perhaps  Helyade. 
(See  Helia.) 

St.  Elined,  Almheda. 

St.  Elisabeth  (1),  Babet,  Isabel, 
Nov.  5.  Mother  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
and  cousin  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

[Represented :  (1)  As  an  old  woman 
sitting  as  a  member  of  the  Holy  Family, 
with  her  son,  St.  John,  and  the  Infant 
Saviour  on  her  lap  ;  (2)  at  the  door  of 
her  house,  welcoming  the  B.  V.  Mary, 
whom  she  was  the  first  to  greet  as  the 
mother  of  her  Lord ;  (3)  dying  in  the 
desert. 

Elisabeth  was  of  the  race  of  Aaron, 
wife  of  a  priest  named  Zacharias.  "  They 
were  both  righteous  before  Gk)d,  walking 


in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances 
of  the  Lord  blameloss."  They  were  old 
and  childless  when  Zacharias  in  his  turn 
went  to  the  temple  to  burn  incense.  As 
he  stood  before  the  altar,  the  angel 
Gabriel  appeared  to  him,  and  told  him 
that  he  should  have  a  son,  whom  he  was 
to  call  John,  and  who  should  bring  joy 
to  him  and  to  many  others,  and  should 
turn  many  of  the  children  of  Israel  to 
God,  and  be  His  forerunner.  St. 
Zacharias  hesitated  to  believe  the  pro- 
mise, and  was  struck  dumb  until  the 
child  was  born  and  named  (St.  Luke  i.). 

The  Greeks  observe  the  festival  of  the 
conception  of  St.  John  on  Sept.  23 ;  some 
of  the  old  Latin  martyrologies  mark  it 
on  the  24th. 

Six  months  after  the  apparition  of  the 
angel  to  Zacharias,  the  B.  V.  Mary  came 
to  pay  them  a  visit  at  their  home  in  the 
hill-country  of  Judea.  St.  Mary  had 
already  been  told  by  the  an^el  of  tho 
expectations  of  her  aged  cousin,  and  as 
soon  as  she  arrived  at  the  house, 
Elisabeth  returned  her  greeting  by  the 
well-known  blessing  and  recognition  by 
herself  and  her  unborn  child.  The  B.  V. 
Mary  stayed  with  her  about  three  months; 
after  her  return  to  her  own  house,  Elisa- 
beth's child  was  born,  and  named  John ; 
his  father's  power  of  speech  was  restored, 
and  he  spoke  the  prophetic  hymn,  be- 
ginning, "  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel"  (St.  Luke  i.  68,  etc.). 

The  gospel  ascribed  to  St.  James,  but 
not  reputed  authentic,  gives  the  legend 
that  when  Herod  ordered  the  massacre 
of  the  children  in  Bethlehem,  Elisabeth, 
fearing  for  her  son,  fled  with  him  to  the 
mountains ;  but  finding  no  cave  in  which 
to  hide,  and  being  unable  to  climb,  said, 
"  O  Mountain  of  the  Lord,  receive  the 
mother  with  the  child,"  the  mountain 
thereupon  opened  and  received  them 
into  a  place  of  security  until  the  danger 
was  past.  Meantime  the  persecutors 
summoned  Zacharias  to  give  up  his  son, 
and  as  he  would  not  tell  them  where  he 
was,  Herod  ordered  him  to  be  killed  in 
the  temple.  B.M.  Protevangelion  Gospel 
of  James,  xvi.  3-7.  Migne,  Encyclopedic 
ThSologique,  ii.  274,  "  Elisabeth," 

St.  Elisabeth  (2),  Oct.  22,  M.  2nd 
or  3rd  century.    Converted  by  seeing 


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the  constancy  of  St.  Alexander,  bishop, 
under  torture,  and  put  to  death  im- 
mediately after  him.  AA.SS.  (See 
Anna  (5).) 

St  Elisabeth  (3),  one  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  St.  Sophia.  Coptic  Calendar. 
(See  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity.) 

St  Elisabeth  (4),  Sept.  19.  Kecluse 
in  a  very  damp  cave  near  Messina,  in 
Sicily,  with  SS.  Nicander,  Gregory,  Peter, 
and  Demetrius.  Nicander  was  a  young 
nobleman  of  Italy.  He  fled  from  the 
seductions  of  the  world  to  a  holy  bishop, 
who  ordained  him  priest.  He  associated 
himself  with  three  other  good  men,  and 
a  wise  and  pious  woman  named  Elisa- 
beth. They  found  a  cave  more  like  a 
sepulohre  than  a  dwelling  for  living  men, 
in  the  mountains  looking  towards  Europe. 
In  answer  to  their  prayers  they  all  died 
at  the  same  time.  A  shepherd  in  winter 
went  for  shelter  to  the  cave  with  his 
beasts,  and  found  their  bodies  shining 
and  giving  out  a  heavenly  fragrance.  He 
fetched  the  bishop,  who  discovered  that 
the  bodies  restored  life  to  the  dead,  etc. 
The  father  of  Nicander  came  among 
others  to  see  the  wonderful  discovery, 
and  recognized  his  son.  Suysken  in 
AA.SS. 

St.  Elisabeth  (5),  the  Miracle- 
worker,  April  24,  V.,  had,  in  a  wonderful 
degree,  the  gift  of  ministering  to  all  tho 
woes  and  wants  of  her  fellow-creatures. 
She  cured  diseases,  cast  out  devils,  and 
destroyed  an  enormous  serpent.  She 
fasted  forty  days,  and  for  many  years 
did  not  taste  bread  or  oil ;  went  bare- 
footed, and  wore  a  single  garment 
summer  and  winter;  endured  extreme 
cold,  but  was  inflamed  with  the  love  of 
God.  For  three  years  she  kept  her 
mind's  eye  fixed  on  God,  but  never  raised 
her  bodily  eye  to  heaven.  During  her 
whole  life  she  never  took  a  bath.  She 
is  honoured  both  in  the  Greek  and  Latin 
Churches.  The  dust  from  her  tomb 
cured  all  sorts  of  diseases.  Henschenius, 
in  AA.SS.,  from  a  MS.  Greek  Synaxary 
in  the  Claromontane  College,  Paris. 
Menology  of  Basil. 

B.  Elisabeth  (6),  May  9.  +863, 
O  S.B.  Abbess  of  Tabana,  near  Cordova. 
Wife  of  Jeremiah,  M.,  founder  of  that 
monastery.     Sister  of  Columba  (11). 


Elisabeth  is  mentioned  in  the  lives  of 
many  of  the  martyrs  in  the  persecution 
under  Abderrahman.    AA.SS.  Prseter. 

St.  Elisabeth  (7)  Rose,  Dec.  13. 
+  1130.  Founder  and  first  abbess  of 
Ste.  Marie  du  Rozoy,  was  born  in  the 
diocese  of  Troyes.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Radulph  de  Crepy ;  her  mother  was 
Adele,  countess  of  Bar-sur-Aube.  Her 
sister  Adele  married,  first,  Thibaut  I., 
count  of  Champagne;  second,  Herbert 
IV.,  count  of  Vermandois. 

Elisabeth  was  a  nun  at  Chelles,  and 
secured  protection  and  privileges  for  it 
through  her  relation,  Rodolph  of  Ver- 
mandois, seneschal  of  France,  under 
Louis  VI. 

She  went  with  two  nuns  to  Chateau 
Landon,  in  Seine-et-Marne.  They  con- 
structed poor  huts  for  themselves  in  an 
unwholesome  marshy  place  at  Rozoy, 
two  leagues  from  Courtenay,  in  Lolret. 
The  two  nuns,  discouraged,  returned  to 
Chelles.  Elisabeth  lived  in  a  hollow 
oak,  feeding  on  roots  and  fruits.  The 
shepherds  and  peasants  laughed  at  her, 
but  soon  became  convinced  of  her  good- 
ness ;  and  when  they  saw  that  other  nuns 
came  to  her,  they  helped  to  build  them 
a  house.  More  nuns  joined  them,  and 
the  place  became  a  considerable  monas- 
tery, of  which  Elisabeth  was  abbess. 
She  was  distinguished  for  miracles,  both 
in  her  life  and  after  her  death,  which 
occurred  in  1130.  Some  years  later, 
the  house  being  destroyed  in  the  wars 
with  England,  the  nuns  removed  to  Ville- 
chausson,  in  Gatinois.  They  styled  their 
founder  Ste.  Rose  de  Villechausson. 

Lechner,  Mart.  Ben.  Guerin  says  that 
she  appears  as  a  saint  in  the  Martyrology 
of  France  and  in  Gallia  Christiana. 

B.  Elisabeth  (8)  de  Favernai.  12th 
century.  First  abbess  of  Notre  Dame  de 
Tart,  the  first  Cistercian  nunnery. 

The  abbey  of  Tart,  in  Langres,  was 
founded  about  the  year  1120,  through 
the  liberality  of  Arnoul  de  Cornu  and 
Emeline  his  wife.  Their  daughter 
Elisabeth,  widow  of  Humbert  de  Mailli, 
seigneur  de  Favernai,  was  a  nun  in  the 
Benedictine  monastery  of  Julli.  St. 
Stephen,  abbot  of  Citeaux,  arranged  the 
rules,  appointed  Elisabeth  first  abbess  of 
Tart,  and  brought  her  and  several  of  her 

*  s 


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258 


ST.  ELISABETH 


Bister  nuns  from  Julli  to  begin  the 
establishment.  Helyot,  Ordres  Mon.9 
v.  45. 

St.  Elisabeth  (9)  of  Schonau,  June 
18,  1129-1165,  O.S.B. 

The  memory  of  Elisabeth  of  Schonau 
comes  down  to  the  modern,  busy,  utili- 
tarian world  chiefly  as  that  of  a  dreamer 
of  silly  dreams,  and  a  spinner  of  long, 
dull  yarns;  but  her  real  importance  was, 
like  that  of  her  neighbour  and  corre- 
spondent, Hildegabd  (13)  of  Bingen,  as 
a  denouncer  of  the  vices  of  the  age,  and 
especially  of  abuses  in  the  Church.  Of 
obscure  birth,  she  was  a  nun  at  Schonau 
or  Schonaug,  which  means  a  beautiful 
field.  Germany  contains  many  places 
of  the  same  name.  This  one  was, 
according  to  Preger,  about  five  German 
— i.e.  about  thirty  English — miles  north- 
east of  the  Rupertsberg  at  Bingen,  where 
St.  Hildegard  was  living.  Elisabeth 
took  the  veil  very  young  in  the  nunnery 
beside  the  Benedictine  abbey  at  Schonau. 
Earnest,  observant,  active-minded,  she 
sought  holiness  for  herself  by  great 
austerity,  adding  to  the  ill-health  with 
which  God  afflicted  her,  the  suffering  of 
a  hair  shirt,  an  iron  chain,  fasting  of 
almost  incredible  rigour,  and  other  self- 
inflicted  tortures.  In  a  state  of  bodily 
prostration  and  mental  activity,  she  was 
inspired  to  utter  prophecies  of  judgments 
to  fall  on  the  unfaithful  shepherds  of 
the  Church,  on  the  avarice,  the  worldli- 
noss,  the  selfishness  in  high  places  and 
low.  She  sent  her  warnings  to  bishops 
and  archbishops ;  she  lifted  up  her 
testimony  against  the  Pope  on  his 
throne,  and  against  the  most  obscure 
among  the  clergy ;  with  the  earnestness 
of  a  prophet  and  the  truth  of  a  looking- 
glass,  she  denounced,  rebuked,  and  called 
them  to  repentance.  She  had  very  good 
judgment  in  common  matters,  was  much 
esteemed  by  her  relations  and  neighbours, 
and  as  highly  thought  of  as  St.  Hildegard. 
Meditating  on  the  lives  of  saints  and  the 
lessons  and  offices  for  their  festivals,  all 
that  she  had  read  of  them  took  root  in 
her  mind,  and  was  expanded  and  padded 
until  it  took  the  form  of  a  revelation. 
The  saint  of  each  special  festival  ap- 
peared to  her,  and  she  described  their 
personal  appearance  and  gave  minute 


details  of  their  lives.  Her  brother 
Eckbert  wrote  down  many  of  these 
visions  from  her  dictation.  He  was  a 
preacher  of  Cologne,  but  when  she 
attained  to  such  great  fame,  he  became 
a  monk  at  Schonau,  and  eventually  abbot 
there. 

One  of  her  most  famous  revelations 
was  on  the  subject  of  St.  Ursula  and 
her  companions.  It  is  thus  accounted 
for  by  Baillet.  In  1150,  Gerlac,  abbot 
of  Duitz,  by  the  authority  of  St.  Anno, 
bishop  of  Cologne,  made  a  solemn 'trans- 
lation of  the  body  of  St.  Ursula  from  the 
tomb  where  it  had  lain  for  hundreds  of 
years,  into  the  abbey,  where  it  may  be 
seen  in  a  silver  case.  The  head  had 
been  removed  in  the  7th  century,  and 
several  churches  in  different  places 
claimed  the  honour  of  its  presence. 
After  the  translation  of  the  body  a  great 
stimulus  was  given  to  the  worship  of 
this  saint,  and  many  churches  were 
dedicated  in  her  name.  Gerlac  soon 
began  to  search  for  the  bodies  of  her 
companions.  He  spent  nine  years  in 
this  pious  work,  and  found  an  immense 
number  of  bodies  of  women,  and  some 
of  men,  who  were  supposed  to  have  been 
partakers  of  the  adventures  and  martyr- 
dom of  the  virgins.  The  news  of  this 
great  discovery  appears  to  have  deeply 
impressed  the  romantic  and  credulous 
mind  of  Elisabeth,  and  at  the  same  time 
Gerlac  urged  Eckbert  to  obtain,  if 
possible,  some  light  on  the  subject  from 
his  favoured  sister.  She  dictated  a  very 
long  story  about  it,  in  which  she 
arranged  the  relationship  of  some  of  the 
eleven  thousand  virgins,  and  many  other 
particulars  concerning  them  and  their 
companions,  male  and  female. 

Baillet  says  the  news  of  this  discovery 
was  the  source  of  the  famous  revelations 
on  which  Elisabeth,  or — to  spare  the 
honour  of  this  blessed  one — those  who 
governed  her  pen,  established  the  fictions 
which  they  were  not  ashamed  to  hand 
down  to  Christian  posterity  as  facts. 
The  Bollandists'  account  of  St.  Ursula 
contains  a  copy  of  these  "imaginary 
revelations,"  of  the  catalogue  preserved 
at  Duitz  by  Gerlac,  and  of  several  in- 
scriptions reputed  to  have  been  found  at 
the  tombs  of  the  eleven  thousand. 


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ST.  ELISABETH 


259 


Some  of  Elisabeth's  writings  contain 
gross  anachronisms.  Therefore  some 
later  writers  have  supposed  them  to  be 
spurious ;  but  Preger  and  others  con- 
sider them  genuine.  A  letter  to  St 
Hildegard  is  of  undoubted  authenticity ; 
in  it  she  complains  of  the  circulation  of 
a  letter  fixing  the  end  of  the  world,  and 
wrongly  attributed  to  her. 

Elisabeth's  writings  are  in  six  books ; 
the  first  and  second  are  separate  visions ; 
the  third,  begun  in  1156,  is  entitled 
Liber  Viarum  Dei;  the  rest  are  revela- 
tions and  letters. 

One  of  Eckbert's  sermons  is  extant; 
also  a  letter  written  about  her,  during 
her  life,  by  her  nephew,  Simon,  a  clerk 
of  Schonau. 

Preger  refers  to  a  book,  Revelationes 
SS.  Virginum  Hildegardis  et  Elizabeth se 
Scheenaugiensis  Ordinis  S.  Benedict^  ex- 
antiquis  monumentis  edit®.  Col.  Agr. 
1628.  B.M.  Papebroch,  AA.SS.,  from 
her  Life  by  her  brother.  Preger, 
Deutsche  Mystik.  Baillet,  Vies,  "St. 
Ursule." 

B.  Elisabeth  (10),  of  Bohemia. 
12th  century.  Prioress  of  the  Praamon- 
stratensian  convent  of  Duxovia.  Sister 
of  B.  Ahabilia.  Chanowski,  Bohemia 
Pia. 

St  Elisabeth  (11),  Nov.  19.  1207- 
1231.  Princess  of  Hungary.  Landgra- 
vine of  Thuringia.  3rd  O.S.F.  Patron 
of  the  poor. 

Represented  :  (1 )  with  her  lap  full 
of  roses ;  (2)  surrounded  by  cripples  and 
beggars ;  (3)  praying,  wearing  a  crown 
and  royal  robes,  the  Wartburg  in  the 
distance ;  (A)  holding  two  crowns  in  her 
hands,  or  three  crowns  on  an  open  book. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  13th  century, 
Hermann,  Jandgrave  of  Thuringia  and 
Hess,  and  count  palatine,  was  one  of 
the  most  renowned  princes  of  Germany ; 
he  was  related  to  the  illustrious  houses 
of  Bohemia,  Austria,  and  Bavaria,  and 
distinguished  for  his  generosity,  justice, 
learning,  and  piety.  Walter  von  der 
Yogelweide,  the  greatest  poet  of  this 
period,  has  immortalized  his  virtues  and 
accompli  shments. 

In  1207  the  master  minstrel,  Kling- 
sohr,  came  to  Hermann's  castle — the 
Wartburg,  the  residence  of  the  sovereigns 


of  Thuringia,  above  Eisenach — to  decide 
a  contest  between  six  celebrated  German 
poets.  While  there,  he  declared  that 
he  saw  a  brilliant  star  rise  in  Hungary 
and  shine  from  there  to  Marburg,  and 
from  Marburg  illumine  the  whole  world. 
This  he  interpreted  to  mean  that  a 
daughter  was  born  that  night  to  the 
King  of  Hungary,  who  should  be  given 
in  marriage  to  the  son  of  Duke  Her- 
mann, and  in  whom  holiness  should 
gladden  and  console  all  Christendom. 

Hungary  at  this  time  was  governed 
by  Andrew  II.,  famous  for  his  wars 
against  the  infidel  nations  round  his 
frontier,  and  still  more  for  his  generosity 
towards  the  Church  and  the  poor.  His 
beautiful  wife  Gertrude  was  the  daughter 
of  Berchtold,  duke  of  Meran,  Carinthia, 
etc.,  and  sister  of  St.  Hkdwig  (3),  duchess 
of  Silesia. 

Elisabeth,  the  daughter  of  Andrew 
and  Gertrude,  was  born  in  1207,  and 
from  her  cradle  showed  that  she  was 
destined  to  be  an  honour  to  her  sex  and 
family.  Holy  names  were  the  first 
words  she  uttered,  and  her  first  lessons 
were  prayers.  From  the  time  of  her 
birth  the  wars  in  which  Hungary  had 
been  engaged  ceased,  as  well  as  the 
internal  dissensions  which  had  pre- 
viously convulsed  the  kingdom.  Every 
one  remarked  the  coincidence  of  this 
peace  and  prosperity  with  the  birth  of 
an  infant  of  such  precocious  piety ;  and 
when,  later  on,  the  promises  of  her  early 
years  were  so  strikingly  fulfilled,  the 
Hungarians  loved  to  think  that  no  royal 
child  had  ever  brought  so  many  gifts  to 
her  country. 

Duke  Hermann,  meanwhile,  having 
heard  of  the  birth  of  the  princess  and 
the  many  tokens  of  devotion  which  she 
had  already  shown,  was  exceedingly 
desirous  to  see  Klingsohr's  prediction 
accomplished.  Accordingly  he  des- 
patched to  Hungary  a  numerous  com- 
pany  of  nobles  and  ladies  to  ask  the 
hand  of  Elisabeth,  now  four  years  old, 
for  his  son  Louis,  and  to  bring  her  with 
them  to  Thuringia.  The  princess  was 
confided  with  many  prayers  into  the 
hands  of  Walter  of  Varila,  one  of  the 
nobles,  who  swore  that  he  would  always  be 
devoted  to  her— a  promise  he  faithfully 


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ST.  ELISABETH 


kept.  Hermann  appointed  some  high- 
born children  to  be  her  companions; 
one  was  his  daughter  Agnes,  afterwards 
duchess  of  Austria;  another  was  that 
Guda  who  remained  with  Elisabeth  until 
shortly  before  her  death,  and  related 
many  stories  of  the  piety  and  humility 
of  the  young  princess,  who  strove  to  do 
everything  to  the  honour  of  God.  She 
chose  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  St.  John 
the  Evangelist  as  her  special  patrons, 
and  never  refused  anything  asked  in  the 
name  of  St  John. 

When  she  was  nine  years  old,  Her- 
mann, the  father  of  her  future  husband, 
died.  His  widow,  the  Landgravine  Sophia, 
and  his  daughter  Agnes  treated  Elisa- 
beth with  great  unkindness.  As  she  grew 
older,  they  and  many  of  the  nobles  urged 
Louis  to  send  her  back  to  her  own  coun- 
try, and  to  marry  the  daughter  of  some 
neighbouring  king,  who  would  be  able 
to  help  them  in  times  of  danger.  Louis, 
however,  who  was  tenderly  attached  to 
Elisabeth,  would  not  listen  to  these  repre- 
sentations, and  the  marriage  was  cele- 
brated with  great  pomp  and  with  feasting, 
dancing,  and  tournaments,  at  the  castlo 
of  the  Wartburg,  in  1220,  the  bride  being 
then  only  thirteen  years  old  and  her 
husband  twenty.  Louis  was  in  every 
way  worthy  of  his  young  wife ;  he  was 
beloved  alike  by  rich  and  poor,  and  by 
reason  of  the  strict  justice  he  adminis- 
tered, his  country  was  law-abiding  and 
peaceful.  Elisabeth  and  he  were  a  mutual 
help  to  each  other  in  their  daily  life  and 
on  their  heavenward  way.  When  pos- 
sible, she  accompanied  him  on  his  jour- 
neys to  the  different  parts  of  his  kingdom. 
When,  however,  this  was  not  feasible, 
and  Elisabeth  was  left  at  home,  she  laid 
aside  her  queenly  robes  and  assumed  the 
garb  and  veil  of  a  widow,  praying  fer- 
vently for  her  husband's  safety.  She 
was  allowed  by  Louis  to  take  a  vow  of 
obedience  to  her  confessor  in  all  that 
was  not  contrary  to  marital  authority. 
She  fasted  often,  and  always  wore  hair- 
cloth and  the  plainest  dresses;  it  was 
only  to  please  her  husband,  and  when 
reasons  of  state  required  it,  that  she 
wore  her  royal  robes.  Kindness  to  the 
poor  was  one  of  the  most  distinctive 
traits  of  the  epoch  in  which  she  lived, 


especially  among  the  princes,  and  Elisa- 
beth, by  the  more  than  tender  pity  which 
she  evinced  towards  the  poor,  the  sick, 
and  the  unfortunate,  gained  the  surname 
"  Patron  of  the  Poor."  That  she  might 
share  their  poverty,  and  know  what  poor 
and  scanty  food  was  like,  she  often,  while 
sitting  at  an  abundant  and  well-served 
meal,  ate  nothing  but  a  limited  supply 
of  vegetables  prepared  without  sauce  or 
condiment  of  any  sort. 

It  is  recorded  in  one  of  the  ancient 
chronicles  that,  entering  the  town  one 
day,  Elisabeth,  who  was  richly  dressed 
and  crowned,  met  a  crowd  of  poor  people 
to  whom  she  gave  all  the  money  she  had. 
When  all  the  silver  had  been  distributed, 
she  saw  a  poor  man  who  had  nothing, 
and  to  him  she  gave  her  embroidered 
glove.  A  young  cavalier  who  was  fol- 
lowing them  bought  the  glove  from  the 
beggar,  and  attached  it  to  his  helmet  as 
a  token  of  the  Divine  protection.  From 
this  moment  he  triumphed  in  every  com- 
bat and  tournament  in  which  he  engaged, 
both  in  Europe  and  in  the  Crusades.  On 
his  death-bed  he  declared  that  he  attri- 
buted all  his  success  and  glory  to  the 
fact  of  always  carrying  with  him  this 
souvenir  of  St  Elisabeth.  It  was  not, 
however,  only  with  presents  and  money 
that  she  sought  to  alleviate  the  condition 
of  the  poor,  but  by  going  constantly 
amongst  them  and  cheering  them  with 
loving  words  and  acts.  One  day,  laden 
as  usual  with  bread,  eggs,  and  meat,  she 
went  to  see  some  of  her  people.  She 
suddenly  met  her  husband  returning 
from  hunting.  Astonished  to  see  her  so 
laden,  he  asked  what  she  was  carrying, 
and  at  the  same  time  opened  the  bundle. 
There  he  saw  a  mass  of  lovely  red  and 
white  roses.  This  surprised  him  vory 
much,  as  it  was  not  the  season  for  such 
flowers.  When  he  saw  that  Elisabeth 
was  troubled,  he  was  about  to  reassure 
her  with  his  caresses,  but  was  arrested 
by  seeing  a  large  luminous  crucifix  ap- 
pearing on  her  head.  He  begged  her  to 
continue  on  her  way,  and  returned  him- 
self to  the  Wartburg,  meditating  on  this 
manifestation  of  the  Divine  favour,  and 
carrying  with  him  one  of  the  roses,  which 
he  kept  as  sacred  all  his  life.  Mean- 
time, the  duchess  distributed  the  flowers 


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261 


to  her  protSges,  and  in  their  hands  they 
again  turned  into  bread  and  meat.  At 
the  place  where  this  vision  was  seen, 
Louis  erected  a  cross  to  consecrate  the 
spot  for  ever. 

Lepers  were  objects  of  her  especial 
charity  and  tenderness.  Once,  finding 
a  poor  little  boy  so  dreadfully  disfigured 
with  leprosy  that  no  one  liked  to  go  near 
him,  she  washed  and  fed  him,  and  then 
put  him  in  her  own  bed.  The  Land- 
gravine Sophia,  who  never  approved  of 
her  indiscriminate  charity,  called  Louis, 
and  said  indignantly,  "  See  what  Elisa- 
beth has  done  now !  She  prefers  these 
loathsome  creatures  to  your  health — 
your  life !  She  has  put  one  in  your  bed, 
and  you  will  catch  the  leprosy."  Louis 
rushed  to  her  room,  and  angrily  drawing 
back  the  curtains,  beheld  the  Saviour 
lying  in  the  bed.  From  that  moment 
he  never  allowed  Elisabeth  to  be  opposed 
in  any  of  her  charitable  works.  After 
this  incident,  she  got  him  to  build  a 
hospital  halfway  up  to  the  castle..  There 
she  daily  visited  and  nursed  twenty- 
eight  persons  who  were  unable  to  climb 
the  steep  hill. 

Once,  when  some  guests  arrived  at  the 
Wartburg  from  her  father's  Court,  Elisa- 
beth— having  given  away  to  the  beggars 
a  velvet  gown  embroidered  with  jewels, 
which  was  the  last  robe  she  had — de- 
clined to  appear  in  her  coarse  and  thread- 
bare clothes,  lest  the  strangers  on  their 
return  to  Hungary  should  say  that  Louis 
did  not  give  her  things  suitable  to  her 
rank.  Nevertheless,  Louis  urged  her  to 
come  with  him  and  entertain  the  Hun- 
garians. One  of  her  ladies  rushed  in 
despair  to  the  empty  wardrobe,  and  there 
found  the  identical  robe  which  Elisabeth 
had  given  to  the  beggar,  who  was  thence- 
forth believed  to  be  St.  Lazarus.  The 
jewels  were  more  brilliant  than  before. 

In  1221,  the  Order  of  St.  Francis  was 
definitely  established  in  Germany,  and 
from  no  one  did  they  receive  more  sym- 
pathy and  encouragement  than  from  the 
young  Duchess  of  Thuringia.  She  gave 
them  all  the  support  in  her  power,  and 
founded  a  church  and  convent  for  them 
at  Eisenach.  Her  confessor  for  some 
years  was  the  Franciscan  Hodinger. 
When  he  had  to  leave,  the  Pope  recom- 


mended Conrad  of  Marburg  as  his  suc- 
cessor. 

Conrad  was  a  man  highly  esteemed 
throughout  Germany  for  his  knowledge 
and  his  ascetic  piety.  One  of  his  con- 
temporaries said  of  him,  "  He  shines  in 
Germany  like  a  brilliant  star." 

Elisabeth  at  this  time  was  only  seven- 
teen years  old.  When  she  heard  that  a 
man  so  holy  and  so  renowned  was  to 
take  charge  of  her,  she  was  filled  with 
humility  and  gratitude,  and  when  Conrad 
approached  her,  she  fell  on  her  knees. 
He  saw  from  this  touching  conduot  on 
the  part  of  a  powerful  duchess  the  future 
glory  of  her  soul. 

About  1222,  Louis  and  Elisabeth  paid 
a  visit  to  her  father,  and  were  present 
at  his  second  marriage  to  Yolande  de 
Courtenay,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  of 
Constantinople. 

Elisabeth  became  a  mother  for  the 
first  time  in  1223,  when  her  son  Her- 
mann was  born.  Each  of  her  four  chil- 
dren she  dedicated  to  God  from  infancy. 
As  soon  after  her  confinement  as  she  was 
able,  she  took  the  babe  in  her  arms  and 
went  barefooted  and  in  coarse,  poor 
raiment,  toiling  up  a  long,  steep,  stony 
path  to  the  church  of  St.  Catherine,  and 
there  presented  her  child  at  the  steps  of 
the  altar,  entreating  God's  blessing  and 
consecrating  the  little  one  to  Him. 

In  1226  Louis  joined  the  Emperor 
Frederick  IL  in  Italy.  During  his 
absence  a  dreadful  famine  devastated 
Thuringia.  Elisabeth  did  everything 
that  was  possible  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor  and  suffering,  distributed  money  and 
food,  and  nursed  the  sick  and  dying 
with  the  utmost  tenderness.  Every  day 
nine  hundred  poor  persons  were  fed  in 
the  courtyard  of  the  Wartburg,  and 
countless  instances  are  cited  of  her 
boundless  generosity  and  thoughtfulness. 
She  also  founded  a  hospital  near  the 
castle,  which,  in  1331,  a  hundred  years 
after  her  death,  was  replaced  by  a  con- 
vent, founded  in  her  honour  by  the 
Landgrave  Frederick  the  Serious.  The 
district  still  bears  the  name  of  "The 
Valley  of  Elisabeth,"  and  a  well  of  pure 
water  where  the  duchess  was  wont  to 
wash  the  clothes  of  the  poor,  bears  her 
name  to  this  day. 


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262 


ST.  ELISABETH 


Duke  Louis  soon  returned  to  his 
country,  to  the  great  joy  of  Elisabeth 
and  all  his  people,  and  signified  his 
entire  approval  of  his  wife's  conduct. 
Thuringia,  however,  was  not  to  be  long 
blessed  with  the  presence  of  the  good 
duke,  and  Elisabeth  had  soon  to  part 
from  her  husband,  as  he  joined  the 
banner  of  the  cross  in  the  autumn  of 
1227.  Before  starting  for  the  Holy 
Land,  he  summoned  all  the  princes  and 
nobles,  and  conjured  them  to  govern  the 
country  with  mercy  and  equity  in  his 
absence,  at  the  same  time  recommending 
Elisabeth  and  his  children  to  the  care 
of  his  mother  and  brothers.  He  and 
the  few  nobles  who  accompanied  him 
now  joined  the  emperor,  but  the  em- 
barkation of  the  troops  was  retarded  for 
a  time  by  the  outbreak  of  an  epidemic. 
After  considerable  delay  they  set  sail, 
but  Louis,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  was 
attacked  by  fever,  and  died  at  Otranto, 
Sept.  11,  the  third  day  after  the  Nativity 
of  the  Holy  Virgin.  Just  before  his 
death  a  flock  of  white  doves  flew  into  his 
room,  and,  on  seeing  them,  he  remarked, 
"  I  must  fly  away  with  all  these  beautiful 
doves."  He  had  scarcely  uttered  these 
words  when  he  breathed  his  last. 

When  the  sad  news  reached  Thuringia, 
Elisabeth  had  just  given  birth  to  her 
fourth  child,  B.  Gertrude,  who  became 
abbess  of  Altenburg.  For  a  time  she 
was  surrounded  with  every  care  and 
attention,  but  soon  discontented  nobles 
persuaded  her  two  brothers-in-law,  Con- 
rad and  Henry,  to  order  her  banishment 
from  the  castle.  In  spite  of  the  remon- 
strances of  the  Landgravine  Sophia,  who 
had  now  learnt  to  appreciate  her  daughter- 
in-law,  Elisabeth,  her  children,  and  two 
maids  of  honour  were  expelled  from  the 
castle,  one  cold  day  in  the  middle  of 
winter.  Notwithstanding  all  she  had 
done  for  the  inhabitants  of  Eisenach,  not 
one  of  them  offered  her  shelter.  At  last 
she  had  to  take  refuge  in  a  humble 
tavern,  where  she  and  her  children 
suffered  much  from  cold  and  hunger, 
but  during  all  this  time  of  trouble  her 
fervent  faith  and  trust  in  the  Lord  was 
unchanged,  and  no  murmur  ever  passed 
her  lips.  She  spent  many  hours  in 
prayer,  and  her  two  companions,  Ysentrude 


and  Guda  (3),  testify  that  frequently  the 
Blessed  Virgin  and  other  saints  appeared 
to  her  in  visions. 

The  sad  condition  to  which  a  princess 
of  such  illustrious  birth  was  reduced 
soon  caused  some  of  her  relations  to 
interfere,  and  her  aunt  Matilda,  abbess 
of  Kitzingen,  sent  to  offer  her  and  her 
children  a  refuge  in  her  abbey.  They 
were  lodged  there  in  a  manner  befitting 
their  rank,  until  Elisabeth's  uncle  Egbert, 
prince  bishop  of  Bamberg,  gave  her  the 
castle  of  Bottenstein  as  a  residence. 
Soon  afterwards  the  Emperor  Frederick 
II.,  who  had  lost  his  wife  Yolande  of 
Jerusalem,  proposed  to  marry  Elisabeth. 
Her  unole  begged  her  to  consent,  but 
she  replied  that  she  wished  to  remain 
unmarried  for  the  rest  of  her  life,  in 
order  to  serve  God  alone.  She  visited 
several  monasteries,  and  to  that  of 
Andechs  —  O.S.B.,  in  the  Bavarian 
Tyrol— she  gave  her  wedding  dress, 
which  she  had  hitherto  kept  as  a  touch- 
ing souvenir  of  her  married  life. 

About  this  time,  the  Thuringian  nobles 
who  had  gone  to  the  Crusade  returned 
to  their  native  country,  and  brought  with 
them  the  remains  of  Duke  Louis,  in 
order  that  he  might  be  buried  as  he 
wished,  in  his  own  land.  He  was  laid 
to  rest  in  the  abbey  of  Keinhartsbrun. 
When  the  pilgrim  nobles  heard  of  the 
indignities  to  which  Elisabeth  and  her 
children  had  been  exposed,  they  were 
filled  with  wrath,  and  declared  they 
recognized  her  as  their  queen,  and  would 
always  defend  her.  They  accordingly 
addressed  such  vigorous  remonstrances 
to  the  Landgrave  Henry  and  his  brother 
that  they  were  ashamed  of  their  conduct, 
and  begged  for  Elisabeth's  forgiveness 
with  such  sincerity  that  Henry  was 
appointed  regent  during  the  minority  of 
his  nephew  Hermann.  Elisabeth  re- 
mained at  the  Wartburg  for  about  a  year, 
and  then  begged  Henry  to  assign  her  a 
place  where  she  would  be  at  entire 
liberty  to  serve  God,  and  where  she 
would  have  no  distractions  from  works 
of  piety  and  charity.  Henry  immediately 
gave  her  the  town  of  Marburg,  in  Hess, 
with  the  grudging  remark  that  if  she 
had  all  Germany  she  would  only  give  it 
to  beggars.    Thither  she  retired,  and 


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ST.  ELISABETH 


263 


soon  after,  on  a  Good  Friday,  she  assnmed 
the  Franciscan  habit  which  she  wore 
until  her  death.  At  the  same  time  Guda, 
her  faithful  companion,  adopted  the 
dress  of  the  Third  Order. 

Elisabeth  had  to  part  with  her  children. 
Hermann,  nearly  seven  years  old,  was 
taken  to  the  castle  of  Creuzburg,  to 
remain  under  good  guardianship  until 
old  enough  to  hold  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment himself.  This  castle  was  also  the 
home  of  her  eldest  daughter  Sophia, 
already  affianced  to  the  young  Duke  of 
Brabant.  The  second  girl,  also  called 
Sophia,  returned  to  the  abbey  of 
Kitzingen,  to  the  care  of  her  grand-aunt, 
the  abbess  Matilda,  and  there  she  ulti- 
mately took  the  veil  and  passed  the  rest 
of  her  life.  The  youngest  of  all,  B. 
Gertrude,  now  barely  two  years  old,  was 
taken  to  the  Premonstratensian  convent 
of  Altenburg,  near  Wetzler,  where  she 
remained  and  became  abbess. 

The  sacrifice  was  complete,  and  Elisa- 
beth had  separated  herself  from  all 
those  nearest  and  dearest  to  her.  She 
arranged  her  mode  of  life  in  accordance 
with  the  wooden  hut  she  had  chosen  for 
her  dwelling ;  she  gave  all  her  money  to 
the  poor  and  to  charitable  institutions, 
and  set  to  work  to  earn  her  bread  by 
spinning.  She  denied  herself  every 
luxury,  and  lived  in  the  poorest  possible 
manner.  Her  food  was  vegetables  cooked 
in  plain  water  without  salt.  She  allowed 
no  one  to  give  her  any  title,  but  made 
all  call  her  "  Elisabeth." 

On  her  first  arrival  at  Marburg  she 
had  built  a  hospital,  dedicated  in  the 
name  of  St.  Francis.  This  she  visited 
every  day,  nursing  the  patients  with 
tender  care,  even  those  afflicted  with 
loathsome  diseases. 

Her  father,  the  King  of  Hungary,  sent 
messengers  begging  her  to  resume  her 
rank.  Elisabeth  refused,  bidding  them 
tell  the  king  that  she  was  happier  in 
poverty  than  when  surrounded  by  all 
the  pomp  of  royalty.  One  would  suppose 
that  there  was  nothing  left  for  her  to  do, 
in  order  to  show  her  love  for  God  and 
men,  but  Conrad  of  Marburg,  still  further 
to  detach  her  soul  from  every  earthly 
tie,  treated  her  with  great  harshness, 
thwarting  every  inclination,  and  denying 


every  gratification,  howevor  virtuous. 
To  test  her  obedience,  he  ordered  her 
not  to  give  so  much  in  charity,  nor  to 
attend  to  the  sick ;  and  when  Elisabeth 
disobeyed,  she  was  often  punished  with 
blows,  until  she  learnt  to  yield  a  perfect, 
unanswering  obedience  to  her  stern 
director.  He  sent  away  her  two  faithful 
friends  Ysentrude  and  Guda,  lest  their 
conversation  might  cause  some  feeling 
of  regret  for  her  past  life  to  linger  in 
the  mind  of  the  saint,  and  he  replaced 
them  by  two  disagreeable,  ill-tempered 
women. 

One  day  Elisabeth  saw  in  the  hospital 
a  boy  terribly  deformed.  Bending  over 
him,  she  asked  where  he  came  from,  and 
how  long  he  had  been  suffering.  Being 
also  deaf  and  dumb,  the  boy  was  unable 
to  answer.  Elisabeth  did  not  know  this, 
but  thought  he  was  possessed  by  an  evil 
spirit ;  so  she  said,  "  In  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  I  command  you  to  answer 
me."  Immediately,  the  boy  was  cured 
of  his  deformity  and  able  to  speak. 

The  fame  of  this  miracle  spread 
abroad.  Many  people  came  to  be  cured 
of  their  diseases  by  the  duchess,  whose 
humility  and  piety  increased  with  every 
proof  given  her  of  God's  love. 

Two  years  had  elapsed  since  Elisabeth 
had  assumed  the  habit  of  St.  Francis 
and  renounced  all  worldly  joys,  and  the 
time  had  come  when  her  earthly  life  was 
to  cease.  A  bright  light  appeared  to  her 
one  night,  and  she  heard  a  voice  saying, 
"Come,  Elisabeth,  come  with  me  into 
the  tabernacle  I  have  prepared  for  thee 
from  all  eternity."  She  hastened  to  say 
good-bye  to  the  poor  and  the  sick,  and 
took  a  special  farewell  of  Conrad  of 
Marburg,  who  was  then  seriously  ill. 
The  fourth  day  after  the  vision,  she  felt 
the  first  symptoms  of  the  malady  which 
was  to  end  with  her  death.  For  twelve 
or  fourteen  days  she  had  a  violent  fever, 
but  was  always  bright  and  gay,  and 
prayed  incessantly.  Her  director  had 
recovered  sufficiently  to  come  to  confess 
her,  and  fortify  her  with  the  last  consola- 
tions of  religion.  At  last,  on  the  night 
of  Nov.  10,  1231,  she  entered  her 
eternal  rest.  As  her  spirit  passed  away 
a  choir  of  celestial  voices  sang,  "  Regnum 
mundi  contemp#i,  'propter  amorem  Domini 


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264 


,   B.  ELISABETH 


met  Jesu  Cliristi,  quern  vidi,  quern  amavi, 
in  quern  credidi,  quern  dilexi." 

Her  body  was  carried  to  the  small 
chapel  of  St.  Francis,  where  she  had 
often  worshipped,  and  after  fonr  days 
she  was  buried  there  in  presence  of 
an  immense  crowd  of  people.  Many 
wonderful  cures  were  accomplished  at 
her  tomb ;  the  blind,  the  halt,  and  those 
afflicted  with  diseases  were  healed  by 
touching  it,  and  by  prayers  to  the  good 
saint. 

Her  confessor,  Conrad  of  Marburg, 
and  her  brother-in-law,  Duke  Conrad, 
were  much  impressed  by  all  the  miracles, 
and  knowing  her  holy  life,  begged  Pope 
Gregory  to  canonize  Elisabeth.  This 
was  done  at  Perugia  on  the  Day  of 
Pentecost,  May  26,  1235.  When  the 
bull  of  canonization  reached  Germany  a 
day  was  fixed  by  Archbishop  Siegfried 
of  Mayence  for  the  exaltation  and  trans- 
lation of  the  saint's  body.  The  date  was 
deferred  until  the  next  spring,  in  order 
to  give  the  princes,  bishops,  nobles,  and 
people  time  to  assemble.  On  May  1, 
1236,  the  little  town  of  Marburg  was 
filled  to  overflowing  with  an  immense 
crowd  of  people  from  all  parts  of  Europe, 
gathered  to  do  honour  to  the  loved 
Elisabeth.  Two  altars  had  been  erected 
under  her  invocation  within  a  year  from 
her  death;  and  soon  after  she  was 
canonized  churches  were  dedicated  in 
her  name,  notably  at  Treves,  Strasburg, 
Cassel,  Winchester,  and  Prague.  The 
foundation  stone  of  the  celebrated  one 
at  Marburg  was  laid  in  1235  by  the 
Landgrave  Conrad. 

Her  son  Hermann  on  his  death-bed 
begged  to  be  laid  beside  his  mother; 
but  his  uncle  Henry — who  profited  by 
his  death,  whether  it  is  true  or  not  that 
he  had  a  hand  in  it — was  afraid  that 
proximity  to  the  body  of  the  saint  would 
raise  her  son  to  life,  and  buried  him 
instead  at  Eeinhartsbrunn  beside  his 
father.  Sophia,  duchess  of  Brabant,  an 
energetic  and  courageous  young  widow, 
claimed  her  brother's  inheritance  for 
her  son,  and  after  a  stout  fight  succeeded 
in  gaining  Hess  for  him.  She  spent  her 
life  in  devotion  to  her  son  and  country. 
She  began  her  letters,  charters,  etc., 
"  We,  Sophia,    duchess    of  Brabant, 


daughter  of  St.  Elisabeth,"  etc.  Thur- 
ingia  became  the  property  of  Conrad, 
brother  of  Louis. 

This  account  is  mainly  taken  from 
Montalembert,  Vie  de  Sainte  Elizabeth. 
He  gives  a  list  of  contemporary  and 
early  lives,  many  of  them  in  old  German, 
on  which  the  modern  accounts  are  based. 
Her  life  by  Theodoric  of  Thuringia  is 
in  Canisius'  Lectiones  Antiquse.  She  is 
mentioned  in  all  the  histories  and 
chronicles  of  the  period,  both  sacred  and 
secular,  and  in  every  collection  of  Lives 
of  Saints,  She  is  the  heroine  of  Kings- 
ley's  Saint's  Tragedy. 

St.  Hedwio,  duchess  of  Silesia,  was 
her  aunt.  St.  Isabel  de  Paz,  queen  of 
Portugal,  was  her  great-niece.  B.  Salome, 
duchess  of  Galicia,  was  the  wife  of 
Elisabeth's  brother.  B.  Beatrice  (5)  of 
Este  was  her  father's  third  wife,  but  not 
until  after  the  death  of  Elisabeth. 

B.  Elisabeth  (12),  of  Arnestein, 
Oct.  14.  Superior  of  Hortus  Oonclusus 
in  the  town  of  Herenthal.  Probably  of 
the  same  family  as  B.  Guda  (2),  countess 
of  Arnestein,  and  founder  (in  1139)  of 
the  nunnery  of  that  name.  Le  Paige, 
Bibliotheka  Preemons.  Ord.  Crisostom 
Van  der  Sterre  calls  her  Blessed,  and 
places  her  among  the  Praamonstratensian 
saints. 

B.  Elisabeth  (13)  de  Wans,  July  1, 
Oct.  8.  13th  century.  Cistercian  nun 
at  Aquiria,  diocese  of  Namur.  Con- 
temporary of  B.  Sibylla  de  Gages,  a  nun 
in  the  same  convent.  Both  are  invoked 
as  saints,  with  St.  Lutgard,  in  a  prayer 
of  the  nuns  of  that  convent.  After  a 
thanksgiving  to  God,  it  concludes,  "  Vos 
Domina  S.  Lutgardis,  Domina  S.  Sybilla, 
Domina  S.  Elizabeth  de  Wans  mem 
honoratissimse  major es  et  carissimse  con- 
sorores  estote  benedictse  in  ssecula"  i.e. 
Blessed  be  you  for  ever,  SS.  Lutgard, 
Sybil,  and  Elisabeth  of  Wans,  my  most 
honoured  predecessors  and  dear  fellow- 
nuns.  AA.SS.  Prseter.  Bucelinus, 
July  2.  Baissius,  continuation  of 
Molanus'  book  about  Belgian  Saints. 

St.  Elisabeth  (14),  of  Spaelbeeck, 
June  23,  April  3,  5,  Oct.  19,  in  her  own 
district  Nov.  19,  called  also  St.  Isabel, 
of  Namur,  of  Liege,  of  Huy.  13th  cen- 
tury.   A  friend  of  St.  Juliana  of  Liege, 


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ST.  ELISABETH 


265 


and  died  before  her.  Elisabeth  was  first 
a  Beguine,  and  afterwards  a  nnn  in  the 
Cistercian  monastery  of  Erkenrode,  or 
Herkenrode,  near  Hasselet,  in  the 
province  of  Leyden,  and  about  a  mile 
from  Li£ge.  She  was  remarkable  for 
extreme  asceticism,  and  had  the  stigmata. 
Mart.  Salisbury,  June  23.  Bucelinua. 
St.  Elisabeth    (15)    of  France, 

ISABELLE  DE  FRANCE. 

St.  Elisabeth  (16)  of  Portugal, 
Isabel  de  Paz. 

St.  Elisabeth  (17)  of  Hungary, 
May  6.  O.S.D.  +  1338.  Only  child 
and  heiress  of  Andrew  III.,  king  of 
Hungary.  Great-granddaughter  of  B. 
Beatrice  (5)  of  Este.  Great-niece  of 
the  more  famous  St.  Elisabeth  of 
Hungary.  Niece  of  St.  Cunegund  of 
Hungary,  queen  of  Poland,  and  of  St. 
Margaret  of  Hungary. 

Andrew  III.  was  the  last  king  of  the 
house  of  Arpad  who  sat  on  the  throne 
of  Hungary  (1290-1301).  Towards  the 
end  of  the  13th  century,  Zemovit,  duke 
of  Kujavia,  in  Poland,  was  a  refugee 
with  his  daughter  Fenna  at  the  Court  of 
Buda.  Andrew  married  Fenna,  and  had 
a  daughtor  called  Elisabeth,  in  honour  of 
her  great-aunt,  the  sainted  Landgravine 
of  Thuringia.  Great  was  the  joy  that 
a  child  was  born  to  carry  on  the  ancient 
royal  line.  All  the  bells  were  rung, 
wine  was  poured  from  the  towers  that 
every  one  might  drink  his  fill  to  the 
health  of  the  new-born  princess  and  her 
royal  parents;  but  the  merrymaking 
was  quickly  out  short  by  the  death  of 
the  young  mother.  The  king  soon 
married  again.  His  second  wife  was 
Agnes,  daughter  of  Albert,  duke  of 
Austria,  and  emperor. 

While  still  a  child,  Elisabeth  was  be- 
trothed by  her  father  to  Wenzel,  son  of 
the  King  of  Bohemia,  but  this  engage- 
ment was  soon  broken  off. 

Andrew  of  Hungary  died  in  1301,  and 
then  Queen  Agnes  betrothed  her  step- 
daughter to  her  brother  Henry,  duke  of 
Austria,  promising  to  make  over  to  Elisa- 
beth her  own  dowry,  which  was  con- 
siderable. In  1 308  Agnes'  father,  Albert 
of  Austria,  was  murdered  by  his  nephew 
John  and  other  conspirators  at  Windiscb, 
in  Argau,  while  crossing  the  Beusz  in  a 


boat.  His  brothers  and  children  sought 
vengeance  with  such  ferocity  that, 
although  the  murderers  escaped,  their 
innocent  parents  and  children  were  put 
to  death  with  great  barbarity,  their  houses 
were  burnt,  and  their  lands  laid  waste. 
Agnes  was  specially  cruel.  Several  of 
the  victims  were  killed  before  her  eyes. 
In  after  years,  when  her  rage  cooled,  the 
memory  of  her  wolfish  cruelty  and  of 
the  faces  of  some  of  her  victims  left  her 
no  peace.  In  her  sleepless  remorse  she 
applied  to  a  holy  hermit,  offering  ample 
gifts  to  the  Church,  and  seeking  to  atone 
for  her  murders  by  building  houses  for 
God.  The  hermit  rejected  her  offerings, 
but  encouraged  her  to  repent.  He  said, 
"  Woman,  God  is  not  to  be  served  with 
bloody  hands,  nor  with  convents  built 
with  the  plunder  of  widows  and  orphans, 
but  by  mercy  and  forgiveness  of  injuries." 
She  founded  the  convent  of  Konigsfelden, 
near  Bragg,  in  1310,  and  there  eventually 
betook  herself  to  lead  a  life  of  penance. 

In  spite  of  her  betrothal,  Elisabeth 
determined  to  take  the  veil,  and  entered 
the  Dominican  convent  of  Tosz  (Thosa), 
near  Winterthurn,  in  Turgau,  when  she 
was  only  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  old. 
By  the  connivance  of  her  stepmother, 
who  wished  to  disgust  her  with  monastic 
life,  Elisabeth  had,  during  her  novitiate, 
a  very  harsh  superior  and  strict  dis- 
ciplinarian, a  nun  from  St.  Cathcrinen- 
thal,  of  the  family  of  Busynanz,  a  niece 
of  King  Budolf  of  Hapsburg. 

Her  promised  husband,  Henry  of 
Austria,  who  counted  on  being  King  of 
Hungary  in  right  of  Elisabeth,  tried  in 
vain  to  dissuade  her  from  this  step, 
urging  that  her  marriage  with  him 
would  put  an  end  to  a  great  deal  of 
strife  and  trouble.  Enraged  at  her  un- 
willingness to  return  to  Court  and  to 
fulfil  her  engagement  to  him,  he  tore  off 
her  veil  and  trampled  it  under  his  feet. 
The  princess,  naturally  submissive,  was 
shaken  in  her  resolution.  She  prayed 
for  God's  direction,  and  soon  decided 
that,  having  dedicated  herself  to  His 
service,  she  ought  not  to  return  to  the 
world.  The  crown  she  would  not 
accept  nor  share  with  Henry  went  to 
the  house  of  Bourbon. 

She  was  the  first  nun  who  received 


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266 


ST.  ELISABETH 


the  sacred  veil  before  the  new  high  altar 
at  Tosz.  Her  lifo  was  spent  in  great 
piety  and  humility  with  the  nuns,  and 
she  did  not  allow  any  difference  to  be 
made  on  account  of  her  rank. 

One  day  a  stranger  monk  came  to  the 
convent*  and  casually  asked  her  name. 
She  said,  "Elisabeth;"  and  as  he 
wished  to  know  where  she  came  from, 
she  said,  "  Ofen."  "What!  you  have 
come  such  a  long  way  to  such  a  poor 
little  convent  as  this  ?  I  dare  say  you 
are  no  better  than  you  should  be." 
Elisabeth  silently  withdrew  into  the 
church,  and  left  the  clearing  of  her 
character  in  the  hands  of  God. 

Agnes  kept  all  Elisabeth's  jewels,  and 
refused  to  give  them  to  her ;  but  when 
the  latter  was  singing  matins,  the  nuns 
saw  that  every  word  came  sparkling  out 
of  her  mouth  like  diamonds  and  pearls, 
and  fell  into  a  bowl  she  held. 

The  chief  miracle  recorded  of  her  is 
that  she  carried  water  in  a  sieve,  to 
extinguish  the  flames  in  a  peasant's 
burning  house.  For  some  time  her 
health,  was  very  bad,  so  the  superior 
made  her  go  to  the  baths  of  Baden,  in 
Argau,  after  which  she  visited  her  step- 
mother, Queen  Agnes,  at  Eonigsfelden, 
and  went  by  Zurich  to  EinsiedeLn,  where 
she  obtained  many  graces  and  her  bodily 
recovery.  She  was  a  nun  for  twenty- 
eight  years;  during  the  last  two  she 
was  perfectly  helpless,  suffering  great 
pain,  and  had  to  be  fed  and  tended  like 
a  child,  until  her  death,  May  6,  1338. 

Her  body  remained  fresh  and  uncor- 
rupted  for  several  months.  Then  the 
nuns  buried  her  in  the  choir,  in  a  beauti- 
ful stone  tomb ;  on  the  top  of  it  the  four 
evangelists  were  represented;  on  the 
middle  and  both  sides  were  the  royal 
arms  of  Hungary,  after  the  old  fashion, 
without  date  or  epitaph.  In  1770,  when 
Maria  Teresa  had  the  body  of  Queen 
Agnes  removed  to  the  Abbey  of  Blasius, 
she  ordered  that  of  Elisabeth  to  be 
placed  there  also;  but  it  could  not  be 
found. 

Mailath,  Oesch.  v.  Ungarn,  i.  263,  264. 
Papebroch,  AA.SS.,  from  a  German  Life 
by  Miirer.  Franz  Palacky,  Oesch.  v. 
Bohmen,  ii.  352,  371.  Burgener,  Hel- 
vetia Sancta. 


St.  Elisabeth  (18)  of  Siena,  Bar- 

TOLOMMEA. 

St.  or  B.  Elisabeth  (19)  Achler,  of 
Reuthe,  Dec.  5,  9,  Nov.  25,  28  (Elisa- 
beth of  Waldsee,  or  Waldsech  ;  Elisa- 
beth Bona,  the  Good  Elisabeth,  Die 
Gute  Beth,  Beta)  1386-1420,  was  of 
a  burgher  family  at  Waldsee,  in  Upper 
Suabia ;  she  obtained  with  difficulty  the 
consent  of  her  parents,  left  their  house, 
and  lived  in  retreat  with  a  friend.  A 
convent  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis 
being  established  at  Reuthe,  near  Wald- 
see, in  1407,  she  entered  it  with  four 
companions.  She  had  a  bleeding  wound 
in  each  side  and  seven  in  her  head,  in 
which  she  felt  the  pricking  of  the  crown 
of  thorns ;  in  addition  to  these,  the  five 
wounds  of  Christ  appeared  on  her  every 
Friday  and  fast  day,  and  sometimes  she 
was  covered  from  head  to  foot  with 
marks  of  scourging.  During  twelve 
years  her  only  food  was  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, and  once  this  Holy  Sacrament 
was  given  to  her  by  the  hand  of  Christ 
Himself.  It  was  never  her  own  wish  to 
be  distinguished  by  these  extraordinary 
graces,  and  so  afraid  was  she  of  their 
proving  a  temptation  to  pride,  that  when 
her  confessor  desired  to  have  recourse  to 
the  exorcisms  of  the  Church  to  free  her 
from  the  persecutions  of  the  devil,  she 
begged  him  not  to  do  so,  saying  that 
"  to  suffer  is  to  deserve."  She  died  at 
the  age  of  thirty-four.  Her  confessor, 
Father  Conrad  Kugeln,  wrote  her  Life, 
and  sent  it  to  the  episcopal  ordinary  of 
Constance;  but  it  was  not  until  two 
hundred  years  after,  when  her  grave  was 
opened  by  the  Provost  of  Waldsee,  that 
she  began  to  be  venerated  as  a  saint  in 
Suabia. 

After  several  miracles  had  been 
wrought  at  her  tomb,  the  Emperor 
Frederic  II.  begged  the  Pope  to  begin 
the  process  of  her  canonization ;  but  it 
was  only  in  1766,  under  Clement  XIII., 
that  her  worship  as  "  Beata  "  was  autho- 
rized by  the  Holy  See,  and  her  body 
paraded  in  the  church  as  that  of  a  saint. 

A.B.M.,  Dec.  5.  Wetzer  and  Welte, 
Die.  de  Thfologie  Catholique.  Burgener, 
Helvetia  Sancta.  Her  contemporary 
Life,  translated  by  Goschler,  will  be 
given  by  the  Bollandists,  Nov.  25. 


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ST.  EMERENTIA 


267 


B.  Elisabeth  (20)  Picenardi,  Feb. 
19.  1468.  V.  Of  a  noble  family  of 
Mantua.  Member  of  the  Third  Order 
of  Servites,  or  Servants  of  the  B.  V. 
Mary.  She  was  distinguished  for  inno- 
cence, humility,  and  the  gifts  of  pro- 
phecy and  miracles.  The  angels  sang 
at  her  death.  A.BM  for  that  Order. 
P.B. 

B.  Elisabeth  (21)  Malatesta, 
July  22.  O.S.P.  +  1477.  Daughter  of 
Galeazzo  Malatesta,  lord  of  Pesaro.  Her 
mother  was  Battista  Montefeltrio.  Elisa- 
beth married  Pietro  Gentili  Varani, 
prince  of  Camertum.  She  and  her 
mother  built  the  convent  of  Corpo  di 
Cristo  at  Pesaro,  and  appointed  B. 
Felice  de  Meda  abbess.  After  her 
husband's  death,  Elisabeth  became  a 
nun.  She  died  at  TJrbino.  Jacobilli, 
Saints  of  Foligno. 

B.  Elisabeth  (22),  of  Amelia  and 
Palermo,  Feb.  4.  1465-1498.  Lando 
Amodei,  or  Homodei,  her  grandfather, 
went  from  his  home  in  Umbria  to 
Palermo,  and  there  became  a  senator 
and  a  baron,  and  married  Catterina  la 
Campo.  Elisabeth  was  the  daughter  of 
their  son  John.  The  fame  of  her 
sanctity  and  her  numerous  miracles 
attracted  a  great  concourse  of  people, 
and  she  is  inscribed  among  the  saints  of 
Sicily.    Jacobilli,  Santi  delV  Umbria. 

Other  SS.  Elisabeth.  (See  Isabel.) 
Every  Elisabeth  is  called  in  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  Isabel,  and  every  Isabel  is 
called  in  German  and  Latin  Elisabeth. 

Ella,  sometimes  St.  Teath,  some- 
times Bela.  St.  Elle  may  be  Teata, 
or  Ellyw,  or  Ela. 

Ellen,  Helen. 

St  Ellyw,  or  Elyw,  the  Sunday 
before  Aug.  1.  Patron  of  Llanelly. 
Possibly  this  name  is  an  abbreviation  of 
Elined  (see  Almheda),  or  perhaps  she 
was  a  granddaughter  of  Brychan  and 
niece  of  Almheda.  Bees.  Perhaps  she 
is  the  St.  Elle  in  whose  name  the  church 
of  East  Wilton  in  Yorkshire  is  dedicated. 

St.  Elpe,  Helpi8,  or  Ammta.  One  of 
the  martyrs  of  Lyons,  beheaded,  being  a 
Roman  citizen.    (See  Blandina.) 

St.  Elpide,  Alpais  (2),  of  Cudot. 

B.  Elpidia,  April  26.  Gth  centnry. 
Grandmother  of  St.  Theodore  of  Siceon, 


in  Galatia,  whom  she  encouraged  in  piety, 
asceticism,  and  good  works.  She  wanted 
to  live  with  him,  and  devote  herself 
entirely  to  him ;  this  he  would  not  allow, 
but  advised  her  to  remain  in  the  convent 
of  St.  Christopher,  where  he  sent  her 
girls  who  were  vexed  with  evil  spirits, 
that  she  might  minister  to  them,  and 
after  their  cure  might  instruct  them  in 
religious  and  monastic  life  if  they  were 
willing  to  remain  with  her.  He  founded 
a  large  monastery  at  Siceon,  near  an 
ancient  chapel  of  St.  George  the  Martyr, 
to  whom  he  had  a  special  devotion.  He 
was  made,  against  his  will,  Bishop  of 
Anastasiopolis,  the  diocese  in  which  ho 
was  born  and  built  his  monastery.  Ho 
was  called  to  Constantinople  to  give  his 
blessing  to  the  Emperor  Maurice  and  the 
Senate.  He  died  in  013.  Baillet  says 
his  Life,  by  his  disciple  Eleusius,  or 
George,  is  a  valuable  monument  of  the 
state  of  the  Eastern  Church  in  the  Gth 
and  7th  centuries.  The  Bollandists  give 
the  Life  of  St.  Theodore,  April  22,  but 
say  the  title  of  Elpidia  to  be  worshipped 
is  not  established.   AA.SS.  Butler. 

St.  Elpis.  (See  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity.') 

St.  Elsfleda,  or  Elsfledt,  Elpleda 
(1). 

St.  Elvara,  Elenara  (2). 

SS.  Elvira,  Casaira,  V.,  Geva, 
V.M.,  Hippolyta,  Milia,  V.,  Tenella, 
V.M.,  Jan.  25.    History  unknown. 

John  Borgia  and  his  pious  wife, 
Frances  of  Aragon,  obtained  a  great 
number  of  relics  from  various  places, 
chiefly  from  the  Emperor  Budolph  II. 
and  his  mother  Mary.  In  Oct.,  1587, 
they  were  taken  to  Lisbon.  On  Jan.  25, 
1 588,  after  being  much  kissed  and  piously 
venerated,  they  were  translated  with 
great  ceremony  and  many  prayers  into 
the  church  of  St.  Koch.  Among  them 
are  relics  of  these  saints,  who  are  com- 
memorated on  the  anniversary  of  the 
translation.    AA.SS.  Prseter. 

St.  Elyw,  Ellyw. 

St.  Emasia,  or  Inansia,  July  17,  M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Embetta,  Einbetta. 

B.  Emeline,  Hemelina. 

St.  Emendrenilla,  Ameltrude  (2). 

St.  Emerentia,  or  Emmerentiana, 


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B.  EMERGORDIS 


Jan.  23,V.M.  c.  304.  Patron  of  Teruel. 
Invoked  for  colic. 

Represented  with  stones  in  her  robe. 

Stoned  to  death  by  the  heathens,  while 
praying  with  other  Christians  at  the 
tomb  of  St.  Agnes.  Emerentia  is  only 
mentioned  in  the  later  editions  of  the 
Acts  of  St.  Agnes.  She  is  called  her 
sister,  but  this  is  perhaps  only  in  a 
spiritual  sense.  The  R.M.  says  she  was 
her  foster-sister.  She  was  a  catechumen 
and  unbaptized. 

R.M.  Butler.  Baillet  Neale,  Church 
History, 

B.  Emergordis,  June  9.  Stadler 
gives  her  as  a  British  countess  married 
to  Count  Conan ;  afterwards  she  worked 
hard  at  her  salvation  for  eleven  years 
in  a  convent  in  France.  St.  Bernard 
addressed  a  letter  to  her.  Probably  he 
means  B.  Ermengabd,  duchess  of  Bre- 
tagne. 

St.  Emeria  (1),  May  6,  M.  at  Milan. 

AA.S8. 

St.  Emeria  (2),  sometimes  written 
for  Cinkria,  or  Eennere,  one  of  the  three 
virgins  who  accompanied  St.  Regulus 
when  he  brought  the  relics  of  St.  Andrew 
to  Scotland.  The  others  were  Potentia 
and  Triduana.  Forbes,  Scottish  Kalen- 
dars,  App.,  p.  453. 

St.  Emerita  (1),  May  26,  Dec.  3, 
V.  M.  178.  Sister  of  St.  Lucius,  first 
Christian  king  in  Britain.  He  sought 
the  friendship  of  the  Romans,  and  sent 
to  the  Pope,  (St)  Eleutherius,  to  beg  for 
Christian  teachers  for  his  country.  He 
and  many  of  his  people  were  baptized. 
He  built  a  church  at  Llandaff,  which  the 
Welsh  hagiologists  say  was  the  first  in 
Britain.  He  is  believed  to  have  died  in 
156,  either  at  Gloucester  or  Glastonbury. 
Another  legend,  however,  says  that  King 
Lucius  and  his  sister  Emerentia,  after 
Establishing  Christianity  in  their  own 
country,  left  their  native  land  and  their 
station,  and  became  missionaries  in 
Bavaria  and  Switzerland;  that  Lucius 
became  Bishop  of  Chur,  or  Coire,  in  the 
Grisons,  and  both  suffered  martyrdom 
there.  A  bishop  named  Lucius  is 
honoured  there  as  a  martyr,  but  it  is  by 
no  means  certain  that  it  was  the  same 
person.  Smith  and  Wace,  Die.  of  Chris- 
tian Biog.    Rees,  Welsh  Saints. 


There  were  six  other  martyrs  of  the 
name  of  Emerita  at  different  times  and 
places. 

B.  Emigeard,  April  5.  Apparently 
same  as  Irmoard  (2),  who  is  buried  at 
Cologne,  near  the  church  of  the  Three 
Kings. 

St.  Emilia  (1),  one  of  the  martyrs 
of  Lyons,  who  died  in  prison.  (See 
Blandina.) 

St  Emilia  (2),  one  of  the  martyrs 
of  Lyons.  Beheaded,  being  a  Roman 
citizen.    (See  Blandina.) 

St.  Emilia  (3),  Feb.  17,  M.  at  Rome 
with  many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Emilia  (4),  May  23,  M.  in  Africa. 
AAJSS. 

B.  Emilia  (5)  Bichieri,  of  Vercelli, 
Aug.  19.  1238-1314.  O.S.D.  Founder 
of  the  monastery  of  St.  Margaret  of 
Vercelli. 

Represented:  (1)  painting;  (2)kneeling 
before  a  cross,  with  rays  round  her  head. 

When  Emilia  inherited  some  estates 
in  1254,  she  determined  to  build  a 
Dominican  convent,  and  live  with  some 
other  religious  women.  She  took  the 
habit,  and  entered  the  convent  in  1256, 
and  became  prioress  in  1272.  She  was 
considered  a  saint,  and  invoked  as  such, 
and  miracles  rewarded  those  who  sought 
her  intercession. 

A.  R.M.  Pio,  Uomini  illustri  per  *an- 
tith,  from  her  Life,  written  by  Sister 
Petronilla  Bava,  a  nun  in  her  convent. 

St.  Emiliana  (1),  June  30.  At  the 
council  held  in  Rome  in  499,  under 
Symmachus,  the  Pope,  one  of  the  priests 
present  was  Eutychus,  of  St.  Emiliana. 
It  is  believed  that  this  saint  lived  and 
died  in  Rome.  It  is  supposed  she  was  a 
martyr,  but  her  history  is  lost,  and  it  is 
not  even  known  where  the  church  stood 
which  was  dedicated  in  her  name.  In 
the  Roman  Martyrology  she  is  called  a 
martyr.  AA.SS. 

St  Emiliana  (2),  or  jEmiliana, 
Jan.  5,  Dec.  24,  V.  Sister  of  Tharsilla. 
R.M.,  Jan.  5.  AA.SS. 

B.  Emiliana  (3)  de  Cerchi,  May  21, 
June  2,  more  commonly  called  Humili- 
ana,  probably  an  intentional  corruption, 
in  allusion  to  her  humility,  was  born  at 
Florence  about  1219,  married  about 
1236,  died  1246.    She  used  to  give 


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ST.  EMILY 


269 


away  to  the  poor  her  own  and  her  hus- 
band's clothes,  and  all  the  money  she 
could  get  by  selling  things  in  the  house. 
After  his  death  she  took  the  habit  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  and  lived 
the  life  of  a  nun  in  her  father's  house. 
She  was  favoured  with  many  wonderful 
visions  and  miracles.  It  appears  that 
her  husband  had  not  been  very  religious. 
When  her  stepmother  and  other  friends 
tried  to  persuade  her  to  marry  again, 
she  said,  "  Know  that  I  have  a  very 
worthy  Husband,  for  whose  death  I  shall 
never  weep,  and  whose  eternal  damna- 
tion will  not  doom  mo  to  perpetual 
widowhood,  so  trouble  me  no  more  about 
the  matter,  but  rather,  like  a  good  Chris- 
tian, give  something  of  your  own  to  the 
holy  recluses,  for  to-day  I  have  gone 
round  the  city  begging  on  their  behalf." 

Her  Life  was  written  by  a  contempo- 
rary Franciscan  monk.  Her  picture,  by 
Cimabue,  hung  in  the  private  chapel  of 
her  family  in  the  time  of  Papebroch. 
He  gives  a  print  of  it  in  his  introduction 
to  her  Life  in  the  Bollandist  collection. 

AA.SS.,  May  21.  A.RM.,  for  the 
Congregation  of  Vallombrosa,  June  2. 

St.  Emily  (1),  with  her  husband, 
May  30  (Emmblia,  Emmeline),  +  c.  370. 
Wife  of  one  St  Basil,  and  mother  of 
another  and  greater.  Mother  also  of 
St.  Gregory  of  Nyassa,  St  Peter  of 
Sebaste,  and  St.  Macbina  the  Younger. 

Basil  and  Emily  are  represented  walk- 
ing off  to  the  desert,  where  they  took 
refuge  during  the  persecution  of  Galerius, 
accompanied  by  a  bear  carrying  bread 
on  his  back. 

St.  Basil,  the  husband  of  Emily,  was 
the  son  of  St.  Macrina  the  Elder.  He 
was  a  very  learned  and  distinguished 
lawyer  of  Cappadocia,  and,  like  his  wife, 
of  noble  birth  and  great  possessions 
there.  They  had  ten  children,  the  eldest 
of  whom  was  St.  Basil  the  Great,  born 
at  Ccesarea,  in  Cappadocia,  in  328,  one 
of  the  great  doctors  of  the  Eastern 
Church ;  the  youngest  was  St  Peter  of 
Sebaste,  born  about  the  time  of  his 
fathers  death. 

Basil,  Emily,  and  Macrina  took  great 
pains  in  bringing  up  the  children.  In 
the  education  of  her  daughters,  Emily 
made  a  point  of  first  laying  a  foundation 


of  religious  instruction,  teaching  them 
the  Psalms  and  other  sacred  writings, 
and  afterwards  the  poetry  and  heathen 
learning  which  were  the  fashion  of  the 
time. 

On  her  husband's  death,  she  divided 
her  property  into  nine  portions  for  her 
nine  children,  one  having  died  young. 
Four  of  her  daughters  married  according 
to  their  station  and  inclination.  St. 
Macrina,  the  eldest,  remained  with  her 
mother.  The  man  to  whom  her  father 
had  betrothed  her  died,  so  she  considered 
herself  a  widow. 

All  Emily's  children  were  useful  and 
virtuous  members  of  society,  but  Macrina 
was  her  greatest  comfort  and  constant 
companion,  helping  her  to  bring  up  the 
younger  children,  and,  by  her  holy 
example  and  wise  advice,  assisting  her 
mother  to  attain  to  a  higher  degree  of 
sanctity. 

Emily  was  broken-hearted  at  the  death 
of  her  favourite  son  Naucratius,  a  most 
promising  young  man,  possessed  of  every 
gift  of  body,  mind,  and  character  that 
the  fondest  mother  could  desire  for  her 
darling.  Although  muoh  loved  and 
admired  in  the  world,  he  withdrew  from 
society  and  devoted  himself  to  the  care 
of  sick  and  infirm  persons.  He  was 
killed  while  hunting,  about  357.  Ma- 
crina shared  and  soothed  her  mother's 
grief.  They  established  a  nunnery  on 
an  estate  of  their  own,  and  afterwards, 
with  the  help  of  the  great  St.  Basil, 
added  a  monastery,  and  thither  Macrina 
attracted  her  younger  brothers,  and  in 
later  years  Peter  became  superior. 
Emily  made  her  son  and  daughter 
the  director  and  abbess  of  the  house. 
She  died  in  their  arms  after  a  long  and 
happy  life,  about  370,  in  the  middle  of 
winter,  and  was  buried  beside  her  hus- 
band in  the  church  of  the  Forty  Martyrs, 
about  a  mile  from  her  monastery. 

Emily  wrought  a  miracle  on  behalf  of 
her  beloved  daughter  Macrina,  who  had 
a  tumour  in  the  breast,  causing  her  so 
much  suffering  that  it  seemed  necessary 
to  have  an  operation  by  a  surgeon.  To 
this  the  holy  virgin  objected,  from 
motives  of  delicacy ;  so  she  prayed  all 
night,  and  in  the  morning  asked  her 
mother  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross 


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VEN.  EMILY 


over  the  swelling,  which  instantly  dis- 
appeared, only  a  small  mark  of  a  cross 
remaining  on  the  place  as  long  as  Macrina 
lived. 

B.M.  Baillet,  Vies.  Mrs.  Jameson, 
Sacred  and  Legendary  Art. 

Ven.  Emily  (2),  Sept.  19, 1787-1852. 
Founder  of  the  Congregation  of  the 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  family. 

Marie  Emilie  Guillemot  de  Eodat 
was  born  of  noble  family,  at  the  chateau 
of  Druelle,  near  Eodez.  She  spent  her 
youth  in  practices  of  charity  and  pious 
mortification.  At  one  time  she  was 
entrusted  with  the  duty  of  preparing 
young  girls,  at  Villefranche,  for  their 
first  communion.  She  took  the  deepest 
interest  in  their  spiritual  progress,  and 
never  recommended  them  any  penance 
without  first  performing  it  herself. 

She  was  rewarded  for  her  searchings 
after  God,  and  for  her  unselfish  kindness 
to  others,  by  finding  her  vocation  at  the 
age  of  twenty-seven. 

One  day  she  heard  some  poor  women 
lamenting  that  their  daughters  were 
growing  up  without  religious  instruction. 
They  said  that  in  their  youth,  before  the 
revolution,  they  had  been  taught  gratui- 
tously by  the  Ursuline  nuns;  but  now 
there  was  no  help  of  that  sort.  Emily, 
with  the  help  of  other  good  women,  soon 
opened  a  school  for  poor  girls,  on  a  very 
small  and  unpretending  scale.  They 
were  laughed  at,  jeered  at,  stoned;  but 
the  clergy  approved  the  good  work,  and 
encouraged  Emily  and  her  companions 
to  make  a  solemn  religious  profession, 
vowing  themselves  to  the  service  of  God 
and  the  poor. 

Before  her  death,  her  Congregation 
had  twenty-five  cloistered  houses,  and 
thirty- two  schools,  in  which  over  five 
thousand  children  were  being  taught;  and 
other  good  works  were  prospering  in  the 
hands  of  these  devoted  women.  In  1872, 
twenty  years  after  Emily's  death,  Pius 
IX.  signed  the  commission  for  the  intro- 
duction of  the  cause  of  her  beatification. 
The  cause  may  be  thrown  out  or  suffered 
to  drop ;  but,  once  introduced,  the  servant 
of  God  is  for  ever  entitled  to  be  called 
"  Venerable."    Guerin,  P.B. 

St.  Emma  (1),  or  Ymma,  Ama  (4), 
sister  of  Hoylda,  Pusinna,  and  Lindbu. 


St.  Emma  (2),  Hemma. 

St.  Emmelia,  or  Emmkline,  Emily 

CO- 
St  Emmerentiana,  Emebentia. 
St.  Emmia,  Enymik. 
St.  Emraila,  or  Mebaele,  June  9, 

M.  in  Ethiopia.  Guerin. 

B.  Emwra,  Dec.  17.   Companion  of 

St.  Wivin.  Gynecseum. 
St.  Enathas,  Ennatha. 
St.  Encletia,  or  Encletica,  Syncle- 

TICA  (3). 

St  Encratis,  Engbatia. 

St  Enfail,  daughter  of  Brychan. 
Perhaps  lived  at  Merthyr,  near  Carmar- 
then.   Bees.    (See  Almheda.) 

St.  Enfleda,  Eanfleda. 

St.  Engratia  (1)  of  Saragossa,  April 
16,  18,  20  (Enobatis,  Eucbatis, 
Euobatia  ;  in  French,  Engbasse,  Gbace, 
or  Gbasse),  V.  M.  303.  Patron  of 
Braga.  As  Ste.  Grace,  or  Grasse,  she  is 
patron  of  an  abbacy  in  the  diocese  of 
Oleron. 

One  St.  Engratia  is  represented  nailed 
through  the  forehead  to  a  gibbet. 

Engratia  of  Saragossa  is  said  to  have 
been  torn  to  pieces  alive,  and  then  kept 
in  prison  until  she  died  of  her  wounds. 
She  is  mentioned  in  the  Roman  and 
Spanish  Martyrologies ;  by  Molanus  and 
Galesinus;  in  one  of  the  hymns  of 
Prudentius,  and  in  the  Breviary  of  Sara- 
gossa, published  in  1575. 

In  the  14th  century  a  church  was 
built  at  Saragossa  in  honour  of  the 
innumerable  Martyrs  of  Saragossa,  whose 
bones  were  found  in  a  great  mass,  and 
who  are  commemorated  Nov.  3 ;  eighteen 
of  them  are  specially  honoured  with 
Engratia,  who  is  supposed  to  be  one  of 
them.  This  church  was  afterwards  called 
by  the  name  of  St  Engratia. 

Engratia  and  her  eighteen  companions 
are  sometimes  claimed  for  Portugal,  but 
without  sufficient  authority. 

Henschenius,  in  AA.SS.  Baillet,  Vies. 
Cahier.    Chatelain,  Vocabulaire. 

St.  Engratia  (2)  of  Segovia,  Oct.  25 
(Engbasse,  Gbace,  or  Gbasse  in  French), 
715. 

Representation:  see  Engbatia  (1). 

Sister  of  SS.  Fructus  and  Valentine. 
They  gave  all  their  goods  to  the  poor, 
aud  went  to  a  wild  waste  where  now 


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stands  Sepulved  (Septempublica),  on  the 
side  of  a  hill  called  Orospecta.  There 
they  led  an  angelic  and  ascetic  life  until 
the  whole  country  near  and  around  them 
was  attacked  by  the  Moors.  Fructus 
assisted  in  the  defence  of  the  country, 
and  died  aged  seventy-three,  having 
worked  very  hard  for  the  good  of  the 
Christians.  In  1123,  he  was  appointed 
by  Pope  Calixtus  II.  one  of  the  patrons 
of  Segovia.  Valentine  and  Engratia 
buried  him  and  then  removed  to  Cue  liar, 
five  leagues  south-east  of  Segovia,  where 
they  were  eventually  beheaded  by  the 
Moors,  and  their  heads  thrown  into  a 
well  called  to  this  day  the  Saints' 
Fountain. 

No  contemporary  record.  AA.SS. 

St.  Engrasse,  Engratia. 

St  Enhilda.  Middle  of  8th  century. 
Abbess  of  Nidermunster,  or  Bas  Hohen- 
burg,  in  Alsace,  where  she  succeeded  St. 
Gundelinda.    Migne,  Die.  Hag. 

St.  Ennatha,  Nov.  13  (Enathas, 
Eknata,  in  the  Greek  Church  Manatho), 
V.  M.  308.  Native  of  Scythopolis,  near 
the  lake  of  Gennesareth.  After  cruel 
tortures  and  indignities,  burnt  at  Cesarea, 
in  Palestine.  B.M.  Baillet,  from 
Eusebius. 

St.  Enneim.  (See  Thkcla  (16), 
Mabiamna,  etc.) 

St.  Enoch,  Thennbw. 

St  Enodoc,  or  Wbnodoc,  March  7.  Is 
possibly  the  same  as  St.  Gwknddydd,  a 
daughter  of  Brychan.  (See  Almheda.) 
F.  Arnold  Forster. 

St.  Enora  or  Honoka,  patron  of  wet 
nurses.  Daughter  of  an  Irish  king. 
Wife  of  St.  Effam.  At  St  Malo,  nurses 
whose  milk  fails  offer  a  bottle  of  cow's 
milk  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Enora,  always 
with  good  effect.  Menzel,  Christliche 
Symbolic.  Cahier. 

St.  Enymie,  Oct.  6  (Emmia,  Ermia, 
Ernia,  perhaps  Onzimia,  or  Onzinia),  V. 
Abbess.    6th,  7th,  or  8th  century. 

Represented  with  a  serpent. 

Princess  of  France.  Tradition  says 
she  was  the  daughter  of  Clothaire  II., 
and  that  he  arranged  an  advantageous 
marriage  for  her;  but  as  she  preferred 
the  silence  of  the  cloister  to  a  worldly 
life,  however  brilliant,  she  prayed  for 
some  disfigurement  which  should  prevent 


her  marriage.  She  then  became  a  leper, 
and  was  only  cured  when  the  alliance 
was  broken  off.  Her  brother  Dagobert, 
king,  assisted  her  in  building  a  double 
monastery  on  a  hill  overhanging  the 
Tarn :  it  was  either  at  Rouergue  or  at 
Givaudan,  in  Auvergne.  She  freed  tho 
neighbouring  country  from  a  plague  of 
serpents. 

AA.SS.  Bucelinus.  Cahier.  F.M. 
Chastelain. 

St.  Eodet,  Hauda. 

St.  Eonfled,  Eanfleda. 

St.  Eorcungoda,  Ebcongota. 

St.  Eormenbeorga,  or  Eormenburh, 
Ermenbubga. 

St.  Eormengilda,  or  Eormenhilda, 
or  Eormhild,  Ermenilda. 

St.  Ephrasia,  or  Eurosia,  or  Orosia, 
Y.  M.  of  virginity.  Invoked  for  rain  and 
against  tempests.  Aunt  of  St.  Aones  of 
Bohemia.  Betrothed  to  the  King  of  Spain. 
On  her  way  thither  she  was  captured  by 
Moorish  robbers  in  the  Pyrenees,  and 
killed  by  them  in  defence  of  her  vir- 
ginity. Distinguished  by  miracles  from 
the  time  of  her  death.  The  place  of  her 
martyrdom  has  been  thought  to  be  Jacca, 
in  Aragon,  nineteen  leagues  north  of 
Saragossa.  Chanowski,  Bohemia.  She 
is  mentioned  by  Mariana  in  his  history 
of  Spain. 

St.  Epicharis,  Sept.  27,  Matron,  M. 
End  of  3rd  or  beginning  of  4th  century. 
In  the  persecution  of  Diocletian,  she  was 
beaten  with  leaded  scourges  by  four 
lictors,  who  were  killed  by  angels ;  she 
was  then  condemned  to  be  beheaded. 
When  sentence  was  pronounced,  water 
gushed  out  of  a  stone  under  her  feet. 
Her  head  was  then  struck  off  by  the 
sword  of  the  executioner.  She  was 
buried  by  Felix,  a  senator,  and  miraculous 
cures  were  wrought  at  her  tomb.  The 
Menology  of  the  Emperor  Basil  says  Borne 
was  the  place  of  her  martyrdom,  but  the 
compilers  of  the  AA.SS.  think  it  more 
likely  that  it  occurred  at  Constantinople. 

St.  Epiphania  (1),  or  Epiphana, 
July  12,  May  10,  V.  M.  with  circum- 
stances of  especial  barbarity,  under  Dio- 
cletian, at  Lentini,  in  Italy,  or  Leontini, 
in  Sicily.  R.M.,  July  12.  AA.SS., 
May  10. 

St.  Epiphania  (2;,  of  Pavia,  Oct.  6 


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ST.  EPIPHANIA 


(Ratrude,  Pbtrude),  V.  8th  century. 
Daughter  of  Ratchis  and  Tesia,  king 
and  queen  of  the  Lombards.  When 
Batchis  had  reigned  about  six  years,  he 
resigned  his  power  and  state  and  became 
a  monk  ;  his  wife  and  two  daughters 
followed  his  example.  Before  his  abdi- 
cation, Epiphania  was  falsely  accused  to 
him  of  depravity.  Her  innocence  was 
made  known  to  him  by  a  heavenly  vision, 
and  he  would  have  put  her  accuser  to 
death,  but  Epiphania  procured  her 
pardon.  During  her  cloistered  life  she 
was  again  accused  of  wickedness,  and 
roved  her  innocence  by  holding  fire  in 
er  lap  for  half  an  hour,  without  injury 
to  herself  or  her  clothes,  to  the  great 
humiliation  of  her  accusers.  Special 
worship  at  Pavia.  AA.SS. 
St.  Epiphania  (3),  Jan.  5.  Guerin. 
St.  Epistemes,  Oct.  5,  Nov.  5,  M. 
Wife  of  Galation,  M.  at  Emesa,  now 
called  Haman,  in  Phoenicia.  They  were 
scourged,  and  had  their  hands,  feet,  and 
tongues,  and  finally  their  heads,  cut  off, 
in  the  persecution  under  Decius.  R.M., 
Oct.  5.  Guenn,  Nov.  5. 

St.  Eppia,  May  8,  M.  at  Constanti- 
nople, with  St.  Acacias.  (See  Agatha 
(2).)  AA.SS. 

St.  Epictula,  Jan.  27,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Eprasia  of  Bohemia,  Ephrasia. 
St.  Erasma.   (See  Euphemia  (l).) 
St.  Ercley,  Heraclea. 
St.  Ercola,  or  Stercola,  May  7, 
Feb.  28,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 
St  Ercongota,  Feb.  23  or  26(Ear- 

CONOODA,    EaRCONGOTHA,  EARTONGATHA, 

Eorcungoda,  Erkongota  ;  in  French, 
Arthongathe,  or  Artongate).  +  700. 
Abbess  of  Faremoutier.  Daughter  of 
Ercombert,  king  of  Kent  (640-664),  by 
his  wife  St.  Sexburga,  daughter  of  Anna, 
king  of  the  East  Angles. 

As  there  were  few  monasteries  in 
England,  many  of  the  new  Christians 
learned  the  rules  of  monastic  life  in 
France,  and  sent  their  daughters  there 
to  be  taught,  particularly  in  the  monas- 
teries of  Faremoutier  and  Chelles. 

St.  Ethelburga  (3)  was  abbess  of 
Faremoutier  when  her  niece  Ercongota 
was  sent  there  as  a  nun. 

Ercongota  is  described  by  Bode  as  a 


virgin  of  great  virtue,  and  many  wonders 
are  told  of  her.  Her  life  was  passed  at 
Faremoutier,  where  she  became  abbess. 

Shortly  before  her  death  she  had  a 
vision  of  a  number  of  men  all  in  white 
coming  into  the  convent.  She  asked 
what  they  wanted.  They  said  they  had 
come  to  fetch  the  medal  of  gold  which 
had  been  brought  from  Kent.  The  next 
day  the  abbess  visited  the  cells  of  the 
infirm,  especially  the  very  old  and  very 
holy,  and  humbly  commended  herself  to 
their  prayers.  That  night  she  died. 
Monks  in  the  adjoining  houses  heard 
voices,  steps,  and  music,  and  some  of 
the  faithful  saw  the  soul  of  the  saintly 
abbess  carried  off  by  angels. 

AA.SS.    Bede,  iii.  ch.  8.  Butler. 

St.  Eremberta,  Bertana. 

St.  Erena,  Irene. 

St.  Erenpere,  Exuperia. 

St.  Erentrude,  June  30  (Ehren- 
traud,  Erendrudis,   Erentrut,  Ern- 

DRUDE,    ARENTRUDA,    ArIOTRUDA,  ARN- 

druda),  V.  Abbess.  7th  century. 
Patron  and  first  abbess  of  Salzburg. 
Niece  of  St.  Rupert,  or  Robert,  bishop 
of  Worms,  and  afterwards  of  Salzburg. 
She  lived  at  Worms,  and  was  consecrated 
to  God  from  her  childhood. 

The  people  of  Worms  ill-used  Rupert, 
and  drove  him  out  because  he  continually 
reproved  their  vices.  He  then  preached 
and  baptized  at  Ratisbon,  Lorch,  and 
Salzburg,  where  he  made  many  converts 
and  built  several  churches.  Christianity 
had  been  introduced  two  hundred  years 
earlier  by  St.  Severinus ;  but  the  in- 
habitants had  relapsed  into  paganism, 
and  as  Rupert  feared  they  might  fall 
away  again  from  the  faith,  he  prayed 
that  God  would  choose  some  good  men 
and  women  to  establish  the  Church  he 
had  planted  anew.  Rupert  went  to 
France  for  some  holy  men  to  serve  in 
his  churches,  and  to  Worms  for  his  niece 
Erentrude,  for  whom  before  he  brought 
her,  he  built  the  convent  of  Nunberg, 
near  Salzburg.  When  she  saw  him  she 
was  very  glad  that  she  was  found  worthy 
to  see  him  again  before  she  died.  He  took 
her  into  the  oratory,  and  said,  "  Do  you 
know  what  I  have  come  for  ?  "  She  said, 
"  Yes,  fathor,  for  the  Lord  has  revealed 
it  to  me  in  spirit,  saying, c  Go  in  peace 


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whither  thou  art  called,  for  I  will  bo 
with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  lead  many 
women  to  Me/  "  So  they  went  to  Salz- 
burg, and  Bupert  made  her  abbess  of  his 
new  convent,  where  she  taught  and 
governed  a  great  number  of  holy  nuns, 
and  did  much  good. 

One  day  Bupert  came  to  Erentrude 
and  asked  her  to  promise  something  he 
was  going  to  ask  her.  She  consented. 
He  told  her  he  knew  he  should  soon  die, 
and  he  begged  her  to  pray  for  his  salva- 
tion. She  answered  with  tears  that  it 
would  be  better  for  her  to  die  first. 
"Sister,"  he  answered,  "think  not  of 
hastening  your  own  departure  from  this 
world,  for  that  would  be  a  great  sin." 
"  Kemember,  father,  I  pray  you,  that  you 
took  me  away  from  my  own  country, 
that  I  have  followed  yon  hither  alone, 
and  have  no  stay  on  earth  but  you; 
grant  me  this  one  request — that  if  I 
must  not  die  before  you  nor  with  you, 
you  will  pray  that  I  may  follow  you 
soon."  He  consented,  and  they  "talked 
a  long  time  of  the  future  life  and  its 
happiness,  and  sadly  said  their  last 
farewell. 

Papebroch  places  the  foundation  of 
the  church  of  Salzburg  by  St.  Bupert 
about  630.  Bucelinus  gives  a  legend 
that  St  Henry  II.,  emperor  (1002-1024), 
was  cured  of  leprosy  by  the  intercession 
of  Erentrude,  and  wore  a  relic  of  her 
in  a  gold  ring  from  that  time;  he  lost 
the  riug,  and  immediately  his  leprosy 
returned.  He  vowed  to  rebuild  her 
monastery  which  had  been  burnt,  and 
was  cured  at  once  and  for  life.  AA.8S. 
Butler. 

St.  Eresvytha,  Herkswitha. 

St.  Ergnata,  Jan.  8,  V.  Daughter 
of  Darius,  son  of  Finchad,  a  prince  in 
Ireland.  She  was  one  of  the  throe 
chosen  by  St.  Patrick  to  wash  the  sacred 
vestments ;  the  other  two  were  his  sister 
St.  Lupita,  and  St.  Cruimtheresia. 

St.  Benignus,  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick, 
sang  beautifully.  Ergnata  fell  in  love 
with  him,  and  died  of  it.  When  Benig- 
nus knew  it,  he  told  St.  Patrick,  who 
raised  her  to  life,  and  after  that  she 
loved  Benignus  spiritually.  Another 
version  of  the  legend  is  that,  not  being 
able  to  get  near  enough  to  speak  to  him, 


because  of  the  strict  rule  of  Patrick  and 
his  monks,  she  pretended  to  be  very  ill, 
and  begged  she  might  receive  the  viati- 
cum from  Benignus  only.  Patrick  knew 
by  inspiration  what  was  the  matter,  but 
nevertheless  sent  Benignus.  When  ho 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  entering 
the  house,  Ergnata  saw  him  as  a  giant, 
with  eyes  like  flaming  swords ;  and  whon 
he  blessed  her,  she  saw  tho  hands  of 
Patrick  over  her.  Ever  afterwards  sho 
loved  only  with  the  spirit,  and  as  if  her 
body  were  of  wood  or  stone.  Colgan. 

St  Ergoule,  Gudula. 

St.  Erina,  Herena. 

St.  Erkongota,  Ercongota. 

St.  Erme  is  probably  the  same  as 
Enymie.  There  is  a  church  and  village 
of  St.  Erme  in  Cornwall. 

SS.  Ermelina,  V.,  and  Herneldia, 
Aug.  13.  Ermelina  is  supposed  to  be 
the  same  as  Ermelinda,  Oct.  29.  Her- 
neldia's  history  is  unknown.  AA.SS. 

St.  Ermelinda  (1),  Oct.  29  (Erme- 
lendis,  Hermelindis,  and  perhaps  Erme- 
lina). +  end  of  6th  century.  Patron 
of  Meldcert.  Born  of  noble  parentage, 
at  Dunk,  or  Terdonck,  or  Odenca,  near 
Louvain.  Her  family  had  large  pos- 
sessions in  the  north  of  France.  She 
bogan  to  lead  the  life  of  a  nun  in  her 
father's  house  at  the  age  of  twelve.  As 
her  parents  could  not  induce  her  to 
marry,  they  gave  her  an  estate,  intend- 
ing her  to  settle  near  them;  but  she 
thought  she  could  not  devote  herself 
entirely  to  God  unless  she  left  her  home 
and  surroundings.  She  went  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Bevec,  and  lived  there  unknown 
for  a  considerable  time,  never  leaving 
her  mean  little  dwelling,  except  to  go 
barefooted  to  church  by  day  and  night 
in  all  weathers.  Two  young  seigneurs 
of  the  place,  who  were  brothers,  perse- 
cuted her  with  their  admiration.  Ono 
of  them  made  a  plan  to  carry  her  off  by 
force,  and  tried  in  vain  to  bribe  the 
doorkeeper  of  the  church  to  help  him. 
She  was  warned  of  her  danger,  and  fled 
to  Meldrick,  afterwards  Meldrort,  in  the 
diocese  of  Mechlin,  near  Hugard,  where 
she  spent  the  rest  of  her  life. 

B.  Pepin  Landin,  mayor  of  the  palace, 
under  Dagobert  I.,  who  was  related  to 
her  family,  was  so  impressed  with  the 

T 


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ST.  ERMELINDA 


fame  of  her  sanctity,  that  he  had  her 
translated,  and  built  a  convent  in  her 
honour  at  Meldrart,  where  she  is  still 
commemorated,  although  the  convent  has 
been  done  away  with. 

She  is  sometimes  called  sister  of  SS. 
Pharaildis  and  Gudula,  and  of  St.  Adel- 
bert,  bishop  of  Cambray ;  but,  according 
to  Le  Mire,  this  relationship  is  a  matter 
of  conjecture.  AA.SS.  Baillet,  Vies. 
Guerin,  PJB. 

St  Ermelinda  (2),  Ermenilda. 

St  Ermenburga,  Jan.  21,  June  2, 
Aug.  2,  Nov.  19  (Eaba,  Eormenbeorga, 

EORMENBURGA,    EoRMENBURH,  ErMBUBH, 

Domneva,  Dompneva  (a  corruption  of 
Domina  Eaba),  and  perhaps  Moldeva). 
Founder  and  abbess  of  Minster,  in  Thane t. 
Daughter  of  Eormenred,  son  of  Eadbald, 
king  of  Kent.  Wife  of  Merewald,  or 
Merwold,  prince  (sub-regulus)  of  Ha- 
canos,  which  lay  in  and  near  Hereford- 
shire. Ermenburga  had  three  sisters, 
all  nuns  and  venerated  as  saints :  Ermen- 
githa,  Etheldreda,  and  another  Ermen- 
burga ;  and  two  brothers :  SS.  Ethelred 
and  Ethelbrith,  venerated  as  martyrs. 
She  had  three  daughters :  St.  Mildred, 
abbess  of  Minster ;  St.  Milburge,  abbess 
of  Wenlock ;  and  St.  Milgitha,  nun  at 
Estry,  near  Canterbury;  and  one  son, 
Meresin,  or  Morefin,  who  died  young, 
in  the  odour  of  sanctity. 

Ercombert,  king  of  Kent,  uncle  of 
Ermenburga,  died  in  664,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  Egbert.  This  Egbert 
looked  with  envy  and  jealousy  upon  his 
young  and  pious  cousins,  Ethelred  and 
Etholbrith,  and  listened  too  readily  to 
the  evil  suggestions  of  Thunner,  one  of 
his  advisers,  who  persuaded  him  that  he 
was  not  safe  on  his  throne  while  these 
princes  lived.  Thunner  is  described  by 
Simeon  of  Durham  as  "  a  limb  of  Satan 
and  of  the  house  of  the  devil,  who  being 
puffed  up  by  the  empty  pomp  of  the 
world  and  graced  by  the  munificence  of 
the  king,  neither  feared  God  nor  regarded 
man." 

Egbert  never  gave  a  positive  consent 
to  the  destruction  of  his  cousins,  but  his 
opposition  to  the  evil  designs  of  Thunner 
became  weaker  and  weaker.  The  princes 
were  murdered  and  buried  privately  by 
Thunner,  without  prayers  or  honours, 


under  the  hall  of  the  king's  house.  A 
supernatural  light  shone  over  the  con- 
cealed tomb,  and  revealed  the  crime. 
The  king,  filled  with  horror  and  remorse, 
sent  for  his  chief  thanes  and  bishops, 
and  confessed  his  guilty  half-consent  to 
the  murder.  He  had  the  bodies  removed 
and  buried  with  royal  honours  behind 
the  high  altar  in  the  church  of  Wakering, 
miracles  being  wrought  at  the  place  in 
testimony  of  their  innocence  and  sanctity. 

According  to  Saxon  law,  the  king  had 
to  pay  weregild,  or  the  price  of  blood, 
to  the  sister  of  the  victims. 

Egbert  sent  for  Ermenburga,  received 
her  in  great  state,  and  offered  her  what- 
ever she  chose  to  ask.  Ermenburga 
chose  that  the  ransom  of  blood  was  to  be 
a  gift  of  as  much  land  as  her  tame  doe 
could  run  round  in  one  course.  The 
king  consented.  The  spot  chosen  was 
the  Isle  of  Thanet,  and  there,  in  the 
presence  of  the  king  and  his  Court, 
Ermenburga  let  loose  the  doe.  Thunner, 
again  moved  by  envy  and  spite,  tried  to 
dissuade  the  king  from  giving  up  his 
lands  at  the  instigation  of  a  witch,  and, 
being  on  horseback,  set  off  in  pursuit  of 
the  doe.  He  had  scarcely  started  when 
the  earth  opened  and  swallowed  him  up ; 
the  place  for  centuries  after  was  called 
"  Thunner's  Leap."  The  doe  continued 
her  course,  and  did  not  stop  until  she 
had  encircled  forty-eight  ploughs  of  land. 
The  king  made  a  gift  of  all  this  to 
Ermenburga  and  her  spiritual  posterity, 
and  on  it,  in  670,  she  built  a  monastery, 
dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  in 
memory  of  hor  brothers.  This  monas- 
tery was  called  Minster,  and  was  soon 
filled  by  seventy  nuns,  ruled  by  Ermen- 
burga as  first  abbess.  In  this  dignity 
she  was  succeeded  by  her  daughter,  St. 
Mildred,  who  had  been  educated  ut 
Chelles,  in  France.  Ermenburga  may 
have  appointed  an  abbess,  and  then 
returned  to  her  husband,  and  only  become 
a  nun  and  abbess  after  his  death. 

Brit.  Sancta.  W.  of  Malmesbury, 
Gesta  Begum  Anglorum. 

B.  Ermendrude,  or  Irmentrudis, 
of  Milendunck,  May  29  and  30.  12th 
century.  Cistercian  abbess  of  Deyt 
Kirchen,  in  Germany,  or  Diekirch,  in 
Luxemburg.    Contemporary  and  friend 


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B.  ERMENGARD 


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of  B.  Ascelina,  and  appeared  to  her  in 
glory  after  her  death.  Henriquez,  Lilia 
Cistercium. 

B.  Ermengard  (1),  May  12.  + 1 138. 
Premonstratensian.  Ermengard  deRoucy, 
with  her  husband,  Gautier  de  Jumigny, 
founded,  about  1122,  the  Premonstraten- 
sian abbey  of  Notre  Dame  de  Cuissy,  on 
a  mountain  slope  near  the  Aisne.  The 
abbey  afterwards  became  one  of  the 
greatest  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  was 
sometimes  called  Abbaye  Royale,  as  its 
donation  was  confirmed  by  Louis  VI.,  in 
1126.  The  first  abbot  was  Luc,  dean  of 
Laon,  with  whose  help  Ermengard  also 
built  and  endowed  a  nunnery  near  Laon, 
where  she  lived  with  forty  nuns.  She 
was  so  inflamed  with  divine  love  that 
tradition  says  flames  were  seen  coming 
out  of  her  body.  Migne,  Die.  des  Abbayes. 
Le  Paige,  Bibliotheca  Prsemonstratensis 
Ordinis,  1633. 

B.  Ermengard  (2),  Sept.  25,  June 
1,  9.  1057  or  1063-1147.  Duchess  of 
Bretagne.  Born  at  the  castle  of  Angers. 
Daughter  of  Foulques  XLIL,  count  of 
Anjou  (surnamed  le  Rechin),  by  his  first 
wife,  Hildegarde  de  Beaugency. 

Angers  at  that  time  was  the  Athens 
of  France,  and  Foulques  —  although 
"prince  debauche  dont  les  honteux 
desordres  purent  a  peine  e'tre  comprimc 
par  les  foudres  reiterees  de  l'eglise  " — 
was  literary,  and  made  his  court  the 
home  of  poets  and  men  of  letters. 

Ermengard  was  tall,  slight,  and  active, 
extremely  fair,  with  very  large  eyes.  She 
dressed  in  rich  stuffs  and  handsome  furs, 
and  wore  gold  ornaments  and  gems. 
According  to  Albert  le  Grand,  she  was 
married  very  young  to  William,  count 
of  Poitiers ;  some  writers  doubt  whether 
the  marriage  ever  took  place,  while  some 
say  it  was  dissolved  by  reason  of  con- 
sanguinity, and  others  that  they  sepa- 
rated on  account  of  his  licentious  life. 
After  his  death,  in  1092  or  1093,  when 
she  was  approaching  middle  age,  she 
married  Alain  IV.,  duke  of  Bretagne, 
surnamed  Fergent,  whose  first  wife  was 
Constance,  daughter  of  William  I.  of 
England. 

By  this  marriage  Ermengard  had  three 
children  —  Conan,  who  succeeded  his 
father;  Geoffrey  the  Red,  who  died  at 


Jerusalem  inlll6;  and  Agnes,  or  Hed  wig, 
countess  of  Flanders. 

When  Pope  Urban  II.  came  to  France 
in  1095  to  preach  a  crusade,  Ermengard 
persuaded  her  husband  to  take  the  cross, 
and  during  his  absence  of  six  years  was 
left  in  charge  of  the  duchy.  Alain 
fought  in  three  pitched  battles,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  to  enter  Jerusalem  when 
it  was  taken  by  assault.  While  regent 
of  the  duchy,  Ermengard  went  from  mon- 
astery to  monastery,  making  prayers  and 
collecting  money  for  the  crusaders,  at 
the  samo  time  doing  her  best  for  the 
welfare  of  the  country  and  the  people. 
On  the  return  of  her  husband,  in  1101, 
she  induced  him  to  reform  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice  in  his  dominions,  and 
for  this  purpose  he  assembled  the  par- 
liament of  Bretagne,  and  made  many 
useful  laws  and  reforms. 

About  this  time,  encouraged,  it  is  said, 
by  Saint  Robert  d'Arbrissel,  she  left 
her  husband,  on  the  plea  of  consan- 
guinity, and  took  the  veil  at  Fontevrault, 
but  returned  in  a  year,  being  assured 
that,  as  the  Church  had  not  forbidden 
the  marriage,  her  place  was  by  her 
husband. 

In  1111  Alain  became  very  ill,  and 
had  himself  carried  to  the  abbey  of 
Rhedon,  to  prepare  for  death  among  the 
monks,  who  had  a  great  reputation  for 
sanctity.  The  duchess  obtained  per- 
mission from  the  abbot  to  attend  her 
husband,  and  while  offering  prayers  and 
alms,  she  nursed  him  so  well  that  he 
recovered.  She  advised  him  to  resign 
the  duchy  to  his  son  Conan,  and  to  spend 
the  remainder  of  his  life  in  pious  exer- 
cises near  the  abbey  of  Rhedon.  In 
1119  he  died,  and  was  buried  with  great 
pomp  in  the  abbey,  notwithstanding  his 
desire  for  a  simple  funeral. 

Ermengard  was  present  at  the  corona- 
tion of  her  son  Conan,  and  then  retired 
to  Rhedon,  where  she  lived  for  nearly 
six  years  with  some  holy  women,  under 
the  pious  direction  of  the  abbot  and 
monks,  giving  largely  of  her  patrimony 
to  churches,  hospitals,  and  monasteries. 

In  1125,  on  the  death  of  Baldwin, 
king  of  Jerusalem,  the  Christian  lords 
invited  the  duchess's  brother,  Fulk,  count 
of  Tourainc  and  Mayne,  to  marry  the 


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ST.  ERMENGITHA 


Princess  Melixenda,  solo  heiress  of  Bald- 
win. Fulk  consented,  and  invitod  his 
sister  to  go  to  the  Holy  Land  with  him, 
which  she  did,  remaining  there  nearly 
nine  years,  during  which  time  she  be- 
friended the  poor  and  the  pilgrims,  visited 
many  holy  places,  restored  churches,  and 
founded  an  abbey  near  Nablous,  which 
was  again  and  again  destroyed  by  the 
Saracens. 

Ermengard  would  willingly  have  ended 
her  days  in  Palestine,  but  her  son,  Duke 
Conan,  begged  her  to  return ;  this  she 
did  with  much  regret,  bringing  with  her 
many  precious  relics  to  Bretagne. 

Soon  after  her  return,  St.  Bernard  of 
Clairvaux  came  to  Bretagne  to  oppose 
the  errors  of  Peter  Abelard,  abbot  of 
St.  Gildas  de  Khuys,  and  while  visiting 
Duke  Conan  and  his  wife  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Henry  I.  of  England,  he 
met  the  Duchess  Ermengard.  She  offered 
him  an  estate  on  which  to  found  a  mon- 
astery ;  and  her  son  having  ratified  the 
gift,  one  was  built  in  1136,  at  Buzay,  on 
the  Loire,  four  leagues  below  Nantes, 
and  monks  brought  by  St.  Bernard  were 
settled  there  under  the  direction  of  St. 
John  de  la  Grille,  afterwards  bishop  of 
St.  Malo. 

Ermengard  stayed  some  time  at  Buzay, 
but  afterwards  retired  to  Bhedon,  where 
she  bought  a  small  house  near  the  mon- 
astery of  St.  Saviour,  and  there  she  died 
in  1148,  and  was  buried  beside  her 
husband.  Before  her  death  she  took  the 
Cistercian  habit  from  the  hands  of  St. 
Bernard.  Her  son,  Duke  Conan,  having 
spent  the  last  few  years  of  his  life  in 
religious  devotion,  was  buried  beside  her 
that  he  might  rise  with  her  at  the  last 
day.  About  seven  hundred  jroars  after 
her  death  an  interesting  letter  was  dis- 
covered among  some  old  manuscripts  of 
the  abbey  of  Yendome ;  it  was  a  letter 
to  Ermengard  from  her  spiritual  director, 
B.  Bobert  d'Arbrissel,  and  is  the  only 
writing  extant  by  him ;  for  although  he 
was  a  great  preacher  and  reformer,  he 
wrote  no  books.  This  letter  vindicates 
her  memory  from  the  charge  of  having 
left  her  husband  one  year  and  gone  back 
to  him  the  next  from  mere  caprice. 
Among  other  advice,  the  B.  Bobert  says, 
"Love  God  and  do  as  you  please;  do 


not  torment  yourself  with  change  of 
place  and  of  ways.  Have  God  in  your 
heart — at  court — in  your  ivory  bed — 
under  your  rich  robes— in  the  army — at 
banquets.  ...  To  love  God  is  to  pass 
the  night  with  Him  on  the  mountain; 
to  pass  your  life  in  being  useful  to  your 
neighbour  is  to  work  miracles  with  Him 
in  the  towns."  He  refers  to  St.  Augus- 
tine in  support  of  his  theories. 

Albert  le  Grand  de  Morlaix,  Saints  de 
Bretagne.  Chambard,  Saints  personages 
d'Anjou.  Jean  Bourdigne,  Histoire 
d'Anjou.  Bucelinus  has  her  in  his  Mcno- 
logium,  June  9.  St.  Bernard  addressed 
several  letters  to  her,  two  of  which  are 
among  his  published  works ;  they  show 
a  great  esteem  for  the  holy  duchess,  and 
may  be  read  in  English  in  Eales's  edition 
of  his  works. 

St  Ermengitha,  or  Eormengitha, 
sister  of  Ermenburga.  Butler,  Feb.  21, 
note. 

St.  Ermenilda,  Feb.  13  (Ermelinda, 

EORMENGILDA,  EoRMHTLD,  EoRMENHILDA, 

Hermynhild).  Queen  of  Mercia.  Abbess 
of  Ely.  Daughter  of  Ercombert,  king 
of  Kent  (640-664),  and  Sexburga.  Niece 
on  her  father's  side  of  St.  Eanswith, 
abbess  of  Folkestone,  and  on  her  mother's 
side  of  St.  Ethelreda  and  the  other 
daughters  of  Anna.  Born  probably  be- 
tween 630-640.  She  married  Wulpherc, 
king  of  the  Mercians  (656-675),  one  of 
the  eight  children  of  the  heathen  king 
Penda. 

Oswy,  king  of  Northumbria,  had 
defeated  Penda,  overrun  Mercia,  and 
annexed  it.  He  granted  half  of  it  to  his 
son-in-law,  Peada,  who,  however,  only 
lived  to  reign  a  year,  being  poisoned  by 
his  wife.  Wulphere,  Peada's  brother, 
was  then  placed  on  the  throne  of  Mercia, 
by  the  help  of  three  of  the  chief  ealdor- 
men,  and  his  position  was  strengthened 
by  his  marriage  with  this  princess  of 
Kent,  to  whom  he  promised  to  extirpate 
idolatry  in  his  dominions,  and  root  out 
paganism  and  superstition. 

For  love  of  his  dead  brother  Peada, 
and  of  the  Abbot  Saxulf,  he  greatly 
favoured  the  abbey  of  Medehamstede 
(now  Peterborough),  which  Pcada  and 
King  Oswy  had  begun  to  build.  #He 
finished  the  work,  and  gave  an  immense 


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grant  of  land  to  St.  Peter  and  the  Abbot 
Soxulf,  free  of  all  tribute,  and  to  owe 
obedience  only  to  Borne.  To  the  hallow- 
ing of  this  church,  Wulphere  invited  all 
his  thanes  and  the  neighbouring  kings 
and  bishops.  With  his  finger  he  signed 
the  charter  with  the  cross  of  Christ,  as 
did  his  brothers  and  two  sisters,  SS. 
Kyneburga  (l)and  Kyneswide. 

About  666  Wulphere  and  Ermenilda 
received  St.  Wilfrid,  when  that  bishop 
was  out  of  favour  with  Oswy.  They 
gave  him  an  estate  on  which  to  build  a 
cathedral  for  himself. 

Wulphere  inherited  much  of  the 
ferocious  nature  of  his  father  Penda,  and 
was  subject  to  fits  of  ungovernable  fury. 
Ermenilda  partially  succeeded  in  soften- 
ing his  temper  and  making  him  more 
just  and  forbearing,  but  not  before  their 
two  promising  sons,  Wulfade  and  Rufinus, 
had  fallen  victims  to  his  unbridled  rage. 
About  this  time,  Werebod,  a  heathen 
thane,  and  great  military  leader,  under 
Wulphere,  wished  to  marry  St.  Were- 
buroa,  Wulphere's  daughter.  Her 
brothers,  who  were  saintly  youths,  de- 
voted to  St.  Chad  and  his  teaching, 
objected  to  their  sister  marrying  a 
heathen.  Werebod,  unable  to  defeat 
their  opposition,  poisoned  the  king's 
mind  against  his  sons,  making  him  be- 
lieve them  guilty  of  treason.  They  were 
arrested,  and  finally  executed.  Too  late 
the  king  found  out  the  conspiracy  of 
which  he  had  been  the  dupe,  and  his 
heart  was  wrung  with  remorse.  The 
mnrdered  princes  were  honoured  as 
martyrs.  Wereburga  begged  her  father 
never  again  to  speak  of  a  mortal  husband 
for  her.  Wulphere  set  about  fulfilling 
his  hitherto  somewhat  neglected  promise 
to  promote  Christianity.  He  and 
Ermenilda  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting 
St.  Chad  in  his  cell  at  Lichfield,  and 
receiving  instruction  from  him  in  Chris- 
tian doctrine  and  practice.  This  teach- 
ing now  bore  fruit.  Wulphere  converted 
idol  temples  into  Christian  churches ;  he 
founded  a  priory  near  his  own  residence 
at  Stone,  where  his  sons  were  buried ; 
and  in  674,  yielding  to  the  wishes  of  his 
wife  and  danghter,  and  supported  by  the 
counsels  of  St.  Chad,  he  consented  to 
allow  Wereburga  to  become  the  bride  of 


Christ.  He  took  her  to  Ely,  making  a 
royal  progress,  attended  by  kings,  princes, 
and  nobles,  who  came  as  to  a  great 
wedding-feast.  The  Abbess  of  Ely, 
Ethelreda,  queen  of  Northumberland, 
with  her  sister,  Sexburga,  queen  of  Kont, 
and  a  great  procession  of  nuns  and 
clerics,  came  out  to  receive  the  new 
postulant. 

Wulphere  died  in  675,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  brother  Ethelred.  After 
her  husband's  death,  Ermenilda  took  the 
veil  in  her  mother's  monastery  at  Shep- 
pey,  of  which  she  became  abbess  when 
Sexburga  went  to  Ely  as  second  abbess. 
Ermenilda  became  third  abbess  of  Ely 
after  her  mother's  death,  add  was  one  of 
the  great  patrons  of  that  monastery, 
where  she  was  buried. 

Ermenilda's  son,  St.  Kenred,  suc- 
ceeded his  uncle  Ethelred  as  king  of 
Mercia  in  704,  and  ultimately  became  a 
monk  at  Rome. 

Once  a  master  was  going  to  whip  some 
boys,  and  they  fled  to  the  tomb  of 
Ermenilda,  calling  to  her  to  help  them. 
The  master  caught  them  and  beat  them, 
insulting  them  by  asking  if  they  thought 
Ermenilda  would  always  be  the  patron 
of  their  faults.  The  next  night  the 
saint  appeared  to  the  master  and  bound 
his  hands  and  feet,  so  that  he  could  not 
move  them  until  he  had  called  the  chil- 
dren and  asked  their  forgiveness.  He 
was  then  carried  to  her  tomb,  and  re- 
covered the  use  of  his  limbs. 

Henschenius,  in  AA.SS.  Capgrave, 
Legenda. 

St.  Ermentrude,  April  7.  Nun  at 
Mont  Cornillon,  near  Liege.  Towards 
the  end  of  the  life  of  B.  Juliana  of  Liege 
Ermentrude  was  her  companion.  AA.SS., 
Prseter.  feucelinus. 

St.  Ermette  is  probably  the  same  as 
Enymie.    Possibly  Erasma. 

St.  Ermia,  Enymie. 

St.  Ermina  (1),  Feb.  28,  V.  An 
ancient  Irish  saint.  Commemoratod  in 
the  Martyrology  of  Taml eight,  where  she 
is  said  to  be  also  called  Febaria,  and  to 
be  the  daughter  of  Archennius.  Un- 
certain. AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Ermina  (2),  Irmina. 

St.  Ernach,  or  Ernachuag,  Oct.  30 
(AA.SS.),  is  perhaps  the  same  as  the 


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278 


ST.  ERNDRUDE 


Irish  St.  Eargnbath,  placed  by  Beeves 
on  Jan.  8.  Probably  the  same  as  Col- 
gan's  Ergnata. 

St.  Erndrude,  Erentrude. 

St  Ernella  (l),  Kelind. 

St.  Ernella  (2),  Beyneld. 

Ernia,  Enymie. 

St.  Erotis  (1),  or  Erotheis,  Oct.  27, 
M.  Servant  of  Capitolina.  B.M. 
Men.  of  Basil. 

St.  Erotis  (2),  or  Eroteis,  Oct.  0. 
Burnt,  probably  before  324.  Worshipped 
in  the  Greek  Church.  Possibly  same  as 
Erotis  (1).    B.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Erundines,  Herundines.  (See 

BOMULA.) 

St.  Esitia,  Efioia. 

St.  Esperance.  (See  Faith,  Hope, 
and  Charity.) 

St.  Esperie,  or  Speria,  Oct.  12, 
V.  M.    Diocese  of  Cahors.  P.B. 

B.  Esprite,  in  Latin,  Spirita,  Ang. 
7.  1028-1  (558.  O.S.D.  Born  at  Car- 
pentras,  in  Provence.  Her  parents, 
Lawrence  Jaussaud  (spelt  several  ways) 
and  Helen  Durand,  were  comfortable, 
respectable  tradespeople,  moderately 
pious  and  tolerably  worldly.  Notwith- 
standing some  opposition,  she  gave  her- 
self entirely  to  devotion  and  charity. 
Miraculous  circumstances  illustrated  her 
piety  and  goodness.  She  enrolled  her- 
self in  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic, 
dropping  the  name  of  Jaussaud,  and 
calling  herself  Esprite  de  Jesus.  She 
died  at  the  age  of  thirty,  and  was  thence* 
forth  regarded  as  a  saint  in  her  own 
town  and  neighbourhood.  She  is  always 
spoken  of  as  4  Blessed,"  but  has  not 
been  authoritatively  pronounced  so  by 
the  Church.  Her  life  by  Dupont,  in  the 
Bibliotheque  Dominicaine,  throws  light 
on  the  customs  of  her  time  and  class, 
and  contains  a  clear,  short  account  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic  and  its  origin. 

St.  Esther  (1),  in  Hebrew,  Hadas- 
sah,  May  24,  July  1.  3484  a.m. 
Queen  of  Persia.  Wife  of  Ahasuerus. 
The  Persians  called  her  Esther,  the 
name  of  the  planet  Venus.  Mordecai  is 
honoured  with  her  May  24  in  the  Julian 
Calendar.  AA.SS.  Baillet,  Vies.  (See 
the  Books  of  Esther  in  the  Bible  and 
Apocrypha.) 

B.  Esther  (2),  July  15.  A  native  of 


Brittany.  As  she  was  a  Catholic,  she 
was  so  ill  treated  by  her  Calvinist 
relations  that  she  prayed  for  death,  and 
obtained  this  release  from  the  Giver  of 
life.  Angels  were  heard  singing  round 
her  death-bed.  Saussaye,  supplement, 
p.  1146. 

St.  Estratia  and  her  companions, 
April  14.  Commemorated  in  a  manuscript 
Arabico-Egyptian  martyrology,  trans- 
lated into  Latin  by  Gratia  Simonio ;  other- 
wise unknown  to  the  Bollandists.  Prseter. 

St.  Etaoin,  July  5,  V.  of  the  race  of 
Brian.  Perhaps  same  as  Modwknna. 
Forbes. 

St.  Etere,  Cecra. 

St.  Etha,  Oct.  27  (Eatha,  Teath, 
Tetha,  Thkola,  Theha,  Thetha,  and 
perhaps  Ella).  One  of  the  saints  who 
came  from  Ireland  and  settled  in  Corn- 
wall. She  is  among  the  companions  of 
Ia  and  Breaca.  AA.SS.  Kev.  S.  Baring- 
Gould,  Book  of  the  West,  says  Teath  is 
Itha.  (See  Ita.)  Probably  Etha  is  the 
same. 

St.  Ethan.  Supposed  same  as 
Etaoin,  or  Modwenna.  A  well  near 
Elgin,  in  Morayshire,  is  called  St. 
Ethan's  :  might  it  not  be  Etha's  ? 

St  Ethehea,  Echea. 

St.  Ethelburga  (1),  Sept.  10,  8 
(.Ethelburg,  Edilborq,  Tace,  Tata, 
Tate).  +  647.  Queen  of  Northumbria. 
Founder  of  Lyming.  Daughter  of  St. 
Bertha  (1)  and  of  Ethelbert,  first 
Christian  king  of  Kent  and  founder  of 
the  See  of  Canterbury.  Second  wife  of 
Edwin  (017-034),  first  Christian  king 
of  Northumbria  and  founder  of  the  See 
of  York.  Mother  of  St.  Eanfleda.  In 
G25  Ethelburga  was  married  to  St. 
Edwin,  who,  after  many  wars  and  vicis- 
situdes, was  now  sole  King  of  Northum- 
bria, and  the  fifth  and  greatest  of  all  the 
Bretwaldas.  He  promised,  her  and  all 
her  suite,  of  whatever  rank  and  sex,  full 
liberty  to  observe  their  own  religion ; 
and  further,  said  that  if,  on  examination 
and  consultation  with  wise  persons,  he 
found  the  Christian  worship  more  holy 
and  worthy  of  God  than  the  religion  lie 
professed,  he  would  himself  adopt  it. 
With  her  went  Paulinus,  ordained  bishop 
for  the  occasion,  that  he  might  strengthen 
her  and  her  companions  in  the  true 


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faith,  lest  any  should  be  corrupted  by 
associating  with  pagans.  The  year  after 
Ethelburga's  marriage,  an  assault  was 
made  upon  Edwin  with  a  poisoned 
weapon  by  an  assassin  sent  by  Quichelm, 
king  of  Wessex.  Edwin's  faithful  ser- 
vant Lilla  interposed  his  body  and  died 
in  his  master's  stead.  This  was  on 
Easter  Day.  The  same  night  the  queen 
was  safely  delivered  of  a  daughter,  who 
was  called  Eanfleda.  The  king  gave 
thanks  to  his  gods.  Paulinus  gave 
thanks  to  Christ,  saying  that  it  was 
through  His  intervention  that  the 
queen's  life  had  been  spared.  Edwin 
said  that  if  the  Christian  God  would 
procure  him  victory  over  Quichelm  and 
recovery  from  his  wound,  he  would  be 
converted  ;  as  a  pledge  of  his  sincerity, 
he  delivered  up  the  new-born  princess 
to  Paulinus  to  be  baptized.  The  king 
went  with  an  army  against  Quichelm, 
and  returning  victorious,  renounced  the 
worship  of  idols.  He  hesitated  still 
about  adopting  Christianity,  received 
much  instruction  on  the  subject  from 
Paulinus,  and  consulted  also  the  wisest 
men  of  his  own  kingdom.  Pope  Boni- 
face was  interested  in  his  conversion, 
and  about  this  time  wrote  two  letters, 
one  to  Edwin,  one  to  Ethelburga,  urging 
the  great  religious  change,  and  he  sent 
them  presents,  with  the  blessing  of  St. 
Peter.  The  king's  gifts  were  a  gold 
ornament  and  a  garment  of  Ancyra  ;  the 
queen  received  a  silver  looking-glass 
and  an  ivory  gilt  comb.  The  letters  are 
given  in  Bede's  History. 

The  turning-point  in  Edwin's  con- 
version was  the  recurrence  of  an  appa- 
rition, which  had  visited  him  years 
before  while  in  exile  at  Bedwald's  court, 
and  promised  him  success  and  sove- 
reignty. This  supernatural  being  now 
told  him  that  it  was  the  God  of  the 
Christians  who  had  given  him  greater 
power  than  any  of  his  predecessors,  and 
that  he  must  no  longer  delay  his  con- 
version. Edwin  wished  that  all  his 
people  should  be  converted  with  him; 
he  therefore  convened  his  Witan.  Coiffi, 
the  pagan  high  priest,  declared  himself 
strongly  in  favour  of  Christianity,  and 
was  the  first  to  begin  the  destruction  of 
the  great  heathen  temple  at  Godmundham 


(near  Wighton,  in  Yorkshire),  with  its 
hideous  altars  and  grim  accessories  of  a 
barbarous  worship.  After  this,  on  Easter 
Day,  April  12,  627,  in  a  new  wooden 
church  at  York,  Edwin  was  baptized 
with  his  and  Ethelburga's  son,  Ethelhun, 
and  several  of  his  relations,  friends,  and 
officers.  Their  example  was  soon  fol- 
lowed by  thousands  of  people  of  all  ages 
and  conditions.  Ethelhun  died  while 
still  wearing  his  white  baptismal  robes, 
and  was  buried  in  York  Minster. 

Penda,  king  of  Mercia — a  fierce 
heathen  warrior,  brother  of  Edwin's 
first  wife,  Quenburga — invaded  Edwin's 
dominions,  and  defeated  the  Northum- 
brians in  a  great  battle  at  Hatfield 
Chase,  in  Yorkshire.  Edwin  and  his 
son  Osfrith  were  killed.  Ethelburga, 
with  Paulinus,  and  her  young  children, 
escaped  by  sea  to  Kent,  to  the  court  of 
her  brother  Eadbald,  taking  with  her 
many  of  Edwin's  treasures,  especially  a 
golden  cup  and  cross,  which  were  pre- 
served at  Canterbury  in  Bede's  time. 
Eanbald  gave  Ethelburga  a  Roman  villa 
at  Lyming,  between  Canterbury  and  the 
sea.  There  she  built  the  first  nunnery 
in  England,  and  there  she  and  her  sister 
St.  Edbubg  a  ( 1 )  took  the  veil.  Paulinus 
became  Bishop  of  Rochester. 

Ethelburga  sent  her  son  Wuscfrea, 
and  Uffi — son  of  her  stepson  Osfrith — 
to  Dagobert,  king  of  France,  to  be  edu- 
cated. They  died  young,  and  were 
buried  in  France  with  royal  honours. 
Besides  Wuscfrea  and  Eanfleda,  she  had 
two  children,  who  died  before  their 
father,  and  were  buried  in  York  Minster. 
Ethelburga  lived  as  abbess  of  Lyming 
for  several  years.  Her  grave  may  still 
be  seen  there,  and  a  well  near  the  church 
boars  the  name  of  her  sister  St  Edburga, 
and  was  long  believed  to  possess  mira- 
culous healing  powers.  Ethelburga  was 
the  first  queen  and  the  first  widow  of 
Anglo-Saxon  race  who  took  the  veil. 
Edburga  was  the  first  virgin  princess 
who  did  so.  The  church  of  St.  Ethel- 
burga, Shoreditch,  is  thought  to  be  named 
in  commemoration  of  this  saint. 

Bede.  Montalembert,  iii.  English 
Mart.,  by  a  Catholic  priest,  1608.  Lin- 
gard,  Hist,  and  Antiquities  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  Church. 


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ST.  ETHELBURGA 


St.  Ethelburga  (2),  Oct.  11  (^dil- 
bkrga,  Edilburga).  +  664.  First 
Abbess  of  Barking.  Of  the  family  of 
Offa,  king  of  the  East  Angles.  Sister 
of  St.  Earconwald,  bishop  of  London,  a 
most  holy  saint,  honoured  by  God  with 
the  gift  of  miracles.  Before  his  promo- 
tion to  the  bishopric,  he  founded  two 
famous  monasteries :  one  for  himself  at 
Ceortesei  (Chertsey),  the  other  at  Ber- 
cingum  (Barking)  for  his  sister.  He 
invited  Hildelitha  from  France  to  teach 
her  monastic  customs.  Ethelburga 
proved  herself  a  sister  worthy  of  such  a 
brother,  and  Barking  became  celebrated 
not  only  for  the  fervour  of  its  nuns,  but 
for  the  zeal  they  displayed  for  the  study 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  fathers  of 
the  Church,  and  even  the  classic  tongues. 
Like  her  brother,  she  had  the  gift  of 
miracles.  Hers  was  a  double  monastery. 
It  is  recorded  that  when  the  pestilence 
of  664  ravaged  the  country,  and  the 
ranks  of  the  monks  were  being  rapidly 
thinned  by  the  terrible  scourge,  Ethel- 
burga consulted  her  nuns  as  to  where 
they  would  themselves  wish  to  be  buried 
when  the  pestilence  came  to  their  part 
of  the  monastery.  Nothing  was  decided 
until  one  night,  at  the  end  of  matins, 
soon  after  midnight,  the  nuns  had  left 
the  oratory  to  pray  beside  the  graves  of 
the  departed  monks,  when  suddenly  they 
saw  a  light  which  seemed  to  cover  them 
as  with  a  shining  shroud ;  it  was  brighter 
than  the  sun  at  noonday.  The  sisters, 
alarmed,  left  off  singing,  and  the  light, 
rising  from  that  place,  moved  to  the 
south  of  the  monastery  and  west  of  the 
oratory.  After  some  time,  it  was  drawn 
up  again  to  heaven.  All  took  this  as  a 
heavenly  sign  to  show  the  place  where 
their  bodies  were  to  rest.  Several  reve- 
lations were  made  to  the  nuns  during 
this  plague  as  to  the  deaths  of  each 
other.  Torchgyth  had  a  vision  of  a 
glorified  body,  wrapped  in  a  shining 
sheet,  and  being  drawn  up  to  heaven  by 
cords  brighter  than  gold.  In  a  few  days 
the  Abbess  Ethelburga  died,  and  so  ful- 
filled the  vision. 

Bede,  Eccl.  Hist,  bk.  iv.  Capgravo, 
Nova  Legenda  Ang.,io\.  139,  140  (1516). 
AA.SS. 

St.  Ethelburga  (3),  July  7  (jEdil- 


BERGA,    ATHELBURGA,  AuBIERGE,  EDIL- 

bubga).  7th  century.  Abbess  of  Brie. 
Daughter  of  Anna,  king  of  the  East 
Angles,  and  sister  of  Ethelreda  and 
Sexburga.  Ethelburga  and  her  step- 
sister Sjethryth  were  sent  to  the  monas- 
tery of  Faremoutier,  in  Brie,  to  be 
educated.  Here  Ethelburga  took  the 
veil,  and  afterwards  became  abbess. 
While  she  was  abbess,  she  began  to 
build  in  her  monastery  a  church  in 
honour  of  all  the  apostles,  where  she 
wished  to  be  buried.  She  died,  how- 
ever, before  the  building  was  finished, 
but  was  buried  where  she  desired.  After 
her  death,  the  building  was  left  un- 
touched for  seven  years;  then  the  brothers 
of  the  monastery,  instead  of  building 
this  church,  decided  to  move  Ethel- 
burga's  bones  to  some  church  that  was 
consecrated.  On  opening  the  tomb,  the 
body  of  the  saint  was  found  so  fresh  that 
they  had  it  washed  and  dressed,  and  re- 
moved to  the  church  of  St.  Stephen. 
R.M.    Bede,  iii.  8.    Eng.  Mart. 

St.  Ethelburga  (*i  Feb.  6,  July  9. 
+  c.  740.  Queen  of  Wessex.  Wife  of 
Ina,  king  of  Wessex  (688-728).  Sister 
of  the  sub-regulus  Adalard,  a  prince  of 
the  same  family  as  Ina. 

Ina  succeeded  Ceadwalla,  and  reigned 
long  and  prosperously,  making  wise  and 
useful  laws,  and  laying  the  foundation  of 
that  ascendency  which  Wessex  ultimately 
gained  over  the  other  kingdoms  of 
England.  About  the  same  time  that  the 
great  abbey  of  Medehamstede  was  being 
enlarged  and  endowed  in  Mercia,  Ina 
renewed  and  established  two  large  monas- 
teries at  Abingdon  and  Glastonbury. 
Glastonbury  is  said  to  have  been  origin- 
ally founded  by  Joseph  of  Arimathroa, 
not  many  years  after  our  Lord's  ascen- 
sion ;  and  there  he  is  said  to  have  planted 
his  staff  of  thorn.  In  token  of  the  truth 
of  the  story,  the  staff  grew  into  a  tree, 
and  flowers  at  Christmas  to  this  day. 
Ina  richly  endowed  Glastonbury,  making 
it  a  free  monastery.  It  continued  to  be 
held  in  great  reverence  by  his  successors, 
and  was  a  favourite  shrine  of  the  British 
Christians.  He  built  a  church  at  Wells ; 
and,  with  his  aid,  his  sisters,  Cothburga 
and  Qutmburga,  built  the  monastery 
at  Wimborno,  afterwards  so  famous. 


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Ethelburga  was  associated  with  her  hus- 
band in  these  pious  labours,  and  took  part 
also  in  more  warlike  deeds.  In  722, 
Aldbryht,  oj  Albert,  a  hostile  prince  of 
Wessex,  took  the  fortress  of  Taunton, 
which  Ina  had  built.  He  being  engaged 
in  fighting  a  distant  foe,  Ethelburga, 
with  what  troops  she  could  gather,  made 
a  vigorous  assault  on  the  fort,  razed  it 
to  the  ground,  and  compelled  Aldbryht 
to  flee. 

During  many  years  of  prosperity  and 
glory,  Ina  and  his  wife  had  been  friends 
to  the  Church  and  the  poor.  They  had 
often  talked  of  withdrawing  from  the 
cares  and  pomp  of  royalty,  and  of  passing 
their  remaining  years  in  religious  retire- 
ment. Ina,  however,  put  off  the  decisive 
step  from  month  to  month,  from  year  to 
year,  until  at  last  Ethelburga,  finding 
her  arguments  and  lectures  of  no  avail, 
with  the  feminine  zeal  which  ignores 
defeat,  resorted  to  stratagem  to  impress 
upon  him  the  corruptible  nature  of  all 
•worldly  things,  also  that  the  time  had 
come  for  them  to  turn  their  attention 
exclusively  to  things  spiritual,  in  pre- 
paration for  death  and  eternity. 

They  made  a  party  of  pleasure  to  one 
of  the  king's  villas,  with  every  luxury 
and  splendour  that  the  age  and  nation 
conld  command.  After  spending  a  night 
or  more  in  feasting  and  revelry,  the 
king  and  queen  set  out  for  another  of 
their  residences;  but  when  they  had 
ridden  a  few  hours,  Ethelburga  begged 
her  husband  to  go  back  to  the  villa 
where  they  had  been  so  happy.  He 
agreed,  and  they  returned.  By  the 
queen's  orders,  the  hours  of  their  absence 
had  been  employed  in  destroying  and 
disfiguring  the  place,  dirt  and  squalor 
taking  the  place  of  riches  and  splendour. 
Everything  was  made  as  revolting  as 
possible — pigs  were  lying  in  the  very 
bed  wbere  the  royal  couple  had  slept. 
Ina  understood  the  lesson  his  queen  in- 
tended to  convey,  and  agreed  with  her 
to  forego  the  pleasures  of  this  world, 
and  devote  himself  to  preparation  for 
the  next.  He  assembled  the  Witan, 
resigned  his  crown,  and  recommended 
as  his  successors  Ethelhord,  the  brother 
of  Ethelburga,  and  Oswald,  another 
prince  of  tho  house  of  Cedric.    In  726, 


Ina  and  Ethelburga  went  to  Eomc,  where 
they  lived  among  the  poorest  of  the 
pilgrims,  wearing  the  dress  of  the  com- 
mon people,  and  Ina  supported  himself 
by  the  labour  of  his  hands.  They  never 
betrayed  their  lofty  origin.  Within  a 
year  Ina  died  at  Borne,  and  was  buried 
there,  not  as  a  king,  but  as  a  poor  pil- 
grim. After  his  death,  Ethelburga,  the 
first  English  queen  to  visit  Eome,  re- 
turned to  England,  and  became  a  nun  at 
Barking.    There  she  died  about  740. 

St.  Ina  is  commemorated  on  Feb.  6, 
his  wife,  either  on  the  same  day  or  on 
the  day  of  one  of  the  other  three  sainted 
princesses  of  her  name. 

Montalembert,  v.,  English  edition. 
The  English  Mart.,  July  9,  does  not  say 
that  Ethelburga  went  to  Borne,  but 
implies  that  when  Ina  went  there,  sho 
went  to  Barking. 

St.  Etheldreda  (1)  or  Etheldbytha, 
Ethildbitha,  Ediltbudk,  one  of  the 
three  sainted  sisters  of  Ermenbubga. 

St.  Etheldreda  (2),  Ethelbeda. 

Etheldritha,  Alfbeda. 

St.  Ethelfted,  Elfleda  (3). 

St.  Ethelfleda,  Elgiva  (3). 

St.  Ethelfleta,  Elfleda  (1). 

St.  Ethelgiva,  Elgiva  (3). 

St.  Ethelreda,  June  23  (Edeldbud, 
Elidbu,  Etheldbeda,  jEtheldbyth, 
Edilthbyda,  Etheldrita,  Ediltbude, 
Audbey,  Awdry).  636-679.  Queen  of 
Northumbria.  First  Abbess  of  Ely. 
Daughter  of  Anna,  king  of  the  East 
Angles  (635-654). 

[Represented  with  the  emblems  of 
royalty,  and  of  her  rank  as  abbess, 
sometimes  with  a  book,  and  sometimes 
a  crown  of  flowers,  or  crowned,  with  a 
crosier  and  budding  staff.  At  Ely 
Cathedral,  lantern  columns  represent  her 
asleep,  her  head  in  a  nun's  lap,  a  book 
in  her  hand,  with  a  tree  blossoming 
above  her.  Anna  was  of  the  family  of 
the  Uffing8,  descendants  of  Odin.  He  was 
a  Christian,  and  did  much  for  the  con- 
version of  his  own  kingdom,  and  that  of 
Wessex,  his  chief  enemy  being  the  savage 
Penda,  heathen  king  of  Mercia. 

St.  Ethelreda  was  the  third  daughter 
of  Anna,  by  his  wife  St.  Hebeswitha, 
though  some  authorities  say  that  St. 
Hereswitha  was  married  to  Ethelhere, 


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ST.  ETHELREDA 


Anna's  brother.  Anna's  family  of 
daughters  were  famous  for  their  piety, 
namely,  St.  Ethelburga,  St.  Sexburga, 
St.  Ethelreda,  and  St.  Withburga. 

Ethelreda  was  born  at  Exiling,  or 
Erming,  in  Suffolk,  and  was  brought  up 
in  an  atmosphere  of  piety.  It  was  her 
ambition  to  be  a  nun  like  her  sisters, 
but  she  was  destined  not  to  attain  this 
goal  until  she  had  been  twice  married. 
In  (352,  she  was  given  against  her  will 
to  Tombert,  or  Tondbrecht,  prince  or 
ealdorman  of  the  Girvii,  an  East  Anglian 
people  settled  in  a  place  that  now  forms 
part  of  Cambridgeshire,  Huntingdonshire, 
and  Lincolnshire.  Tombert  gave  his 
wife  as  a  settlement  an  estate  then 
called  Elge,  and  afterwards  Ely.  Tom- 
bert, either  respecting  and  sympathizing 
with  her  monastic  vocation,  or  regarding 
her  with  indifference,  allowed  her  to  live 
as  a  nun  during  the  three  years  of  their 
marriage.  During  that  time  occurred 
(in  G54)  the  defeat  and  death  of  King 
Anna  by  Penda,  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  his  brother  Ethelhere. 

After  the  deaths  of  her  husband  and 
father,  Ethelreda  settled  on  her  own 
estate  of  Ely,  intending  to  spend  the 
rest  of  her  life  in  religious  retirement. 
But  in  660,  for  family  reasons,  probably 
to  secure  for  the  house  of  the  Uffings  the 
alliance  of  the  powerful  kingdom  of 
Northumbria,  against  the  aggressions  of 
the  Mercians,  she  married  Egfrid,  second 
son  of  Oswy,  king  of  Northumbria,  by 
St.  Eanfleda,  daughter  of  Edwin  and 
St.  Ethelburga. 

At  the  time  of  his  marriage,  Egfrid 
was  little  more  than  a  child.  Ethelreda 
won  his  esteem  and  affection  at  once, 
and  rapidly  acquired  a  purifying  and 
ennobling  influence  over  him.  He  "  held 
her  as  a  thing  enskied  and  sainted ; "  he 
sat  at  her  feet,  and  learnt  wisdom  and 
self-denial  from  her,  and  he  assisted  her 
in  her  good  works. 

While  Ethelreda  was  queen  of  North- 
umbria, she  delighted  in  the  society  of 
monks  and  nuns,  and  took  care  to  invite 
and  attract  to  her  house  such  of  them  as 
were  most  distinguished  for  learning 
and  piety.  Among  these  was  St.  Cuth- 
bert,  the  young  prior  of  Lindisfarne. 
She  bestowed  many  gilts  from  her  private 


property  on  his  monastery,  and  desiring 
to  give  him  also  a  token  of  her  regard 
for  himself,  and  to  be  specially  remem- 
bered in  his  prayers,  she  made  and 
embroidered  with  her  own  skilful  fingers 
a  stole  and  a  maniple,  that  he  might 
wear  her  gift  only  in  the  presence  of 
God,  and  be  reminded  of  her  while 
offering  the  holy  sacrifice. 

In  670,at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  Egfrid 
ascended  the  throne  of  Northumbria. 
Immediately  the  Scots  and  Picts,  who 
owed  him  service  and  tribute,  despising 
his  youth,  rebelled,  and  the  pious  Wulfere 
of  Mercia,  with  hereditary  jealousy  of 
the  neighbouring  kingdom,  attempted  to 
subjugate  it.  Egfrid,  however,  reduced 
the  northern  rebels  to  submission,  and 
then  turned  his  arms  against  the  Mercians, 
who,  instead  of  annexing  Northumbria, 
were  themselves  annexed  by  that  state. 
Egfrid,  after  a  time,  restored  the  kingdom 
to  Ethelred,  the  brother  of  Wulfere,  who 
had  married  St.  Osthrida,  Egfrid's 
sister.  St.  Wilfrid  was  the  friend  and 
adviser  of  the  king  and  queen,  Egfrid 
and  Ethelreda.  Ethelreda  gave  him  the 
lands  of  Hexham  which  Egfrid  had 
given  her,  and  there  Wilfrid  built  the 
fairest  church  that  existed  north  of  the 
Alps,  after  he  had  already  rebuilt 
the  Cathedral  of  York,  and  done  much 
to  improve  and  beautify  his  monastery 
of  Ripon. 

Meantime,  Egfrid,  who  had  been  the 
humble  adorer  of  his  beautiful  wife  for 
twelve  years,  had  arrived  at  the  age  of 
passions,  and  his  affection  had  grown  to 
a  love  that  could  no  longer  be  satisfied 
with  worship  at  a  distance.  He  had 
hitherto  consented  to  let  her  live  in  his 
house  like  a  nun  in  her  convent,  but 
now  that  he  was  a  man  and  a  king,  with 
the  pride  of  success  in  war,  and  with 
more  knowledge,  wealth,  and  power,  he 
demanded  one  thing  more  of  Fate  and  of 
Ethelreda.  He  entreated  Wilfrid  to  use 
his  influence  to  induce  her  to  become  in 
fact  what  as  yet  she  had  been  only  in 
name.  He  promised  Wilfrid  great  things 
for  himself  and  for  his  churches,  should 
he  be  able  to  persuade  the  queen  that 
her  duty  to  God  was  her  duty  to  her 
husband.  Wilfrid  feigned  to  enter  into 
the  king's  view  of  the  matter,  but,  in  fact, 


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lie  steadfastly  encouraged  the  queen  to 
persist  in  her  celibate  life,  and  even 
advised  her  to  ask  permission  to  leave 
the  court  and  become  a  nun.  Few 
persons  of  the  present  day  will  approve 
cf  the  conduct  of  Wilfrid  in  this  matter, 
but  none  of  his  contemporaries  seem  to 
have  thought  him  worthy  of  anything 
but  praise.  Egfrid  never  forgave  him. 
After  many  painful  scenes,  an  unwilling 
consent  was  wrung  from  Egfrid,  no 
sooner  given  than  repented.  But  before 
he  could  give  orders  to  the  contrary, 
Etholreda  had  fled  to  Coldingham  beyond 
the  Tweed,  where  St.  Ebba  (1)  was 
abbess,  she  was  sister  of  the  late  king 
Oswy,  and  aunt  of  Egfrid. 

Egfrid  found  life  intolerable  without 
Ethelreda,  and  determined  to  bring  her 
back  with  or  without  her  consent.  St. 
Ebba  heartily  sympathized  with  Ethel- 
reda, but  seeing  that  should  Egfrid  insist 
on  reclaiming  his  wife  resistance  would 
be  impossible,  advised  her  to  escape  from 
Coldingham  in  the  disguise  of  a  beggar. 
Ethelreda  did  this,  attended  by  two  of 
the  nuns  from  Coldingham,  SS.  Sewara 
and  Sewenna.  She  did  not  go  to  her 
aunt,  St.  Hilda,  at  Whitby,  as  she  would 
have  opposed  anything  advised  by  Wil- 
frid, but  decided  to  go  back  to  her  own 
lands  at  Ely.  Many  stories  are  told  of 
her  adventures  on  the  journey,  and  they 
have  often  been  the  subject  of  sculpture 
and  painted  glass  in  the  English  monastic 
churches. 

On  the  first  day  of  her  flight,  Ethelreda 
was  all  but  overtaken  by  her  husband. 
She  arrived  at  a  headland,  Colbert's  Head, 
jutting  into  the  sea,  and  her  pious  inten- 
tion was  protected  by  the  tide,  which  at 
once  rose  to  an  unusual  height  around 
the  rock,  making  the  place  inaccessible 
to  her  pursuera  Egfrid  resolved  to 
wait  till  the  ebbing  waters  should  leave 
the  path  open  to  him,  but  instead  of 
going  down  in  a  few  hours,  the  waters 
remained  at  high  tide  for  seven  days. 
The  baffled  pursuer  then  realized  that  a 
power  greater  than  his  had  taken  Ethel- 
reda and  her  vow  under  His  protection, 
so  gave  up  the  idea  of  compelling  her 
to  come  back  to  him,  and  returned  home. 

Another  miraculous  incident  is  re- 
corded of  her  flight.    One  very  hot  day, 


as  she  was  travelling  on  foot,  over- 
powered with  fatigue,  she  stuck  her  staff 
into  the  ground,  and  lay  down  to  rest  on 
the  open  plain.  When  she  awoke,  the 
staff  had  put  forth  leaves  and  branches, 
and  it  afterwards  became  a  mighty  oak 
tree,  larger  than  any  other  for  many 
miles  around.  At  length,  after  many 
days  of  weary  walking,  the  saint  arrived 
on  her  own  lands  of  Ely.  Here  there 
was  a  piece  of  good,  firm,  rich  land, 
supporting  six  hundred  families,  and  sur- 
rounded to  a  great  distance  by  fens, 
forming  a  more  formidable  rampart  than 
walls  or  plain  water  would  have  done. 

Here,  in  673,  Ethelreda  built  one  of 
those  large  double  monasteries  which 
were  so  famous  and  so  important  in  the 
early  da^s  of  the  English  Church.  Wil- 
frid, who  never  lost  sight  of  his  old 
friend,  made  her  abbess,  and  gave  the 
veil  to  her  first  nuns.  He  obtained  special 
privileges  for  her  from  the  Pope,  and 
often  visited  her,  and  helped  her  with 
advice  and  suggestions  useful  in  the 
management  of  her  large  establishment. 

Hither  came  many  of  her  friends  and 
relations  to  live  under  her  rule,  or  to 
place  their  daughters  in  her  care.  Hither 
came  many  holy  men  and  priests  to  take 
her  for  their  spiritual  guide.  Many  of 
her  old  friends  and  courtiers  followed 
her  and  her  example.  Her  devoted 
steward,  Oswin,  who  had  been  in  her 
service  from  childhood,  and  did  not  care 
to  remain  in  the  outer  world  without 
her,  recognizing  his  own  unfitness  for 
study  and  meditation,  carried  his  spade 
to  St.  Chad  at  Lichfield,  and  begged,  not 
for  repose,  but  for  labour.  "  You  shall 
read  in  your  cell,"  said  ho,  "  and  I  will 
dig  for  you." 

Ethelreda  ruled  over  her  monastery 
for  seven  years,  setting  a  great  example 
of  piety  and  abstinence,  and  all  other 
monastic  virtues.  Though  such  a  great 
lady,  and  so  delicately  reared,  she  never 
wore  any  linen,  but  only  rough  woollen 
clothing.  She  denied  herself  the  use 
of  the  warm  bath,  a  luxury  much  in  use 
among  the  English  in  her  time,  only 
permitting  herself  this  indulgence  at  the 
four  great  festivals  of  the  year,  and  even 
then  she  only  used  the  bath  that  had 
already  served  for  the  other  nuns. 


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Among  the  kindred  princesses  who 
were  attracted  by  Ethelreda's  good 
qualities  and  the  fame  of  her  holiness, 
was  her  sister,  St.  Sex  burg  a,  queen  of 
Kent,  who,  leaving  her  own  foundation 
of  Sheppey,  came  and  put  herself  under 
the  rule  of  Ethelreda,  and  at  her  death, 
in  679,  succeeded  her  as  abbess. 

Ethelreda  died  of  a  quinsy,  which 
she  regarded  as  a  punishment  for  her 
former  love  of  dress,  and,  in  particular, 
for  having  worn  jewels  on  her  neck.  An 
incision  was  made  in  her  throat  by  a 
surgeon,  who  afterwards  swore  to  the 
healing  of  the  wound  after  death. 

Ethelreda  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
of  English  saints,  and  there  are  more 
dedications  in  her  name  in  England  than 
in  that  of  any  female  saint  of  {he  early 
Anglo-Saxon  Church.  Her  day  is  June 
23,  the  anniversary  of  her  death. 

In  696,  St.  Sexburga  had  her  body 
taken  from  its  tomb,  where  it  was  found, 
not  only  undestroyed,  but  with  a  youthful 
freshness  which  had  long  departed  from 
the  face  of  the  living  Ethelreda.  Many 
miracles  were  wrought  at  her  tomb,  and 
at  those  of  her  successors,  who  were 
princesses  of  the  same  family,  and  the 
abbey  of  Ely  was  for  many  years  very 
famous  and  very  rich.  It  was  consti- 
tuted a  cathedral  in  1109,  the  abbot  and 
bishop  being  thenceforth  one  person. 

The  life  and  merits  of  Ethelreda  were 
the  favourite  study  of  medheval  writers, 
and  many  notices  of  her  are  still  extant. 

B.M.,  June  23.  Bede,  Ecclesiastical 
History  of  England.  AA.SS.  Mabillon, 
AA.SS.  O.S.B.  Thomas  of  Ely,  Liber 
Eliensis.  Capgrave,iVopa  Legenda  Anglise. 
Montalembert,  Moines  d' Occident.  In  an 
Anglo-Saxon  missal,  now  in  the  public 
library  at  Eouen,  the  names  of  JEthil- 
drythe  and  Gertrude  are  in  the 
prayer,  "Nobis  quoque  peccatoribus,,, 
after  the  consecration.  Lingard's  An- 
tiquities of  the  Ang.-Sax.  Church. 

St.  Ethelviva,  Adelviva. 

St.  Ethembria,  Ethemaria,  Cecta- 
maria,  Cethubere8,  Cethubris,  or 
Cetumbria.  Said  to  be  the  first  nun 
veiled  by  St.  Patrick  in  Ireland,  at  her 
monastery  near  Clogher.  When  he  gave 
the  veil  to  Cinna,  he  placed  her  under 
the  care  of  Ethembria  in  480,  at  Drum- 


dubhain,  co.  Tyrone.  Some  say  she  is 
the  same  as  Cinna.  Colgan,  Irish  Saint?. 

St.  Ethildrita,  or  Ediltrude.  Sister 
of  St.  Ermenburga. 

St.  Ethle,  April  4  (Adelais,  Alice, 
Elisabeth).  Mother  of  St.  Bernard. 
P.B. 

SS.  Ethnea  and  Fedelmia,  or 

Sodelbia,  Jan.  2,  11,  15,  March  29; 
Stadler  gives  Sodelbia,  Nov.  10  (Ethna 
and  Pedelm,  Hethna  and  Fedella, 
Athna  and  Feidelmai  ;  in  French, 
Athene  or  jEthen6  la  Blanche  and 
Fethl£  la  Rose). 

Daughters  of  King  Laoighaire,  son  of 
Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages  and  monarch 
of  Ireland  for  thirty  years  (428-458). 
He  succeeded  Dathi,  who  was  killed  by 
lightning  among  the  Alps. 

When  St.  Patrick  preached  at  the 
court  of  Laoighaire  at  Tara,  about  433 
a.d.,  Ethnea  the  Fair  and  Fedelmia  the 
Rosy  were  not  in  their  father's  house, 
but  were  "at  fosterage"  with  a  pro- 
vincial potentate  in  a  distant  part  of 
Ireland.  The  brothers  M©1  and  Caplit, 
who  were  magi,  educated  them  in  the 
religion  of  the  Druids.  On  the  approach 
of  St.  Patrick,  the  magi  produced  an 
Egyptian  darkness  for  three  days  and 
nights  over  the  whole  plain  of  Hai 
(probably  Roscommon),  where  they  lived. 
The  prayers  of  Patrick  dispelled  the 
darkness,  which  was  succeeded  by  a 
wondrous  fair  white  light.  The  prin- 
cesses were  going  at  daybreak  to  bathe 
at  the  fountain  of  Cliabach,  near  Rath- 
croghan  (where  they  seem  to  have  been 
at  the  court  of  the  King  of  Connaught), 
and  to  their  surprise  they  saw  a  number 
of  venerable-looking  men,  dressed  in 
white,  sitting  round  the  fountain.  These 
were  St.  Patrick  and  his  clergy ;  but  the 
princesses  took  them  for  fairies,  or  spec- 
tral gods,  sidhe  (beings  still  believed  in 
by  the  ignorant  peasants  of  Iroland  as 
living  in  the  ground  under  pleasant 
hills,  etc.).  So  they  asked  St.  Patrick 
where  he  came  from.  He  told  them 
they  should  believe  in  God  instead  of 
asking  idle  questions,  showing  that  they 
believed  in  fairies  and  the  like.  The 
elder  princess  then  began  to  inquire 
about  God  with  great  eagerness,  con- 
cerning His  age,  His  possessions,  His 


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285 


power,  and  whether  there  wonld  be  any 
end  of  Him.  St.  Patrick  willingly  gave 
them  the  information  they  asked  for, 
and  in  a  short  time  baptized  them  in  the 
fountain,  and  finding  them  willing  to  re- 
nounce all  their  worldly  prospects  to 
serve  the  God  he  had  made  known  to 
them,  he  gave  them  the  white  veil  of 
virginity.  Then  they  earnestly  longed 
to  be  free  from  the  body  and  to  hasten 
to  the  presence  of  the  Lord  ;  and  at- 
their  wish  he  gave  them  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, and  the  two  sisters  lay  down 
side  by  side,  and  their  spirits  departed 
to  the  Lord.  This  happened  near 
Croghan,  or  Eathcroghan.  They  were 
buried  there,  and  a  church  was  built 
over  them,  but  their  relics  were  after- 
wards transferred  to  the  Metropolitan 
Church  of  Armagh,  perhaps  during  the 
life  of  St.  Patrick.  The  two  magicians 
were  very  angry  about  their  death,  but 
Patrick  converted  them  both.  The 
worship  of  Ethnea  and  Fedelmia  is  not 
general ;  even  in  Ireland  there  seems  a 
doubt  whether  they  are  to  be  reckoned 
among  the  saints.  The  above  story  is 
in  the  life  of  St.  Patrick.  O'Hanlon, 
Irish  Saints,  i.  163.  Skene,  Celtic 
Scotland. 

Feidelmai,  V.,  Jan.  11,  and  Ethnea, 
Feb.  28,  appear  in  the  Martyrology  of 
Tallaght,  but  it  is  not  certain  that  this  is 
the  same  St.  Ethnea. 

St.  Ethuise,  Theodosia  (1). 

St  Ethwide  (provincia  Saxoniro). 
One  of  six  saints,  3rd  O.S.F.,  named 
in  Prima  Fundatio,  and  in  Brewer's 
Monumenta  Franciscana,  ii.  543.  Already 
worshipped  in  1224,  when  the  Friars 
Minors  were  first  established  in  London. 

St.  Euanthia,  Evanthia,  or  Evantia. 

St  Euasia,  April  26,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Eubala,  March  30.  3rd  century. 
Wife  of  Eustorgius,  who  was  eminent 
for  his  wealth,  and  still  more  for  his 
impiety.  Mother  of  St.  Pataleon,  or,  as 
he  is  called  by  the  Greeks,  Pantaleemon, 
physician  and  martyr  (July  27)  under 
Diocletian.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eucapia,  April  13,  M.  at  Chal- 
cedon  with  Euphemia  (4).  AA.SS. 

St  Eucharis,  Walbukoa. 

St.  Eucratis,  Engkatia  (l). 


St  Eudelme,  Feb.  18,  V.  Richard 
Whitford,  Mart,  after  the  Use  of  the 
Church  of  Salisbury. 

St  Eudocia  (1).  The  woman  of 
Samaria  is  honoured  sometimes  under 
the  name  of  St.  Eudocia,  March  1,  some- 
times as  Photina,  March  20.  Dr.  Nealo, 
Liturgiology. 

St.  Eudocia  (2)  the  Penitent,  March 
1,  M.  in  the  reign  of  Trajan,  beginning 
of  2nd  century,  is  called  by  her  bio- 
grapher an  active  servant  of  the  devil. 
She  was  of  Samaritan  lineage,  and  lived 
at  Heliopolis,  in  Phoenicia,  in  a  house 
near  the  gate  of  the  city,  where  her 
wonderful  beauty  drew  many  souls  to 
sin,  and  enabled  her  to  acquire  immense 
wealth.    One  night  a  monk,  named 
Germanus,  on  his  return  to  his  monastery 
from  a  journey,  passed  through  Helio- 
polis, and  lodged  in  a  friend's  house 
which  adjoined  that  of  Eudocia,  and  it 
happened  that  he  occupied  a  room  which 
was  only  separated  by  a  thin  wall  from 
hers.    In  the  middle  of  the  night  her 
attention  was  aroused  by  hearing  him 
singing  psalms.    Then  he  read  from  a 
holy  book  a  passage  concerning  the 
torments  of  the  wicked  in  tho  future  lifo. 
Eudocia  listened  in  great  alarm.  As 
soon  as  it  was  light  she  sent  for  the 
monk,  and  asked  what  she  should  do  to 
escape  from  so  dreadful  a  fate.    He  told 
her  she  must  renounce  all  her  ill-gotten 
wealth.     She  fasted  and  prayed,  and 
refused  to  see  any  of  her  former  asso- 
ciates for  some  time,  during  which  St. 
Germanus  instructed  her  in  the  doctrines 
of  Christianity  and  the  ways  of  holiness. 
She  was  then  favoured  with  an  encourag- 
ing vision,  and  Germanus  sent  her  to  be 
baptized  by  Theodotus,  bishop  of  Helio- 
polis, to  whom  she  made  over  all  her 
riches.    She  next  became  a  nun,  and  was 
eventually  appointed  to  preside  over  the 
others.   Soon  after  her  entrance  into 
the  religious  retreat,  one  of  her  former 
friends  made  his  way  to  her  disguised 
as  a  monk,  and  tried  to  persuade  her  to 
return  to  the  world  and  to  her  sinful  life. 
Having  reproved  him  in  vain,  she  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross  over  him,  and  he 
fell  down  dead.    She  restored  him  to 
life  by  her  prayers  and  converted  him. 
When  she  had  lived  in  a  holy  and 


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penitential  manner  for  a  considerable 
time,  a  false  accusation  was  raised  against 
her  by  her  former  lovers,  and  she  was 
condemned  by  Diogenes,  the  governor, 
to  be  tortured.  She  wrought  so  many 
miracles  on  this  occasion,  striking  her 
onemies  dead  and  raising  them  again, 
that  Diogenes  at  last  set  her  at  liberty. 
She  also  raised  to  life  Firmina,  who  had 
died  suddenly  in  a  bath ;  she  and  her 
husband  and  family  were  converted,  and 
so  was  Diogenes.  The  last  miracle  re- 
corded of  her  is  that  she  raised  to  life  a 
boy  who  was  killed  by  a  dragon ;  then 
by  her  prayers  she  caused  the  dragon  to 
burst  and  burn  away.  Great  numbers 
of  people  were  converted  and  baptized 
in  consequence.  Diogenes'  successor, 
Vicentius,  could  not  bear  to  have  so 
great  a  saint  in  his  jurisdiction,  so  he 
ordered  her  to  be  beheaded.  B.M. 
AA.SS.,  from  a  Greek  book  in  the 
Vatican. 

St.  Eudocia  (3),  Aug.  4,  M.  4th 
century.  A  woman  of  Koman  birth, 
but  living  in  the  East;  taken  prisoner 
by  the  soldiers  of  Sapor,  king  of  Persia, 
and  carried  to  that  country.  Being 
learned  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  she  con- 
verted many  of  her  fellow-prisoners  and 
many  Persian  women.  For  this  offence 
she  was  scourged  with  sinews  of  oxen 
until  her  flesh  fell  from  her  bones ;  then 
kept  in  prison  for  six  months;  then 
they  packed  her  up  in  a  sort  of  cage  of 
canes  or  reeds,  and  bound  it  tight  to  her 
with  thin  hempen  cords,  and  squeezed 
and  wrenched  one  limb  after  another 
until  they  cut  all  her  flesh ;  finally,  they 
dragged  her  over  rough  beams  by  ropes 
and  broke  all  her  bones.  After  these 
tortures,  they  found  she  was  still  alive, 
so  they  cut  off  her  head.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eudocia  (4),  Jan.  6.  Nun  in 
the  convent  of  St.  Cecilia  at  Eome. 
Mentioned  by  Cajetani  and  Menard. 
Bucelinus. 

St.  Eudoxia  (1),  Jan.  31,  M.  at 
Canope.  One  of  tnree  daughters  of 
Athanasia  (1). 

St.  Eudoxia  (2),  Nov.  3.  +  303. 
Concealed  St.  Valentine,  priest,  and  St. 
Hilary,  deacon,  for  a  long  time  in  her 
house  in  Home,  during  the  persecution 
under  Maximian,  and  when  at  length 


they  were  beheaded  at  Viterbo,  she 
buried  them  in  a  place  called  Cavillarius. 
For  this  act  of  devotion  she  was  beaten 
to  death.  The  martyrdom  of  Valentine 
and  Hilary  is  recorded  in  the  Roman 
Martyrolrgy,  but  there  are  many  versions 
of  the  story ;  that  which  tells  of  Eu- 
doxia's  deeds  is  not  well  authenticated. 
AA.SS.,  Preeter. 

St.  Eudoxia  (3),  Euphrosyne  (12). 

St.  Eufemia  (l),  Euthemia. 

St.  JEufemia  (2).   (See  Sila.) 

St.  Euferia,  Sept.  10.  Probably  a 
mistake  in  old  MS.  for  Euplia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eufra,  or  Eufrida,  Jan.  14,  M. 
in  Africa.    AAJSS.  P.B. 

St.  Eufrasia,  Euphrasia. 

St.  Eufrida,  Eufra. 

St.  Eufrosine,  Euphrosyne. 

St.  Eugamina.  Formerly  honoured 
at  Soissons.  Guerin. 

St.  Eugenda,  Jan.  2,  M.  with 
St.  Tobia  at  Sirmium;  mentioned  in 
St.  Jerome's  Martyrology.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eugenia  (1),  Dec.  25,  20,  Sept. 
11,  Jan.  3  (Eugenne,  Oine  in  Soissons, 
Ouine  in  parts  of  France,  Oyne  in  somo 
Celtic  places),  V.  M.  ^  2nd  or  3rd 
century.  Patron  of  Spain.  Daughter 
of  Philip,  who  was  proconsul  of  Egypt 
under  Commodus  (180-192),  and  of  St. 
Claudia  (8).  In  her  fifteenth  year  it  was 
contemplated  to  marry  her  to  Aquilinus, 
but  she  said  she  preferred  a  husband  of 
good  conduct  to  one  of  high  lineage. 

At  that  time  Christians  were  allowed 
to  dwell  peaceably  near  Alexandria,  but 
not  within  the  city;  and  as  Eugenia, 
who  had  heard  with  interest  of  the 
doctrines  of  St.  Paul,  was  one  day  walk- 
ing near  the  town,  she  heard  the  Chris- 
tians singing  psalms,  of  which  she  spoke 
to  two  of  her  friends  and  fellow-students, 
Prothus  and  Jacynthus,  and  proposed  to 
them  to  become  Christians,  to  which 
they  agreed.  She  then  dressed  herself 
in  man's  clothes,  and  went  to  a  monas- 
tery, where  Ellen  was  abbot.  This 
Ellen,  who  is  supposed  to  be  Helenus, 
bishop  of  Liopos,  had  once  disputed  with 
a  heretic,  and  getting  the  worst  of  the 
argument,  he  had  a  great  fire  made, 
and  saying,  "We  shall  now  see  which 
is  the  right  faith,"  he  went  into  the 
fire,  and  came  out  unhurt.    The  heretic 


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acknowledged  the  inferiority  of  his  faith 
by  refusing  to  enter  the  fire.  Ellen  would 
not  suffer  any  woman  to  come  near  him. 
Eugenia  was  admitted  under  the  impres- 
sion that  she  was  a  man,  but  her  sex 
was  revealed  to  the  abbot  in  a  vision. 
When  her  father  and  mother  saw  her 
chair  come  home  empty,  they  sought  her 
everywhere  in  great  distress,  and  de- 
manded of  the  soothsayers  what  had 
become  of  her.  They  answered  that  she 
was  carried  up  to  heaven  by  the  gods. 
They  therefore  made  an  image  of  her, 
and  commanded  that  all  the  people 
should  worship  her.  All  this  time 
Eugenia  feared  God,  and  lived  among 
the  holy  brethren,  and  when  the  provost 
of  the  church  was  dead,  she  was  ap- 
pointed his  successor. 

In  those  days  there  was  in  Alexandria 
a  noble  and  rich  lady,  named  Melaneye, 
whom  Eugenia  cured  of  a  quartan  ague 
by  anointing  her  with  oil,  and.  who 
therefore  sent  her  many  gifts.  These, 
however,  were  always  declined,  as  Eu- 
genia said,  "  We  have  plenty  of  every- 
thing ;  we  cure  in  the  name  of  God,  and 
seek  no  reward  from  man."  This  lady 
behaved  like  Potiphar's  wifo,  and  made 
her  servants  swear  to  what  she  said. 
The  prefect  ordered  Eugenia  and  all  the 
monks  to  be  given  to  the  wild  beasts  in 
the  amphitheatre  on  a  certain  day,  but 
first  they  were  brought  into  his  presence. 
Eugenia  discovered  herself  to  her  father 
and  mother,  who  clothed  her  in  gold, 
and  restored  her  to  their  house  with 
great  joy.  Fire  came  down  from  heaven 
and  destroyed  Melaneye.  Philip  and 
Claudia,  with  their  two  sons  and  all 
their  dependents,  became  Christians; 
Philip  was  made  a  bishop,  and  was  slain 
by  the  heathen  while  saying  his  prayers. 
After  his  death,  his  widow  and  children 
returned  to  Borne,  and  converted  many 
to  the  faith  of  Christ.  By  order  of  the 
emperor,  Eugenia  was  thrown  into  the 
Tiber  with  a  stone  tied  round  her  neck ; 
but  the  stone  broke,  and  she  was  un- 
injured. She  was  next  put  in  a  burning 
furnace,  which  immediately  became  cold. 
Then  she  was  put  in  a  dark  prison, 
which  was  miraculously  illumined ;  and 
having  been  there  ten  days  without  food, 
she  received  a  white  loaf  from  Jesus 


Christ,  who  told  her  that  on  Christmas 
Day  she  should  be  admitted  into  heaven. 
Accordingly,  on  Christmas  Day  the 
executioner  was  sent  to  cut  off  her  head 
in  the  prison.  After  this,  she  appeared 
to  her  mother,  and  told  her  she  should 
follow  her  on  the  next  Sunday.  Claudia 
on  Sunday  "put  herself  to  prayer,  and 
gave  her  spirit  to  God."  Prothus  and 
Jacynthus  were  dragged  to  the  temple 
to  sacrifice,  but  by  their  prayers  they 
broke  the  idols,  and  were  therefore 
beheaded. 

In  the  B.M.,  Dec.  25,  she  is  said  to 
have  been  killed  by  having  her  throat 
pierced  with  a  sword.  Golden  Legend. 
Leggendario.  Flos  Sanctorum.  Cahior. 
jRJtf.  "  Philip,"  Sept.  13. 

This  legend  of  Eugenia  is  said  by 
Guerin  to  be  put  together  from  some 
very  ancient  mosaics,  etc.,  in  which  she 
appears ;  it  is  the  subject  of  Calderon's 
martyr-play,  The  Joseph  of  Women. 

Butler  says  she  is  mentioned  in  the 
lives  of  SS.  Protus  and  Hyacinthus, 
MM.  Sept.  11,  also  by  St.  Avitus;  but 
except  that  she  was  martyred  at  Borne 
about  the  year  257,  in  the  reign  of 
Valerian  and  Gallienus,  nothing  is  known 
of  her,  no  authentic  acts  being  preserved 
and  the  legends  being  of  no  authority. 

St.  Eugenia  (2),  March  26,  M.  in 
Nicomedia. 

SS.  Eugenia  (3),  Jan.  22,  and 
Bagan,  VV.  Neale. 

St.  Eugenia  (4),  Sept.  16.  8th 
century.  Daughter  of  Adelard,  brother 
of  Odilia  (3),  whom  she  succeeded  as 
second  abbess  of  Hohenburg,  or  Alti- 
tona,  or  St.  Odilia's  Mount,  where  she 
ruled  for  fifteen  years.  Sister  to  SS. 
Attala  and  Gundelinda.  Pinius,  in 
AA.SS.  Lechner. 

St.  Eugenne,  Eugenia  (1). 

St.  Eugra,  Aug.  24.  Supposed 
same  as  Engratia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eugratia,  Engratia  (1). 

St  Eulalia  (1),  or  Olalla,  Dec.  10, 
V.  of  Merida,  M.  304.  Patron  of 
Merida  and  of  Oviedo,  where  her  relics 
are  kept.  A  young  Spanish  lady  of 
good  family.  Born  at  Merida,  in  Estre- 
madura,  then  capital  of  Lusitania.  She 
was  twelve  years  old  when  the  tenth 
great  persecution  of  tiie  Church  began, 


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nnder  Diocletian.  On  hearing  of  the 
glories  of  the  confessors  and  martyrs, 
sho  determined  to  share  them ;  and  when 
Calpnrnius  was  sent  to  Merida  to  exter- 
minate Christianity  in  that  part  of  Spain, 
her  mother,  dreading  her  rashness,  took 
her  into  the  country  to  be  ont  of  the  way 
of  dangers.  Eulalia,  however,  having 
persuaded  one  of  her  servants,  named 
Julia,  to  adopt  her  views,  they  fled  by 
night  to  Merida.  On  the  way  thither, 
Julia  could  hardly  keep  up  with  her 
young  mistress,  and  said  to  her,  "  Your 
eagerness  to  get  before  me  is  in  vain ;  I 
shall  be  the  first  to  receive  the  martyr's 
palm."  And  so  it  happened.  They 
arrived  at  Merida  at  daybreak,  and  found 
Calpurnius,  or  Dacian,  as  he  is  called  in 
the  Spanish  legend,  sitting  in  the  forum 
persecuting  the  Christians.  Eulalia  at 
once  began  to  revile  him  and  the 
emperor,  and  to  ridicule  the  idols  and 
all  who  believed  in  them.  "  Child,'* 
said  the  envoy  of  the  emperor,  "  do  you 
know  to  whom  you  are  speaking  ? " 
Eulalia  answered  that  she  knew  well 
who  he  was,  and  how  great  were  his 
folly  and  his  wickedness.  The  envoy 
still  had  pity  on  her.  He  showed  her 
the  instruments  of  torture  prepared  for 
those  who  obstinately  resisted  tho 
emperor's  authority,  at  the  same  time 
telling  her  that  if  she  would  but  offer  a 
little  salt  and  incense  to  the  gods,  no  one 
should  molest  her  further,  and  no  more 
questions  should  be  asked.  Eulalia 
threw  down  the  idol,  trampled  the  offer- 
ings under  her  feet,  and  spat  in  the  face 
of  the  judge,  an  action  which  most  of 
her  biographers  apologize  for  and  excuse 
on  account  of  her  youth.  Calpurnius 
ordered  Julia  to  be  beheaded  at  once, 
and  Eulalia  to  be  tortured.  After  many 
dreadful  sufferings,  she  was  condemned 
to  be  burnt  alive.  The  flames  quickly 
reached  her  hair,  which  was  all  about 
her  shoulders,  and  she  was  suffocated. 
At  the  moment  of  her  death,  a  white 
dove  was  seen  to  fly  out  of  her  mouth 
and  ascend  to  heaven.  She  was  ordered 
to  bo  hung  on  a  high  cross,  to  be  eaten 
by  the  birds  ;  but  a  fall  of  snow  covered 
her  entirely,  and  kept  her  body  safe  and 
fresh  for  three  days,  until  the  Christians 
buried  it  near  the  place  of  her  martyr- 


dom. Prudontius,  who  was  born  in 
Spain,  348,  mentions  St.  Eulalia  in  his 
poems.  B.M.  Vega.  Mrs.  Jameson, 
Sacred  and  Legendary  %  Art.  Ncale. 
Butler.  Watson,  Csedmon,  p.  109,  men- 
tions that  the  earliest  work  in  vernacular 
French  is  a  poem  of  the  9th  century  on 
the  martyrdom  of  St.  Eulalia. 

A  slightly  different  version  of  the 
legend  is  given  by  Bibadeneira  in  Flos 
Sanctorum. 

St.  Eulalia  (2),  Feb.  12,  Dec.  10 
(Alausia,  Aulaibb,  Aulaye,  Aulaize, 

AlJLAZIE,  OCCILLE,  CElLLE,  OLACIE,  OlA- 

ille,  Olaibe,  Olaibe,  Olalla,  Ouille), 
V.  of  Barcelona.  M.  304.  Patron  of 
Barcelona.  She  was  brought  up  a  Chris- 
tian in  or  near  Barcelona,  and  was  cruci- 
fied on  the  rack  in  the  same  persecution 
in  which  St.  Eulalia  of  Merida  was 
martyred.  She  is  titular  saint  of  many 
churches,  and  gives  her  name  to  several 
villages  in  the  south  of  France.  Two 
families  of  the  ancient  noblesse  of  France 
take  their  names  from  her — Sainto- 
Aulaire  and  Sainte-Aulaye.  Her  story 
is  often  confused  with  that  of  Eulalia  of 
Merida;  but  they  are  distinguished  by 
the  tradition  of  the  Spanish  churches, 
by  the  Mozarabic  missal,  and  by  all  the 
old  martyrologies  of  Jerome,  Usuard, 
otc.    R.M.  Butler. 

St  Eulalia  (3),  or  Eophemia  (10), 
March  30,  V.  M.  AA.SS. 

B.  Eulalia  (4),  May  11,  V.,  was  a 
Cistercian  nun,  who  showed  great  devo- 
tion to  tho  Virgin  Mary,  and  repeated 
the  angelic  salutation  very  often  every 
day.  The  B.  Y.  Mary  appeared  to 
her  one  night,  and  said  she  was  pleased 
with  her  devotion.  "But,"  she  added, 
"  if  you  wish  to  gratify  me,  do  not  say 
the  angelic  salutation  so  fast,  for  it  gives 
me  most  pleasure  when  you  say  '  Domi- 
nus  tecum9  slowly  and  devoutly/'  So 
Eulalia  was  very  happy  and  grateful. 
She  redoubled  her  devotion,  and  was  led 
to  a  great  height  of  sanctity  by  the 
patronage  of  the  Virgin,  and  died  in 
peace.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Eulampia,  Oct.  10.  M.  with 
her  brother,  St.  Eulampius,  in  the  perse- 
cution under  Maximian.  They  were 
natives  of  Nicomedia,and  fled  with  a  num  • 
ber  of  other  Christians  to  the  mountains. 


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ST.  EUPHEMIA 


289 


Eulampius  went  into  the  town  to  buy 
food,  and  was  taken  by  the  guards  and 
dragged  to  the  temple.  There  he  prayed, 
and  the  idols  fell  down.  The  governor 
would  have  let  him  go  if  he  would  have 
submitted,  but  he  defied  the  powers  and 
the  gods,  and  was  put  to  the  torture. 
His  little  sister  heard  of  it,  and  came 
running;  she  rushed  amongst  the  soldiers 
and  threw  her  arms  round  her  brother. 
Both  were  cast  into  a  fire  together,  but 
romained  unhurt.  This  miracle  con- 
verted two  hundred  soldiers,  all  be- 
headed with  the  martyred  children. 
B.M.    Menology  of  Basil.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eulodia,  or  Alodia,  M.  with  St. 
Nunilo. 

St.  Eunica,  March  7  (Lbunuca, 
Leununcula),  M.  in  Thrace,  with  two 
Dandas  and  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eunice,  March  11.  Mother  of 
St  Timothy.  She  was  a  Jewess,  her 
husband  a  Greek  (2  Tim.  i.  5;  Acts 
xvi.  1).  She  and  Lois  are  commemo- 
rated by  Arturus,  but  rejected  by  Hen- 
schenius  from  the  number  of  saints  to 
be  worshipped.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eunice,  Oct.  28.   (See  Bela.) 

St.  Eunomia,  Aug.  12.  Servant  of 
St.  Afra  of  Augsburg.  EM. 

St.  Euodias.  Called  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  Bible  Evodia  (Phil.  iv.  2). 
Called  by  St.  Paul  one  of  his  fellow- 
workers  whose  names  are  in  the  Book  of 
Life,  and  exhorted  to  "  be  of  the  same 
mind"  with  Syntyche.  Euodia  evi- 
dently lived  at  Philippi,  and  was  appa- 
rently one  of  those  who  sent  to  St.  Paul 
such  things  as  he  stood  in  need  of,  to 
Thessalonica,  and  afterwards  by  Epaphro- 
ditus  to  Borne. 

St.  Eupatronia,  Cleopatbonia. 

St.  Eupelia,  May  30,  M.  Honoured 
in  the  Greek  Church.  Guerin. 

St.  Euphemia  (1),  or  Effam,  Sept. 
3,  of  Aquileia.  V.  M.  with  her  sister, 
St.  Dorothy  (1),  and  their  cousins,  SS. 
Thecla  and  Erasma.  Time  of  Nero. 
Patron  of  Rovigo  and  Istria. 

Euphemia  and  Dorothy  were  daughters 
of  Valens,  or  Yalentius,  a  heathen  ; 
Thecla  and  Erasma  were  daughters  of 
his  brother  Valentinian,  a  Christian,  who 
instructed  them  all  four  in  his  faith. 
They  were  baptized  in  the  river  Natis, 


and  consecrated  to  a  religious  life  by  B. 
Hermacora,  the  bishop.  Soon  after- 
wards, Valens  wanted  to  give  the  two 
eldest  to  the  husbands  he  had  chosen 
for  them ;  they  declined,  and  he  ran  at 
them  with  his  sword,  but  they  escaped 
to  their  uncle's  house,  where  they  were 
concealed  for  some  time,  but  were 
betrayed  by  a  servant  The  traitor  was 
presently  seized  by  a  devil,  and  ran  and 
drowned  himself  in  the  river.  Valens 
took  Euphemia  and  Dorothy,  and  gave 
them  over  to  be  punished  as  Christians. 
They  underwent  the  usual  tortures  and 
outrages,  and  finally  were  beheaded  by 
their  father  in  a  tower,  which  he  had 
built  for  them.  He  threw  their  heads 
into  the  river;  the  tower  was  imme- 
diately struck  by  fire  from  heaven,  and 
he  and  his  accomplices  were  burnt  in  it. 
Then  Valentinian  and  the  bishop  went 
by  night  to  look  for  the  bodies,  and 
found  at  first  only  the  breasts,  which  had 
been  cut  off  and  thrown  to  the  dogs  to 
eat.  They  had  turned  into  roses,  and 
the  dogs  were  watching  by  them.  Then 
they  went  to  look  in  the  river  for  the 
heads,  and  a  celestial  boat  appeared, 
bearing  those  sacred  relics,  and  guided 
by  two  angels. 

The  origin  of  the  tower  is  thus  told 
by  Peter  Calo.  Euphemia  and  Dorothy 
being  sought  in  marriage  by  some  of 
their  neighbours,  Valens  would  not  give 
them,  because  they  were  very  young,  and 
he  was  very  fond  of  them,  and  wanted 
to  keep  them  with  him.  He  ordered  a 
tower  to  be  built  for  them  close  to  the 
river  Natissa,  and  adjoining  his  house. 
While  it  was  building,  he  made  a 
journey  to  Tergeste.  During  his  absence, 
the  young  saints  asked  the  builder  what 
the  tower  was  for.  Being  told  it  was 
for  them  to  live  iu,  and  that  it  was  to 
have  two  windows,  they  begged  him  to 
make  a  third  window  larger  than  the 
others,  and  he  did  so.  The  lower  part 
of  the  tower  was  provided  with  arches 
through  which  the  river  Natissa  flowed, 
and  served  as  a  bath  for  the  young  ladies. 

The  body  of  St  Euphemia  is 
worshipped  at  Bavenna. 

R.M.   AA.SS.    Mart,  of  Salisbury. 

St.  Euphemia  (2)  of  Chalcedon, 
September  16,  May  G  (Effam  in  the 


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ST.  EUPHEMIA 


Martyrology  of  Salisbury,  Offange, 
Ophbnoe),  V.  M.  The  year  of  her  death 
given  by  different  authors  varies  between 
280  and  311. 

One  of  the  four  great  patronesses  of 
the  Eastern  Church;  patron  of  Cala- 
tafimi,  of  the  Faculty  of  Theology  in 
Paris,  of  Parenzo  in  Istria,  of  Verona. 

Eepresented:  (1)  with  a  sword  stick- 
ing in  her  breast,  a  lily  in  her  right 
hand,  and  a  palm  in  her  left ;  (2)  between 
two  serpents;  (3)  with  a  wheel  near 
her;  (4)  with  a  lion  or  bear  standing 
by  her ;  (5)  burnt  alive,  angels  coming 
to  her. 

Daughter  of  a  senator  of  Chalcedon. 
She  wore  black  clothes  to  show  that  she 
renounced  all  worldly  pleasures.  Seeing 
so  many  Christians  perish  for  their  faith 
in  the  time  of  Diocletian,  she  complained 
to  Priscus,  the  judge,  that  he  treated  her 
with  unjust  neglect  in  granting  the 
honours  of  martyrdom  to  so  many 
persons,  and  passing  her  over.  The 
judge  tried  to  persuade  her  to  renounce 
her  religion,  and  failing,  had  her  beaten 
with  fists,  and  then  had  her  shut  up  in 
his  own  house,  where  ho  intended  to 
make  love  to  her,  but  he  could  not  open 
the  door  of  her  prison,  either  with  keys 
or  with  axes.  He  then  ordered  her  to 
be  broken  on  a  wheel,  but  the  wheel 
broke  and  killed  the  executioners,  leaving 
Enphemia  free.  She  was  miraculously 
delivered  from  several  other  forms  of 
death  and  torment,  prepared  for  her  by 
the  heathen,  among  others,  when  thrown 
to  wild  beasts,  instead  of  devouring  her, 
they  twisted  their  tails  together,  and 
made  a  chair  for  her  to  sit  on.  Finally 
she  was  stabbed  by  one  of  the  attendant 
soldiers.  The  man  who  stabbed  her  was 
honoured  by  Priscus  with  a  magnificent 
robe  and  a  gold  necklace ;  he  went  out, 
and  was  eaten  by  a  lion;  his  friends 
looking  for  his  body  could  only  find 
some  little  bits  of  bones  and  small 
remains  of  his  silken  robe  and  golden 
collar.  Priscus  also  was  torn  to  pieces 
by  the  lion.  The  accounts  vary  as  to 
the  last  act  of  cruelty  that  put  an  end  to 
her  life.  Some  say  she  was  burnt  alive, 
others  that  she  was  rescued  miraculously 
from  the  flames,  and  afterwards  thrown 
to  wild  beasts,  and  being  weary  of  so 


many  torments,  she  prayed  that  this 
might  be  the  last,  and  accordingly  a  lion 
killed  her  with  one  bite.  B.M.  Golden 
Legend,  Flos  Sanctorum,  and  other  collec- 
tions of  legends.  Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred 
Art.  Stilting,  in  AA.SS.  Butler,  etc. 
Baillet  says  her  worship  was  popular  in 
very  early  times,  but  that  the  only 
ground  for  her  story  was  a  picture 
described  by  St.  Asterius  (5th  century), 
in  a  homily,  representing  her  dressed  in 
the  dark  brown  robe  of  a  philosopher, 
one  executioner  pulling  her  by  the  hair, 
and  another  striking  her  on  the  mouth 
with  a  hammer.  Leo  the  Isaurian,  in 
the  8th  century,  desiring  to  stop  the 
worship  of  relics  and  images,  had  her 
body  thrown  into  the  sea,  but  her  relics 
were  found  and  her  worship  re-established 
by  the  Empress  Irene  (12)  and  the 
Emperor  Constantino. 

St.  Euphemia  (3),  patron  of  Ante- 
quera,  and  of  Auria,  or  Orense,  in  Galicia, 
in  Spain,  where  some  of  her  relics  are 
kept,  is  claimed  as  a  Spaniard,  but  is 
probably  the  great  Euphemia  of  Chalce- 
don. 

St.  Euphemia  (4),  April  13,  M.  at 
Chalcedon,  in  Bithynia,  with  SS.  Eucapia 
and  Secutor.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euphemia  (5),  April  12. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Euphemia  (6),  July  1 1 .  Crucified 
and  burnt.  Commemorated  in  the  Abys- 
sinian Church.  AA.SS. 

These  four  are  possibly  duplicates  of 
the  great  Euphemia. 

St.  Euphemia  (7),  May  11,  M. 
with  parents,  brothers, and  sister.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euphemia  (8),  March  20,  M. 
with  St.  Alexandria  (3).  B.M. 

St.  Euphemia  (9),  July  3,  M.  at 
Constantinople,  in  the  time  of  the 
Emperor  Valens. 

St.  Euphemia  (10),  or  Eulalia, 
March  30,  V.  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euphemia  (11),  June  2,  M.  at 
Kome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euphemia  (12)  of  Abyssinia. 
June  6,  4th  century,  had  a  special 
devotion  to  the  Archangel  Michael, 
whose  image  she  wore  on  her  forehead, 
and  thus  overcame  the  devil.  Mentioned 
in  the  metrical  Hagiography  of  the 
Abyssinian  Cnuroh.  AA.SS. 


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ST.  EUPHRASIA 


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St.  Euphemia  (13),  July  6,  of 
Tropea.  c.  302.  Same  as  Dominica  (1). 

B.  Euphemia  (14)  of  Meran,  Jnne 
17,  +  1180,  O.S.B.  Abbess  of  Alto- 
miinster,  in  Upper  Bavaria,  between 
Augsburg  and  Munich.  Daughter  of 
Berthold  and  Sophia,  count  and  countess 
of  Andechs.  Great-aunt  of  St.  Hedwig, 
duchess  of  Silesia.  Sister  of  St.  Matilda, 
abbess  of  Diessen,  of  St.  Otho  II.,  bishop 
of  Bamberg,  and  of  Gisla  mother  of  four 
bishops.  Euphemia's  monastery  was 
founded  for  monks  in  the  8th  century, 
by  St.  Alto.  In  course  of  time  the  monks 
wero  removed  to  Altorf,  and  nuns  were 
put  in  their  place  at  St.  Alto's.  Euphe- 
mia died  there,  but  by  her  particular 
desire  she  was  buried  beside  her  sister 
Matilda  at  Diessen,  where  her  grave, 
with  an  epitaph  in  German,  was  still  to 
be  seen  in  the  time  of  Henschenius  (17th 
century).  AA.SS.,  on  her  day  and  also 
on  those  -of  St.  Hedwig,  Oct.  17,  and  St. 
Matilda,  May  31. 

Ven.  Euphemia  (15),  Dec.  25,  V. 
Called  by  Bucelinus  "  a  most  illustrious 
heroine."  She  had  a  vow  of  chastity 
from  her  childhood.  Her  parents  com- 
pelled her  to  marry  a  certain  noble  count. 
She  went  into  the  chapel,  and  implored 
the  aid  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  then  cut  off 
her  nose  and  lip.  Her  father,  very  angry, 
gave  her  as  a  servant  to  a  peasant,  and 
she  suffered  hard  work  and  sores  for 
seven  years.  On  the  eve  of  the  Nativity, 
she  went  into  the  stable  to  praise  God. 
There  the  B.  V.  Mary  appeared  to  her, 
and  gave  her  back  her  nose  and  lip. 
When  her  father  heard  of  it,  he  built  a 
convent  on  the  site  of  the  stable,  and 
there  Euphemia  served  God  for  the  short 
remainder  of  her  life.  Bucelinus. 

B.  Euphemia  (16)  Domicilla, 
Jan.  19.  +  1359.  O.S.D.  Born  in 
Poland.  Daughter  of  Lesco,  duke  of 
Kattiboria,  of  royal  descent.  At  twelve 
she  was  sought  in  marriage  by  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick,  Marquis  of  Brandenburg, 
but  replied  that  she  was  married  to  a 
more  noble  husband.  She  became  a  nun 
in  the  convent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  at 
Kattiboria,  whore  she  died  prioress, 
leaving  to  the  house  the  castle  of  Java- 
rone,  with  seven  estates.  She  was  held 
in  great  veneration  by  her  fellow-citizens, 


and  since  her  death  has  succoured  many 
of  them,  by  miracles,  in  sickness,  ship- 
wreck, and  other  dangers ;  and  Pio  says, 
to  this  day  (1607),  if  any  nun  of  her 
convent  is  going  to  die,  or  if  any  calamity 
to  the  town  or  the  convent  is  imminent, 
knocks  and  blows  are  heard  from  within 
her  tomb.  Pio,  quoting  Bzovius,  who 
places  her  among  the  BB.  of  Poland. 

St.  Euphemia  (17),  Angelina 
Militza  Neemanja,  queen  of  Servia, 
wife  of  St.  Lazarus,  and  mother  of  St. 
Stephen  Lazarevio,  took  the  name  of 
Euphemia  on  becoming  a  nun  on  Mount 
Athos,  whither  she  fled  with  her  son, 
after  the  great  defeat  of  the  Servians  by 
the  Turks  in  1389.  (5ee  St.  Angelina, 
queen  of  Servia.) 

St.  Euphenisia,  or  Euphenissa, 
March  3.  1st  century.  Queen  of  the 
Ethiopians.  Wife  of  King  Eglippus. 
Mother  of  St.  Iphegenia.  She  had  also 
a  son,  Euphrano,  who  died,  and  was 
raised  to  life  by  St.  Matthew  the  Evan- 
gelist; whereupon  the  king  and  queen 
were  converted  and  baptized,  and  built 
several  churches.  The  story  is  given  at 
considerable  length  by  Ordericus  Vitalis, 
i.  318.  The  above  persons  and  events 
are  also  mentioned  in  the  Acts  of  St. 
Matthew,  Sept.  21,  which,  however,  are 
not  authentic. 

St.   Euphrasia  (l),  March  16 

(EUFRASIA,   EUPHRAXIA,    EUPBAXIA),  M. 

Put  to  death  with  twenty  companions 
at  Nicomedia.  Perhaps  same  as  (3). 
AA.SS. 

St.  Euphrasia  (2),  March  13,  M.  at 
Nicomedia  with  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euphrasia  (3),  Jan.  19,  V.  M. 
of  Nicomedia,  is  perhaps  the  same  as  (1) 
or  (2).  AA.SS. 

St.  Euphrasia  (4),  May  18,  M.  at 
Nice,  in  Bithynia.  After  many  horrible 
tortures,  thrown  into  the  sea  and  drowned. 
AA.SS. 

St  Euphrasia  (5),  May  18,  V.  M. 
Companion  to  St.  Thecusa.  B.M. 

St.  Euphrasia  (6),  March  20,  M. 
Put  to  death  with  Alexandra  and  some 
other  women  at  Amisus,  in  Paphlagonia. 

St.  Euphrasia  (7),  or  Euphrostne, 
Jan.  18,  V.  M.    c.  300. 

Represented  with  a  soldier  near  her 
holding  a  sword. 


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In  the  reign  of  Diocletian  and  Maxi- 
mian,  Anthimus  was  bishop  of  the  church 
of  Nicomedia.  Euphrasia,  who  was  young 
and  beautiful,  asked  him  whether  it  was 
permitted  to  a  woman  to  save  her  honour 
by  renouncing  her  religion  in  appear- 
ance, and  sacrificing  to  the  gods.  He 
said  certainly  not,  that  it  was  better  to 
lose  the  body  than  the  soul.  She  saved 
herself  by  a  trick ;  for  having  refused  to 
sacrifice,  and  being  therefore  condemned 
to  that  which  she  most  dreaded,  she 
bribed  a  young  man  to  save  her  by 
promising  him  a  charm  against  wounds 
and  injuries.  She  told  him  that  if  he 
would  only  not  touch  her,  she  would 
give  him  an  ointment  which  would 
render  him  invulnerable  in  battle,  and 
in  all  circumstances  where  there  was 
danger  of  cuts  or  blows.  She  offered  to 
show  him  the  efficacy  of  it,  and  for  this 
purpose  rubbed  her  neck  over  with  some 
oil  she  had,  and  then  bade  him  draw  his 
sword  and  strike  with  all  his  strength. 
He  did  so,  and  cut  off  her  head  at  one 
blow.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euphrasia  (8),  March  13  in  the 
Latin,  July  25  in  the  Greek  Church 
(Euphrasia,  Eupraxia),  V.  +  410. 
Nun  in  the  Thebaid.  Daughter  of 
Antigonus  and  Euphrasia,  both  of  whom 
were  near  relations  and  intimate  friends 
of  the  Emperor  Theodosius  the  Great, 
and  were  very  rich  and  charitable. 
When  they  had  been  married  two  years, 
and  had  one  infant  daughter  (the  subject 
of  this  memoir),  they  agreed  that  on 
account  of  the  vanity,  misery,  and  short- 
ness of  human  life,  they  would  have  no 
more  children,  and  would  spend  their 
vast  revenues  in  charity.  A  year  after 
this,  Antigonus  died.  Euphrasia  brought 
to  the  emperor  and  empress  her  little 
daughter,  who  was  called  by  her  own 
name,  and  begged  them  to  take  care  of 
her  and  her  property  for  the  sake  of 
their  friend  Antigonus.  Soon  after- 
wards the  emperor  betrothed  the  little 
Euphrasia,  with  her  mother's  consent, 
to  a  rich  nobleman.  Not  long  after, 
another  nobleman  wanted  to  marry  the 
young  widow  Euphrasia,  who  was  very 
rich  and  beautiful.  He  succeeded  in 
persuading  the  empress  to  sanction  his 
suit,  although  she  knew  that  Euphrasia 


had  vowed  to  lead  a  religious,  celibate 
life.  When  Theodosius  heard  of  it,  he 
was  very  angry,  and  upbraided  the 
empress,  who  was  so  ashamed  of  her 
conduct  that  she  sat  like  a  stone  for  two 
hours,  unable  to  utter  a  word. 

When  Euphrasia  found  that  she  was 
the  cause  of  dispute  between  the  emperor 
and  his  wife,  she  took  her  child,  and  wont 
to  Egypt,  where  she  had  estates.  When 
she  had  made  many  offerings  to  churches 
and  monasteries,  she  went  to  visit  a  con- 
vent far  in  the  interior  of  the  Theban 
desert.  Here  lived  130  holy  nuns, 
whose  asceticism  was  such  that  they 
never  ate  apples  or  grapes,  or  drank 
wine;  some  of  them  only  tasted  food 
once  in  two  days,  some  of  them  once  in 
three  days ;  the  abbess  alone  was  able  to 
fast  seven  days  together.  Their  only 
clothing  was  a  hair  shirt ;  they  slept  on 
a  hair  cloth  spread  on  the  ground,  and 
if  one  of  tjiem  was  tempted  by  the  devil 
in  a  dream,  she  made  her  bed  of  stones, 
and  scattered  ashes  on  the  hair  cloth, 
which  she  spread  over  them.  They 
united  hard  labour  to  their  other  au- 
sterities and  their  devotions.  Not  one 
of  them  had  ever  washed  her  feet,  and 
the  very  mention  of  a  bath  was  an 
abomination  to  them.  At  five  years  old, 
the  little  Euphrasia  insisted  on  remain- 
ing with  these  nuns,  and  letting  her 
mother  go  away  without  her.  A  few 
days  afterwards,  Antigonus  appeared  in 
a  dream  to  the  abbess,  and  told  her  that 
the  elder  Euphrasia  was  to  be  delivered 
from  this  world  now  that  her  child  was 
provided  for.  When  this  was  told  to 
the  widow,  she  was  very  glad,  and  called 
her  daughter,  and  delivered  all  her 
property  to  her,  telling  her  to  spend  it 
piously,  and  to  live,  not  for  this  world, 
but  for  Christ. 

After  her  death,  the  nobleman  to 
whom  the  younger  Euphrasia  had  been 
betrothed,  begged  the  emperor  to  send 
for  her  and  command  her  to  fulfil  her 
engagement.  When  Euphrasia  received 
the  emperor's  letter,  she  wrote  to  him, 
saying,  "My  Lord  Emperor,  do  you 
advise  your  handmaid  to  reject  Christ 
and  marry  a  mortal  man  doomed  to  be 
eaten  by  worms  ?  Be  it  far  from  me  to 
do  such  a  thing.    Let  this  man  trouble 


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you  no  more.  Give  all  my  wealth  to 
churches,  and  to  the  poor  and  orphans 
for  the  love  of  my  father  Antigonns  who 
was  so  dear  to  yon."  After  this,  Euphra- 
sia lived  peaceably  with  the  nuns.  She 
grew  up  very  beautiful,  and  looked  like 
a  descendant  of  kings,  as  she  was.  She 
was  chiefly  remarkable  for  her  blind 
obedience,  her  humility,  and  her  great 
asceticism.  She  wrought  several  miracles 
of  healing.  When  she  was  thirty  years 
old,  it  was  revealed  to  the  abbess  that 
Euphrasia  should  die  on  the  morrow. 
She  ordered  the  sisters  not  to  tell  her ; 
but  Julia,  her  chief  friend,  who  was  of 
noble  birth  like  herself,  who  had  taught 
her  to  read  and  to  sing  and  pray,  and 
who  loved  her  more  than  all  the  others, 
could  not  restrain  her  grief,  and  on 
being  questioned  by  Euphrasia,  she  con- 
fessed the  cause  of  her  distress.  Eu- 
phrasia was  much  afraid,  and  fell  down. 
Julia  sat  beside  her  weeping.  Eu- 
phrasia had  baked  the  bread  for  the 
convent,  and  she  remembered  her  house- 
hold duties  in  the  midst  of  her  terror, 
and  bade  Julia  take  the  loaves  out  of 
the  oven  and  carry  them  into  the  place 
where  they  ought  to  be  kept.  Then  she 
prayed  to  live  a  year  longer,  as  she  felt 
that  there  was  no  penitence  in  her,  and 
no  time  left  to  fight  with  the  devil ;  and 
she  compared  herself  to  a  fig-tree  with- 
out fruit,  and  begged  for  one  more  year 
to  bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance. 
The  sisters  tried  to  comfort  her,  and  she 
begged  them  all  to  pray  for  a  year  of 
life  for  her  to  repent.  She  was  then 
seized  with  fever,  and  shivered  with  fear 
and  cold.  They  carried  her  into  the 
oratory,  and  wept  and  prayed  with  her. 
Julia  begged  her  not  to  forget  her  in 
heaven,  but  to  remember  what  insepar- 
able friends  they  had  been,  and  how  she, 
Julia,  had,  by  her  advice  and  prayers, 
assisted  her  in  her  conflicts  with  the 
devil,  and  to  ask  of  God  that  she  might 
soon  be  delivered  from  the  burden  of  the 
flesh.  Next  morning  they  all  took  leave 
of  her,  and  prayed  with  her  until  she 
died.  Four  days  afterwards,  Julia  came 
to  the  abbess,  and  said,  "  Pray  for  me, 
for  Christ  calls  me  at  the  intercession 
of  the  blessed  Euphrasia."  She  then 
kissed  all  the  sisters  and  took  leave  of 


them,  and  on  the  fifth  day  from  Eu- 
phrasia's  death,  Julia  died  and  was 
buried  beside  her,  in  the  same  grave 
with  her  mother  Euphrasia  the  elder. 
A  month  afterwards  the  abbess  con- 
vened all  the  nuns,  and  bade  them 
choose  a  new  mother,  for  at  the  .prayer 
of  the  blessed  Euphrasia  she  was  going 
to  heaven.  They  chose  Theognia,  and 
the  abbess  having  given  her  blessing  to 
her  successor  and  all  the  sisters,  died, 
and  was  buried  with  the  two  Euphrasias 
and  Julia.  No  one  else  was  ever  buried 
in  the  same  grave,  but  devils  were  cast 
out  there  through  the  merits  of  Eu- 
phrasia. 

B.M.  A.B.M.,  for  the  Order  of  St. 
Basil.  A.BM.,  for  the  Order  of  Car- 
melites. AA.SS.,  March  13,  from  MSS. 
collated  with  the  Greek  text  in  the 
Vatican.  Her  Life,  given  by  the  Bol- 
landists,  is  pronounced  by  Butler  and 
Baillet  to  be  authentic  and  true.  Baillet 
says  she  is  so  highly  revered  in  the 
Greek  Church  that  when  a  nun  makes 
her  profession,  the  priest  prays  that 
God  would  give  her  the  grace  and  bless- 
ings which  He  bestowed  on  St.  Euphrasia. 

St  Euphrasia  (9),  Nov.  17.  +  c 
588.  Wife  of  St.  Namas,  or  Namatus, 
or  Manat,  bishop  of  Vienne,  in  Dauphine. 
Euphrasia  imitated  his  virtues,  and  when 
he  took  holy  orders,  she  became  a  recluse. 
Guerin,  P.B.  Gynecseuvi. 

St.  Euphrasia  (10).  +  756.  Sister 
of  Febhonia.  Daughter  of  Aistolfo, 
king  of  the  Lombards.  According  to 
Wion,  the  king  built  a  monastery  at 
Pavia  for  his  daughters,  endowed  it  with 
relics,  and  called  it  the  Monastery  of 
All  Saints.  In  later  years  it  was  called 
the  Monastery  of  St.  Marino,  and  given 
to  Brothers  of  the  Order  of  St.  Jerome. 
Lignum  Vitee,  p.  520. 

St.  Euphrasia  (11).  •  13th  century. 
Wife  of  Yaroslaf  Vladimirovitch,  prince 
of  Pskov,  grandson  of  Mistislaf  the  Brave. 
Being  driven  out  of  his  principality, 
Yaroslaf  retired  with  his  wife  to  Odenpe. 
In  1233,  he  tried  to  recover  his  patri- 
mony of  Pskov,  but  was  defeated  and 
sent  prisoner  to  Pereiaslavle,  in  Souzdal. 
Euphrasia  remained  at  Odenpe,  and  some 
years  afterwards  received  the  crown  of 
martyrdom  at  the  handsof  a  cruel  stepson. 


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B.  EUPHRASIA 


She  was  buried  in  tbe  monastery  of  St. 
John,  at  Pskov,  and  is  celebrated  in 
Russia  for  her  virtues  and  tbe  miracles 
wrought  at  her  tomb.  Karamsin,  Hist, 
de  Bussie,  iii.  321 ;  viii.,  tableau  y. 

B.  Euphrasia  (12),  Sept.  14  (An- 
frosina,  Eufro8INa),  3rd  O.S.F,  +  1484. 
She  lived  in  the  little  town  of  St.  Se- 
polcro,  in  Umbria  with  a  disagreeable, 
cross  husband.  On  his  death,  she  became 
a  nun  in  the  convent  of  St.  Catherine,  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  in  her 
native  place.  She  was  distinguished  for 
her  great  humility.  Sho  foretold  deaths 
and  other  events.  The  B.  Cherubino  of 
Spoleto  was  dying  in  the  convent  of  the 
£.  Mary  of  the  Angels,  and  Euphrasia, 
praying  in  her  own  convent,  was  in  an 
ecstasy  for  four  hours,  after  which  she 
was  commanded  by  her  confessor  to 
declare  what  she  had  seen.  She  said 
the  soul  of  Cherubino  had  now  passed 
into  heaven;  sixty-six  thousand  sou] 8 
came  to  meet  him,  all  saved  by  his 
preaching,  other  great  saints  with  them. 
A  month  after  this,  Euphrasia  died. 
Two  years  later  the  nuns  of  her  convent 
adopted  the  modified  Eule  of  St.  Francis, 
called  Urbanists.  Jacobilli,  Santi  delV 
Umbria,  ii.  245.  Hueber,  Franciscan 
Mart.,  says  she  is  beatified  by  order  of 
the  Church. 

St.  Euphrata,  March  25,  M.  with 
more  than  four  hundred  others,  at  Nice, 
in  Bithynia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euphraxia,  Euphrasia. 

SS.  Euphrosyne  (1),  or  Eufrosina, 
etc.,  and  Theodora  (2),  May  7,  VV. 
MM.  c.  100.  Slaves  of  St.  Flavia 
Domitilla  (2).    R.M,  AA.SS. 

St.  Eupnrosyne  (2),  Euphrasia  (7) 
of  the  oil. 

SS.  Euphrosyne  (3)  and  Floren- 
tia,  July  7,  reputed  companions  of  St. 
Ursula,  have  .a  separate  worship  in 
Schleswig. 

St.  Euphrosyne  (4).  Euphrasia 
(8),  V.  in  the  Thebaid,  is  sometimes 
so  called. 

St.  Euphrosyne  (5),  Jan.  1,  Feb.  11, 
March  16,  Sept.  25,  V.  5th  century, 
reign  of  Theodosius  II.  Daughter  of 
Paphuncius  of  Alexandria,  who  had  been 
married  many  years  to  a  very  good 
woman,  but  had  no  child  until  he  begged 


the  prayers  of  the  abbot  and  monks  of  a 
convent  where  he  often  visited.  At  last 
he  had  one  beautiful  daughter,  who,  at 
the  age  of  seven,  was  baptized,  and  at 
twelve  lost  her  mother.  At  eighteen 
she  had  many  suitors,  of  whom  her  father 
chose  the  richest  and  noblest.  He  then 
took  her  to  the  monastery,  and  with 
munificent  gifts  begged  for  her  the  bless- 
ing and  prayers  of  the  abbot.  They 
stayed  there  three  days,  during  which 
Euphrosyne  much  admired  the  holy  lifo 
of  the  monks.  The  abbot  was  in  the 
habit  of  making  a  feast  and  inviting  his 
friends,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  day 
on  which  he  was  made  abbot.  Soon 
after  the  visit  of  Paphuncius  and  Euphro- 
syne, he  sent  a  monk  to  their  house  to 
invite  Paphuncius  to  this  entertainment. 
He  was  not  at  home,  and  Euphrosyne 
had  a  long  conversation  with  the  monk, 
and  asked  him  many  questions  about 
monastic  life,  and  expressed  her  fears  for 
her  soul  if  she  remained  in  the  world. 
Whereupon  he  advised  her  to  disguise 
herself  as  a  man,  and  during  her  father's 
absence  at  the  festival  to  which  the  abbot 
now  invited  him,  to  enter  a  monastery. 
This  she  did,  taking  the  name  of  Smari- 
danus,  or  Smaragdus.  The  beauty  of 
her  face  distracted  the  monks  from  their 
devotions ;  they  thought  she  was  a  devil 
come  amongst  them  for  that  purpose,  so 
the  abbot  ordered  her  to  remain  in  her 
cell  and  say  her  prayers  alone,  and  not 
come  into  the  church.  Paphuncius  sought 
his  daughter  with  great  sorrow  in  all 
the  nunneries  and  every  other  place  that 
he  thought  could  possibly  conceal  her, 
and  came  at  last  for  consolation  to  tho 
monk,  Smaragdus,  who  comforted  him, 
and  assured  him  that  God  was  taking 
care  of  Euphrosyne  in  some  good  place. 
He  continued  to  visit  her,  and  received 
much  consolation  and  advice  from  her 
for  thirty-three  years,  believing  her  to 
be  a  monk.  When  she  was  at  the  point 
of  death,  she  told  him  who  she  was,  and 
begged  him  to  keep  her  secret  even  after 
her  death,  but  Agapito,  or  Agape,  who 
took  care  of  her,  hearing  her  father's 
lamentations  over  her,  understood  who 
she  was,  and  told  it  to  the  abbot. 

Baillet  doubts  the  story,  but  Rosweide, 
the  Bollandist,  thinks  it  genuine. 


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B.M.,  Jan.  1.  A.B.M.,  for  the  Order 
of  St.  Basil,  March  1C.  AA.SS.,  Feb.  12. 
Legende  Dorie.  Leggendario. 

St.  Euphrosyne  (0).  One  of  nine 
sisters  of  St.  Eaginfrkde. 

St  Euphrosyne  (7),  or  Pbedislava, 
May  23,  V.  +1173.  One  of  the  patrons 
of  Polotsk  and  Lithuania.  Predislava 
was  the  daughter  or  sister  of  George 
Sviatoslaf,  duke  of  Polotsk,  which  seems 
to  have  been  at  this  time  an  independent 
Christian  state.  In  the  next  century  it 
became  subject  to  Smolensk,  and  then 
to  the  heathen  dukedom  of  Lithuania. 
Polotsk  is  spelt  in  several  different  ways, 
and  there  are  other  places  with  similar 
names,  all  called  in  Latin  Polocia. 
Duke  George's  capital  was  the  town  of 
Polotsk,  on  the  junction  of  the  Dwina 
and  the  Polota. 

At  twelve  years  old  Predislava,  un- 
known to  her  parents,  went  to  a  convent 
in  Polotsk,  ruled  by  her  aunt,  the  widow 
of  Prince  Eomanus,  where  she  took  the 
veil  and  the  name  of  Euphrosyne.  After 
staying  there  some  time,  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  bishop,  she  shut  herself 
up  in  a  cell  adjoining  the  cathedral  of 
St.  Sophia.  She  transcribed  books,  and 
worked  in  different  ways  to  earn  money, 
at  the  same  time  denying  herself  the 
necessaries  of  life,  in  order  that  sho 
might  give  to  the  poor.  The  prince 
then  gave  her  a  piece  of  ground  outside 
the  town,  and  there  she  built  a  church 
and  monastery,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Basil 
and  Slavonian  rite,  in  honour  of  the 
transfigured  Saviour.  Of  this  she  was 
abbess  for  forty  years.  Among  tho 
inmates  of  her  convent  were  her  own 
sister,  her  foster-sister,  and  two  nieces. 
Another  patron  saint  of  Polotsk,  Para- 
scevr  (5),  was  a  nun  in  this  monastery 
in  the  following  century,  and  is  com- 
memorated with  Euphrosyne. 

Euphrosyne  adorned  her  church  with 
great  splendour,  and  begged  for  it,  from 
the  Emperor  Manuel,  the  precious  gift 
of  a  picture  painted  by  St.  Luke,  and 
popularly  called  Korsun.  She  built 
another  monastery  for  her  niece.  After 
ruling  her  convent  well  for  many  years, 
she  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem, 
accompanied  by  her  brother  David  and 
her  sister  Euphrasia.    She  died  in  the 


Russian  convent  at  Jerusalem,  about 
1173.  She  was  translated  to  Eief,  and 
is  worshipped  by  the  Eutheni,  who  are 
in  communion  with  the  Church  of  Eome, 
and  also  by  those  who  follow  the  Greek 
rite.  Father  Wiiuk  Kojalowix,  in  his 
IAtlmanian  Miscellanies,  says  she  was  of 
the  Greek  Church.  AA.SS.,  May  23 ; 
and  in  their  notes  to  Euphrosyne  the 
monk,  Sept.  25.  Stokvis,  Manuel  d'His- 
toire,  de  Qene'alogie  et  de  Chronologie,  ii. 
336.  Zedler,  Lexicon.  Bruzen  de  la 
Martiniere,  Le  grand  Die.  Oeographique, 
vi.  partie  ii.  387. 

St.  Euphrosyne  (8),  Febronia, 
princess  of  Wlodomir. 

St.  Euphrosyne  (9),  or  Theodosia, 
Sept.  25.  +  c.  1250.  Of  Tchernigov,  in 
Eussia.  Daughter  of  St.  Michael,  duke 
of  Tchernigov,  M.  (Sept.  20),  who  was 
fifth  in  descent  from  Yaroslaf  the  Great. 
(See  Anna.)  Her  name  was  Theodosia ;  sho 
was  pious  from  infancy,  and  had  a  strong 
inclination  for  monastio  life.  She  was 
betrothed  to  Menna,  prince  of  Suzdalia, 
and  sent  to  his  country  to  be  married  to 
him ;  but  on  the  journey,  hearing,  to  her 
great  relief,  that  he  was  dead,  she  took 
the  veil  in  the  nearest  convent,  changing 
her  name  to  Euphrosyne,  1227.  She 
influenced  many  other  persons  to  dedi- 
cate their  lives  to  God  in  the  monastic 
state.  She  adorned  her  convent  by  her 
virtues,  and  by  her  prayers  saved  it 
from  destruction  by  the  Mongols,  who 
invaded  Suzdalia  in  1238.  (See  Agatha 
of  Vladimir.)  In  1246,  Duke  Michael, 
with  the  blessing  of  the  priest,  set  out 
to  visit  Battu,  or  Bati,  or  Bat,  Khan  of 
the  Mongols,  to  treat  of  the  liberation 
of  his  country  from  the  oppression  of 
these  barbarians.  When  he  and  his 
friend  Theodore  arrived  at  the  hordo, 
they  were  told  they  could  not  be  admitted 
into  the  presence  of  Bati  until  they  had 
passed  through  the  fire  and  worshipped 
the  sun  and  other  gods  of  the  Mongols. 
As  they  stoutly  refused  to  do  so,  they 
were  beaten  by  the  Tartars,  and  beheaded 
by  a  renegade  Christian.  Their  bodies 
were  quartered  by  the  Mongols,  but  were 
eventually  conveyed  to  Tchernigov,  and 
thence  to  Moscow,  where  they  rest  among 
the  saints  and  heroes  of  their  country,  and 
are  honoured  as  martrys.  Euphrosyne 


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B.  EUPHROSYNE 


died  about  the  middle  of  the  century, 
conspicuous  in  life  and  death  by  her 
miracles.  She  was  perhaps  living  when 
St.  Alexander  Nevski  became  grand 
prince.  Earamsin,  Rume,  iv.  Grxco- 
Slav.  Calendar, 

B.  Euphrosyne  (10).  B.  Ida,  of 
Liege,  is  sometimes  so  called,  in  allusion 
to  the  meaning  of  the  name  (Fair  and 
Good). 

Euphrosyne  (11).  St.  Catherine 
of  Siena  is  sometimes  so  called. 

St  Euphrosyne  (12),  or  Eudoxia, 
July  7.  Grand-princess  of  Russia. 
+  1401.  Daughter  of  Dmitri  Constan- 
tinovitch,  prinoe  of  Suzdal,  who  had 
been  grand  prince  1359-1362.  Euphro- 
syne married,  in  1367,  the  famous  Grand 
Prince  Dmitri  Ivanovitch,  surnamed 
Donskoi  (Tanaicus),  from  his  great 
battle  against  the  Tartars,  at  Kulikovo, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Don,  Sept.  8,  1380. 
Euphrosyne  frequented  the  churches  day 
and  night,  and  is  thought  to  have  con- 
tributed to  her  husband's  success  against 
the  infidels  by  her  fervent  prayers  and 
liberal  alms.  It  was  the  first  victory 
the  Russians  nad  gained  over  the  Tartars 
for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  The 
deliverance  from  their  oppression  did 
not  come  immediately,  but  the  relative 
position  of  the  two  nations  began  to  turn. 
Still,  on  the  anniversary  of  that  good 
fight,  solemn  prayers  are  offered  all  over 
Russia  for  the  thousands  of  pious  Russian 
souls  who  left  their  bodies  on  that 
glorious  field.  Dmitri  was  distinguished 
by  every  noble  and  princely  virtue. 
He  was  the  son,  though  not  the  imme- 
diate successor,  of  Ivan  Kalita,  duke  of 
Moscow  and  grand  prince.  Dmitri 
Donskoi  died  in  1389.  Euphrosyne 
survived  him  several  years,  during  which 
she  kept  up  the  dignity  of  her  station, 
always  appearing  in  magnificent  robes, 
but  secretly  wearing  iron  chains  under 
her  fine  clothes,  and  practising  extreme 
asceticism,  which  she  only  made  known 
to  her  sons,  because  they  were  distressed 
that  people  thought  her  worldly,  and 
did  not  esteem  her  as  they  ought.  She 
said  it  was  well  for  her  that  people 
should  humiliate  her  and  speak  ill  of 
her.  She  built  several  churches,  and 
founded,  in  1389,  the  Convent  of  the 


Ascension,  in  the  Kremlin  at  Moscow, 
and  there,  a  short  time  before  her  death, 
she  took  the  monastic  habit,  and  with  it, 
according  to  Martinov,  the  name  of 
Eudoxia.  Earamsin,  however,  says  her 
name  was  originally  Eudoxia,  and  she 
changed  it  to  Euphrosyne  on  taking  the 
veil.  She  was  buried  in  the  church  of 
this  monastery,  and  it  thenceforth  became 
the  burying-place  of  all  the  grand- 
princesses  of  Moscow  and  their  daughters. 
Their  tombs  are  to  be  seen  there  side  by 
side,  Eudoxia's  at  the  beginning  of  the 
row.  She  wrought  miracles  both  during 
her  life  and  after  her  death.  Hare, 
Russia,  p.  273.  Karamsin,  iv.  Martinov, 
Annus  Eccl.  Ralston,  Early  Human 
History. 

St.  Euphrosyne  (13).  15th  cen- 
tury. 3rd  O.S.F.  Nun  at  St.  Sepulcro 
(Biturigia),  in  Umbria,  under  her  cousin 
B.  Euphrasia  (12).  Jacobilli. 

St.  Eupraxia,  or  Euphrasia,  is  pro- 
bably the  elder  of  the  Euphrasias  of 
Thebais,  mother  and  daughter.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euprepia,  Aug.  12,  M.  Servant 
of  St.  Afra,  of  Augsburg.  R.M. 

SS.  Euprexia,  widow,  and  her 
daughter  Theognia,  Y.  Honoured  at 
Menis,  a  very  ancient  city  between  Enna 
and  Syracuse.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euplia,  Sept.  10  (Euferia, 
Euplius),  M.  with  others  at  Csesarea,  in 
Cappadocia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eupuria,  May  16,  V.  Works 
miracles  at  Gaeta.  History  unknown. 
Henscbenius,  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Euralia,  or  Gallalia,  Dec.  10,  V. 

Eurgain.  Middle  of  6th  century. 
Daughter  of  Mrolgwn  Gwynedd,  and 
wife  of  Elidyr  Mwynfawr,  founder  of 
Llaneurgain,  or  Northop,  in  Flintshire. 
Rees,  261. 

SS.  Euriella  (Curiella,  Eurilla, 
Vuelie)  and  Onenne,  or  Ouenne, 
Oct.  1.  6th  and  7th  centuries.  Were 
among  the  twenty  or  twenty-four  children 
of  St.  Juhael,  king  of  Domnonia,  a  small 
kingdom  of  Bretagne,  comprising  the 
districts  afterwards  called  Arcouet  and 
Trecouet  on  the  northern  coast,  where 
the  village  and  parish  of  Plou  Fragan, 
on  the  gulf  of  Saint  Brieuo,  still  per- 
petuate the  name  of  their  ancestor 
Fracan  (5th  century).  (Plou  means  tribe.) 


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ST.  EUSEBIA 


297 


Fracan  is  perhaps  Brychan.  Compare 
St.  Almheda. 

JuhaeTs  wife  was  Prizal,  or  Pritella, 
princess  of  Leon,  in  Bretagne.  Besides 
their  two  holy  daughters,  six  at  least  of 
their  sons  were  saints:  Judicael,  or 
Gicquel,  who  succeeded  to  the  kingdom, 
+  c.  652  ;  Judoc,  or  Josse,  king  and 
monk ;  Winnoc,  abbot  of  Wormholt,  in 
Flanders;  and  Jndganokh,  Gamel,  and 
Gladran.  There  is  a  church  in  honour 
of  Ste.  Eurielle  at  Tremeur,  near  Dinan, 
and  her  worship  is  of  very  long  standing 
in  Brittany.  AA.SS.,  from  Albert  le 
Grand  de  Morlaix.    Mas  Latrie,  Tr&or. 

St.  Eurole,  or  Eurosia,  Orosta. 

St  Eurosia,  Ephrasia. 

St.  Eusebia  (1),  Jan.  24  (Euxima, 
Euximia,  Theodula,  Xene).  +  283. 
Mother  of  the  holy  children  Urban, 
Prilidian,  and  Epolonius,  aged  seven, 
nine,  and  twelve.  Disciples  of  St.  Baby- 
las,  bishop  of  Antioch.  He  would  not 
allow  the  Emperor  Numerian  to  enter 
the  church  to  profane  it,  and  the  chil- 
dren would  not  disobey  their  bishop  by 
opening  the  gates,  and  were  therefore 
beheaded  with  him.  Their  mother  was 
called  upon  to  make  a  public  profession 
of  her  faith,  which  she  did,  and  for  say- 
ing they  did  well  to  obey  their  master 
was  scourged.  She  is  placed  among  the 
saints  by  some  writers,  but  her  name  is 
not  in  the  Greek  Calendars.  Bollandus, 
AA.SS.,  Jan.  24.  Prseter. 

St.  Eusebia  (2),  or  JEsia,  June  6, 
M.  Matron,  disciple  of  St.  Pancras 
(April  3),  bishop  of  Tauromenium,  in 
Sicily,  commemorated  with  St.  Zenais 
(5). 

St.  Eusebia  (3),  Oct.  29,  V.  Patron 
of  Bergamo,  conjointly  with  her  brothers 
Domnus  and  Domnius,  and  there  called 
a  martyr  of  the  time  of  Diocletian  (early 
in  4th  century),  but  Victor  de  Buck 
thinks  she  lived  in  the  7th  century, 
while  Baillet  seems  to  think  her  very 
existence  fictitious.  She  and  her  brothers 
are  claimed  as  members  of  the  noble 
family  of  Zoppi  (also  called  of  Claudia). 
Several  distinguished  families  in  Italy, 
and  particularly  Lombardy,  claim  col- 
lateral descent  from  some  martyr  or 
saint.  V.  de  Buck  in  the  AA.SS.  BnU 
landi.    Baillet,  Vies  des  Saints. 


St.  Eusebia  (4)  Hospita,  or  Euxi- 
mia, or  Xene,  Jan.  24,  Jan.  30  in  the 
Syrian  Church.  5th  century.  A  mem- 
ber of  a  newly  ennobled  Roman  family. 
At  the  moment  of  her  marriage  she 
escaped,  accompanied  by  two  maids,  all 
three  disguised  as  men.  She  told  them 
to  call  her  no  longer  Eusebia,  but  Hos- 
pita, a  stranger.  After  much  wandering 
they  came  to  Mylas,  in  Caria,  where  she 
built  a  small  chapel  in  honour  of  St. 
Stephen,  and  there  she  and  her  maids 
lived  with  some  other  good  women,  who 
joined  them  in  leading  a  religions  life. 
She  died  unknown.  AA.SS.,  Appendix, 
May.  Ephemeris  Grseco-Moscce.  Fiamma, 
Vite  de  Santi.  Cahier  calls  her  abbess, 
and  says  that  at  the  moment  of  her 
death  a  cross  of  bright  stars  appeared 
over  her  head. 

St  Eusebia  (5),  March  16,  Nov.  13, 
May  17,  Oct.  28  (Eusoye,  Ysoie).  Second 
Abbess  of  Hamay.  637-660,  or  about 
680.  Daughter  of  St.  Adalbald  and  St. 
Rictrude.  Great-granddaughter  of  St. 
Gertrude  of  Hamay.  Sister  of  SS. 
Maurontins,  Clotsendis,  and  Adala- 
senda. 

Eusebia  was  born  towards  the  end  of 
the  reign  of  Dagobert  I. ;  his  wife,  Queen 
Nantilda,  was  her  godmother,  and  pre- 
sented her  with  the  fine  estate  of  Verny, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Soissons.  When 
4she  was  two  years  old,  St.  Amand  (who 
was  the  friend  and  adviser  of  her  family) 
founded  the  abbey  of  Marchiennes,  in 
Brabant.  When  Eusebia  was  eight,  her 
father,  St.  Adalbald,  was  murdered  on  a 
journey  into  Gascony  to  visit  his  friends 
and  his  wife's  estates.  (See  St.  Rio- 
trude.)  The  following  year,  Rictrude, 
with  her  three  daughters,  went  to  live 
in  the  nunnery  she  had  nearly  finished 
building,  near  St.  Amand's  monastery  at 
Marchiennes.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
river  Scarpe,  in  Hainault,  stood  the 
double  monastery  of  Hamay,  built  by 
St.  Gertrude,  grandmother  of  St.  Adal- 
bald. Here,  as  at  Marchiennes,  there 
was  a  community  of  men  and  another  of 
women  dwelling  in  cloisters  entirely 
separate.  Gertrude,  who  was  still  abbess 
there,  asked  Rictrude  to  give  her  her 
daughter  Eusebia,  whom  she  adopted  and 
appointed  her  heiress.    On  the  death  of 


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ST.  EUSEBIA 


Gertrude,  her  great-granddaughter  Ease- 
bia,  though  only  twelve  years  old,  suc- 
ceeded her.  Her  mother,  however, 
thought  she  was  too  young  to  be  her  own 
mistress,  or  to  rule  over  others.  She 
therefore  ordered  her  to  come  to  March  i- 
ennes,  but  the  young  abbess  refused  to 
obey,  and  Biotrude  was  obliged  to  pro- 
cure a  lettre  de  cachet  from  Clovis  II.  to 
compel  her  daughter  to  come.  She 
brought  with  her  all  her  nuns,  the  body 
of  her  great-grandmother,  and  the  other 
relics  belonging  to  her  church.  She  was 
so  fond  of  her  own  convent  that  she 
often  went  there  at  night,  accompanied 
only  by  a  confidential  attendant,  sang 
the  office  in  her  own  church,  and  re- 
turned to  Marchiennes  in  the  morning. 
Rictrude,  hearing  of  it,  remonstrated  in 
vain,  and  finding  it  impossible  to  reduce 
her  daughter  to  submission,  had  her 
whipped  with  such  brutality  by  her 
brother,  St.  Maurontius,  as  to  endanger 
her  life.  She  was  held  in  the  arms  of  a 
young  man  wearing  a  sword,  the  hilt  of 
which  so  hurt  her  side  that  she  spat 
blood  ever  after.  Although  she  lived 
many  years  afterwards,  her  wounds  could 
never  be  entirely  healed,  so  that  she  was 
kept  in  perpetual  remembrance  of  her 
disobedience  and  humiliation.  It  was  a 
tradition  among  the  peasants  of  the  place 
that  the  stick  with  which  she  was  beaten 
fell  to  the  ground  and  immediately  took 
root  and  brought  forth  leaves.  As  she  ' 
continued  firm  in  her  determination  to 
go  to  Hamay  and  not  remain  with  her 
mother  at  Marchiennes,  Eictrude,  after 
consulting  several  bishops  and  abbots, 
allowed  Eusebia  to  return  with  her  nuns 
to  Hamay,  where  she  governed  wisely 
and  set  a  holy  example.  She  died,  says 
Baillet,  in  660,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three.  Other  authors  say  that  she  lived 
ten,  and  some  say  twenty  years  longer. 
She  was  succeeded  by  Gertrude,  widow 
of  Ingomar,  count  of  Vermandois.  The 
principal  festival  of  St.  Eusebia  is  the 
anniversary  of  her  death,  March  16  ;  the 
others  are  commemorations  of  her  trans- 
lations, and  of  the  dedication  of  her 
church,  and  not,  as  has  been  erroneously 
stated,  the  festivals  of  an  early  martyr, 
or  of  an  imaginary  Eoman  lady  who 
found  the  body  of  St.  Quentin. 


Hamay  was  in  the  18th  century  a 
priory  dependent  on  Marchiennes,  which 
was  an  abbey  of  Benedictine  monks. 

Her  Life  by  an  anonymous  author  was 
written  about  two  hundred  years  after 
her  death.  It  was  founded  on  older 
memoirs  which  had  been  saved  from  the 
ravages  of  the  Normans.  She  is  also 
mentioned  in  the  Life  of  her  mother 
St.  Bictrude,  by  Hucbald,  a  monk  of 
St.  Amand.    AA.SS.  Baillet. 

St.  Eusebia  (6),  a  Boman  lady  who 
found  the  body  of  St.  Quentin.  Baillet 
says  the  story  is  unfounded,  and  the  only 
St.  Eusebia  of  whom  anything  is  known 
is  the  Abbess  of  Hamay.  Baillet. 

St.  Eusebia  (7),  Oct.  8,  Nov.  24. 
4-731.  Abbess  of  the  monastery  of  St. 
Ciricus,  or  Saviour,  near  Marseilles, 
which  possessed  the  cross  of  St.  Andrew. 
Eusebia  had  been  fifty  years  in  this 
privileged  house,  when,  in  731,  the 
Saracens  invaded  Provence.  The  forty 
holy  nuns,  fearing  that  their  inestimable 
treasure  would  be  carried  off,  buried  it 
deep  with  great  care  and  labour.  When 
the  barbarians  were  at  the  gate,  they  all 
cut  off  their  noses  and  lips.  The  Sara- 
cens broke  in,  and  murdered  them  every 
one.  Boll.,  AA.SS.,  Oct.  8.  Mabillon. 
AA.SS.  O.S.B.,  Nov.  24.  Gyneaeum. 
Eccentric  Biography. 

St.  Eusoye,  Eusebia  (5). 

St.  Eustadia,  Eustadiola. 

St  Eustadiola,  June  8,  May  10 
(Eustadia,  Scuriola,  Stadiola).  7th 
century.  Founder  and  abbess  of  Moyen- 
Moutiers,  at  Bourges,  in  France.  A 
young  widow  of  high  rank  and  great 
wealth.  She  gave  all  her  possessions 
to  the  poor,  made  her  houses  in  the  town 
into  churches  in  honour  of  the  B.  V.  Mary 
and  St.  Eugenia  ;  gave  her  jewels  for 
crosses,  candelabra,  chalices,  and  orna- 
ments for  these  churches ;  and,  with  her 
maids,  embroidered  vestments  and  other 
things  necessary  for  the  service  of  the 
altar.  She  built  and  endowed  a  large 
convent,  which  she  governed  for  many 
years.  She  decorated  the  walls  of  the 
church  with  beautiful  embroidery,  and 
the  altar  with  costly  hangings  fringed 
with  gold,  all  worked  by  herself  and  her 
women.  For  seventy  years  she  never 
tasted  flesh  of  beast  or  fowl.    She  died, 


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upwards  of  ninety,  much  beloved  and 
regretted  by  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  and  surrounding  country.  Many 
miracles  were  wrought  through  her 
intercession,  both  before  her  death  and 
since.  Henschenius  in  AA.SS.  Saus- 
saye.  Menardus,  May  10.  Bucelinus. 
Eckenstein. 

St.  Eustella,  May  21,  April  BO, 
Y.  M  Daughter  of  a  regulus  (chieftain) 
at  Saintes,  in  Gaul.  Converted  by  St. 
Eutropins,  first  bishop  of  Saintes,  and 
mentioned  in  his  Life  (April  30).  Com- 
memorated by  Saussaye  and  Arturus,  but 
not  found  in  the  early  calendars.  Martin, 
in  his  French  Martyrology,  says  that  she 
buried  St  Eutropins,  and  was  tortured 
and  put  to  death  by  her  father,  and 
buried  near  Eutropius.  Saussaye,  Mart. 
Gal,  May  21.  AA.SS.,  May  21,  April 
30,  Prseier. 

A  fountain  in  the  amphitheatre  at 
Saintes  bears  the  name  of  St.  Eustelle ; 
girls  visit  it  on  her  festival,  May  21,  and 
throw  in  pins,  from  which  they  derivo 
omens  of  matrimony.  An  article  on  the 
Antiquities  of  Saintes,  by  the  late  Mr. 
S.  S.  Lewis,  Athseneum,  July  10,  1886. 

St.  Eustochia  (l),  Nov.  2.  +  362. 
V.  M.  at  Tarsus,  in  Cilicia.  On  a  great 
occasion,  in  the  time  of  Julian  the  Apos- 
tate, a  general  order  was  given  that  every 
one  should  sacrifice  to  Venus.  Eustochia 
refused,  and,  animated  by  her  example, 
many  others  refused  also.  She  was 
scourged  with  nerves,  and  while  under- 
going this  punishment,  exclaimed,  "  How 
sweet  are  wounds  that  purchase  eternal 
life ! "  She  was  hung  up  by  the  hair, 
nails  were  driven  into  her  head,  she  was 
cut  and  torn  to  pieces  alive,  shouting 
and  thanking  God  at  each  new  torture 
that  was  ordered.  Parts  of  her  flesh 
were  eaten  by  human  beings,  parts  thrown 
to  pigs.  Her  mother,  also  called  Eusto- 
chia, took  the  remains  of  the  martyr  away 
by  night,  and  buried  them  in  a  new 
sepulchre  in  a  cave.  AA.SS. 

St.  Eustochia  (2),  Feb.  13,  +  1469, 
V.  Nun  at  Padua,  of  the  congrega- 
tion of  Mount  Olivet.  Daughter  of  a 
wicked  nun.  She  was  vexed  by  the 
devil  all  her  life,  but  not  overcome  by 
him.  She  had  a  heavenly  contempt  for 
the  dignities  and  advantages  of  the 


world,  and  is  praised  in  the  writings 
of  Peter  Baroccio,  bishop  of  Padua,  her 
contemporary.  She  was  worshipped  at 
St.  Prosdocimus,  in  Padua,  but  Hen- 
schenius doubted  whether  her  worship 
was  sanctioned  by  the  Popes.  Bucelinus, 
Men.  Ben.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

B.  Eustochia  (3),  or  Smabagda  de 
Calafato,  Feb.  27  or  28,  March  2.  1484. 
O.S.F.  Of  an  ancient  noble  family  of 
Catania.  Daughter  of  Bernard  and 
Matilda,  count  and  countess  of  Calafato. 
She  was  christened  Smaragda.  She  was 
twice  betrothed,  but  each  time  her 
marriage  was  prevented  by  the  death 
of  the  bridegroom.  In  1446  she  took 
the  veil  and  the  name  of  Eustochia,  in 
the  convent  of  St.  Clara,  at  Messina, 
which  obeyed  the  mitigated  rule  of  the 
Urbanists.  After  eleven  years  in  this 
convent  she  founded  another,  which  was 
to  be  of  the  original  strict  rule  of  St. 
Clara,  under  the  friars  of  the  observance. 
Her  mother  and  sister  built  this  house 
for  her  at  their  own  expense.  One  of 
her  sisters,  and  a  niece  of  eleven  years 
old,  entered  with  Eustochia  in  1457,  and 
in  1460  she  became  abbess  at  thirty  years 
of  age.  She  was  distinguished  by  every 
virtue  and  by  the  grace  of  miracles. 
She  died  Jan.  11,  1484,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-four.  Three  days  after  her  burial, 
some  of  the  nuns  were  praying  at  her 
tomb.  They  heard  a  knocking  within, 
and  opening  the  grave,  they  found  the 
body  like  that  of  a  living  person.  Her 
worship  began  immediately,  and  was  ap- 
proved by  Pius  VIL  (1800-1823).  She 
cures  many  sick  persons,  and  the  in- 
habitants of  Messina  seek  her  aid  in 
time  of  earthquakes.  A.R.M.,  Mart. 
Seraphiei  ordinis,  March  2.  Mart.  Ro- 
mano-Seraphici  ordinis,  Feb.  27  or  28. 
L^on,  Aureole  Seraphique. 

B.  Eustochia  (4),  or  Eustachia,  of 
Ferrara,  Jan.  24.  1508.  O.S.D.  Nun  at 
the  convent  of  St.  Catherine  (3)  of 
Siena  (Convento  delle  Sanesi),at  Ferrara. 
She  was  wasted  to  a  skeleton  by  a  long 
illness.  A  short  time  before  her  death 
she  had  an  ardent  desire  to  see  her 
Saviour  as  a  new-born  child.  After 
three  days  of  weeping  and  praying,  her 
wish  was  gratified :  she  not  only  saw  the 
holy  Infant,  but  took  Him  up  and  kissed 


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Him,  in  presence  of  the  B.  V.  Mary. 
She  nearly  died  of  joy  at  the  moment, 
and  very  soon  afterwards  her  illness 
ended  in  death.  Pio,  Uomini  e  donne. 
Razzi,  Predicatori.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Eustochium,  Sept.  28  (Eubto- 
quie,  Julia  Eustochia).  c.  370-416.  Her 
original  name  was  Julia;  that  of  Eusto- 
chion,  signifying  justness  of  aim,  was 
added  as  a  term  of  praise  and  endear- 
ment. Daughter  of  a  more  famous 
saint,  Paula,  friend  of  St.  Marcella. 
Eustochium  was  the  first  of  the  women 
of  high  station  in  Rome  to  consecrate 
herself  from  her  youth  to  serve  God  in 
virginity.  Of  studious  and  ascetio  pro- 
clivities, she  resisted  the  attempts  of  some 
members  of  her  family  to  interest  her  in 
dress,  fashion,  and  frivolity.  With  the 
assistance  of  St.  Jerome,  she  assiduously 
studied  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  learned 
Hebrew,  in  order  to  sing  the  psalms  in 
the  original  language.  She  accompanied 
Paula  to  the  Holy  Land,  lived  with  her 
in  the  convent  they  built  at  Bethlehem, 
and  after  nursing  her  with  devotion 
during  her  last  illness,  succeeded  her,  in 
404,  as  head  of  that  establishment.  She 
had  under  her  care  her  young  relations, 
Paula  and  Melania.  The  house  was 
burned  in  a  riot  instigated  by  the  Pela- 
gian heretics.  St.  Jerome  praises  her 
cleverness,  and  her  usefulness  and  piety. 
His  treatise,  De  Virginitate%  and  many  of 
his  letters,  are  addressed  to  her.  Jerome 
was  so  overcome  with  grief,  so  profoundly 
discouraged  by  the  death  of  Paula,  that 
he  lost  all  interest  in  the  work  of  trans- 
lation, in  which  she  had  so  long  been 
associated  with  him.  Eustochium,  to 
rouse  him  from  his  sorrow  and  apathy, 
brought  him  a  passage  in  the  book  of 
Ruth,  where  they  had  left  off,  and  asked 
his  opinion  about  the  rendering  of  a 
sentence.  Almost  mechanically  he  gave 
the  help  she  sought,  and  gradually  his 
love  of  the  great  work  returned,  and  the 
Latin  version  of  the  Bible  was  at  length 
completed.  B.M.  M6senguy.  Baillet. 
Jerome's  Letters,  edited  by  Fremantle. 

St.  Eustolia,  Nov.  9,  Oct.  31.  6th 
century.  Honoured  at  Constantinople 
with  St.  Sopatra,  a  nun  and  daughter 
of  the  Emperor  Maurice.  B.M.,  Nov.  9. 
The  GrsecoSlavonian  Calendar,  Oct.  31, 


makes  Eustolia  also  a  daughter  of 
Maurice.    Compare  Damiana. 

St.  Euthalia,  Aug.  27.  Middle  of 
3rd  century.  V.  M.  She  lived  at  Leon- 
tini,  in  Sicily,  where  her  mother,  Eutro- 
pia  (1),  was  cured  of  dysentery  by  St. 
Alpheus  and  other  Christians.  The 
mother  and  daughter  then  believed  in 
Christ,  but  Sirmilian,  the  brother  of 
Euthalia,  was  so  angry  with  his  mother 
that  he  locked  her  up,  intending  to 
strangle  her.  She  was  liberated  by  one 
of  her  maids  and  escaped.  Euthalia 
reproached  her  brother  for  his  barbarity, 
and  he  fieroely  demanded,  "  Art  thou 
also  a  Christian?"  She  answered, 
"  Indeed  I  am,  and  am  ready  to  die  for 
my  Lord."  Sirmilian  stripped  and  beat 
her,  and  gave  her  to  one  of  his  slaves ; 
but  at  her  prayer  the  man  became  blind. 
When  her  wicked  brother  saw  this,  he 
cut  off  her  head.  B.M.  AA.SS.  Eu- 
thasia,  mentioned  in  a  Mensea,  is  per- 
haps the  same. 

St.  Euthasia,  M.  The  Mensea  says 
she  was  beheaded.  Nothing  more  is 
known  of  her.  Possibly  the  same  as 
Euthalia  (Aug.  27).  AA.SS. 

St.  Euthecia,  Feb.  28,  M.  at  Alex- 
andria  with  many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euthymia,  April  26,  M.  at 
Antioch,  in  Syria.  AA.8S. 

St.  Eutica,  Aug.  25,  M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euticia  (l),or  Eutilia,  Aug.  10, 
M.  with  women  and  children.  AA.SS. 

St.  Euticia  (2),  May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Euticia  (3),  Aug.  11.  Mother 
of  St.  Taurinus,  first  bishop  of  Evreux, 
of  whom  nothing  is  known  with  any  cer- 
tainty, his  history  being  the  work,  says 
Baillet,  "  d*un  imposteur  fort  ignorant  et 
peu  capable  d'imposer."  Baillet,  Vies. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Eutilia,  Euticia. 

St.  Eutimia,  May  30,  M.  at  Antioch. 
Occurs  in  an  ancient  copy  of  the  Mart  of 
St.  Jerome.  AA.SS.  Prsefationes,  vol.  iii. 

St.  Eutropia  (1),  Feb.  26.  Mother 
of  St.  Euthalia.  Honoured  at  Leon- 
tini,  in  Sicily ;  also  mentioned  in  the 
Lives  of  SS.  Alphius,  Philadelphus,  etc. 
(May  10).    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Eutropia  (2),  Oct.  30,  May  25, 
M.  at  Alexandria. 


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ST.  EVA 


301 


Represented  hanging  by  her  hands, 
which  are  fastened  to  rings  in  the  wall, 
while  executioners  on  each  side  of  her 
hold  lamps  close  to  her  body  to  born 
her. 

Her  offence  was  that  she  comforted 
the  Christians  who  were  suffering  for 
the  cause  of  Christ.  Under  the  rule  of 
Apellianus,  she  was  seized,  tortured, 
hung  up,  and  scorched  with  the  flame 
of  lamps  or  torches,  to  compel  her  to 
deny  Christ;  but  in  vain.  She  was 
thrown  into  prison,  and  brought  out 
again  the  neit  day.  She  mocked  at 
Apellianus  and  his  idols,  and  was  be- 
headed, and  so  departed  to  her  Lord,  in 
whom  she  trusted. 

R.M.,  Oct.  30.  AA.SS.,  May  25,  from 
the  Menology  of  Basil  and  Synaxary  of 
Dijon, 

St.  Eutropia  (3),  June  15,  V.  M. 
A  girl  of  twelve,  martyred  at  Palmyra, 
in  Syria,  with  her  mother,  whose  name 
we  do  not  know.  She  was  condemned 
to  be  shot  with  arrows.  The  judge, 
pitying  her  youth,  ordered  her  bonds  to 
be  undone,  that  she  might  save  Herself 
by  flight ;  but  her  mother  said,  "  Do  not 
flee,  my  daughter.'1  Eutropia  held  her 
own  hands  tight  behind  her,  and  fell  to 
the  ground,  transfixed  by  an  arrow,  and 
immediately  expired,  not  having  dis- 
obeyed her  mother  even  in  this.  She  is 
mentioned  in  Bryene's  Exhortation  to 
St.  Febronia.    K.  M. 

St.  Eutropia  (4),  one  of  the  ser- 
vants of  St.  Afha  of  Augsburg. 

St.  Eutropia  (5),  Dec.  14,  V.  M. 
5th  century.  Sister  of  St.  Nicasius, 
bishop  of  Eheims. 

When  Attila,  at  the  head  of  the  Huns, 
invaded  Roman  territory  and  entered 
Gaul,  shortly  before  his  great  defeat  at 
Chalons,  in  451,  all  sorts  of  atrocities 
were  committed  by  his  followers.  He 
took  Metz  on  Easter  Eve,  April  7. 
Bishops  were  taken  prisoners,  priests 
were  slain  at  the  altar,  people  were 
massacred  with  fire  and  sword.  The 
invaders  proceeded  to  Bheims.  Most  of 
the  inhabitants  fled  to  the  woods;  but 
Nicasius,  in  full  canonicals,  attended  by 
the  clergy  and  a  few  of  the  people, 
stood  in  his  place  before  the  altar.  He 
was  singing  the  psalms  for  the  hour.  A 


sword  at  his  throat  cut  short  the  words. 
His  sister  Eutropia,  for  fear  of  falling 
alive  into  the  hands  of  the  soldiers, 
struck  the  murderer  in  the  face,  and  was 
instantly  despatched  by  the  side  of  her 
brother.  They  were  both  buried  beside 
the  church  of  St.  Agricola,  afterwards 
the  abbey  of  St.  Nicasius. 

The  Acts  of  St  Nicasius  are  ancient, 
but  not  authentic.  By  some  accounts 
the  massacre  occurred  in  the  3rd  century. 

R.M.  Butler,  Lives.  Buinart,  Pers. 
Vandal.  Revue  des  deux  Mondes,  March, 
1852,  p.  939. 

St.  Eutropia  (6)  of  Clermont,  in 
Auvergne,  Sept.  15,  26,  5th  century. 
Widow,  contemporary  of  St.  Eutbopi  a  (5), 
of  Bheims.  Fed  upon  mortifications, 
that  she  might  give  all  to  the  poor. 
After  the  death  of  her  son  and  grand- 
son, she  had  a  quarrel  with  Agrippiuus, 
a  priest,  father  of  her  daughter-in-law, 
about  her  property.  She  put  the  whole 
affair  into  the  hands  of  the  two  bishops, 
showing  neither  hatred  nor  covetousness. 

St.  Sidqnius  Apollinarius,  bishop  of 
Auvergne,  called  her  "Saint"  during 
her  life  in  writing  of  her  to  a  bishop  of 
Autun. 

R.M.,  Sept.  15.  F.M.,  Sept.  20. 
Baillet. 

St.  Eutropia  (7),  Wilgefortis. 
St.  Eutychia  (l).   (See  Casia.) 
St.  Eutychia  (2),  M.  with  Agape, 
Chionia,  and  Irene. 
St.  Euvronia,  Apronia. 
St  Euxima,  or  Euximia,  Jan.  80, 

EtJSEDIA  HOSPITA. 

St  Eva  (1),  or  Eve,  Sept.  6,  V.  M. 
Patron  of  Dreux.  Her  body  lies  in  the 
church  of  St.  Stephen  there.  Guerin. 
Stadler. 

St.  Eva  (2),  Feb.  11,  Aug.  30  ((Eva, 
erroneously  called  Fua),  M.  c.  303. 
AA.SS.    {See  Victoria  of  Avitika.) 

St.  Eva  (3).  Perhaps  the  real  name 
of  Domneva,  who  was  also  called  Ermen- 

BURGA. 

St.  Eva  (4),  or  Gaffe.  The  Memorial 
makes  her  identical  with  Weeda,  third 
abbess  of  St.  Peter's,  Gloucester,  in 
succession  to  her  sisters,  SS.  Etneburga 
and  Edbebga.  Smith  and  Wace  give  Eva 
as  a  legendary  personage  called  fourth 
abbess,  and,  like  Edburga,  widow  of 


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302 


B.  EVA 


Wulfhere,  king  of  Meroia.  If  so,  he  had 
three  holy  abbesses  for  wives  at  once, 
for  we  know  that  St.  Ermenilda  was  one, 
and  survived  him.  The  History  of 
Gloucester  says  Eva  was  consecrated  by 
Wilfrid  of  Worcester  in  735. 

B.  Eva  (5),  or  Eve,  Dec.  2.  Early 
12th  century.  Born  in  England. 
Daughter  of  Apis,  a  powerful  lord  of 
the  kingdom  of  "  Outre-Manche  "  (beyond 
Channel) ;  her  mother's  name  was  Oliva. 
They  brought  her  up  carefully,  and 
consecrated  her  to  God  in  the  Abbey  of 
Clington.  Her  sanctity  soon  attracted 
so  much  attention,  and  such  crowds  of 
people  flocked  to  see  her  and  ask  for 
her  prayers,  that  she  found  her  spiritual 
life  hindered,  and  left  England  and  went 
to  France.  There  she  soon  heard  of  the 
wonderful  holiness  of  Eobert  d'Arbrissel 
(founder  of  Fontevrault)  and  his  disciples, 
and  particularly  of  St.  Herve,  who  is 
believed  to  have  been  born  in  England, 
and  whose  name  may  have  been  known 
to  her  in  her  childhood.  Hearing  that 
he  lived  as  a  hermit  in  a  solitary  place 
near  Angers,  she  made  her  way  to  his 
cell,  and  persuaded  him  to  receive  her  as 
a  servant  and  disciple.  He  did  not  take 
this  step  without  consulting  the  Bishop 
of  Anjou,  and  other  persons  eminent  for 
sanctity  and  wisdom.  A  narrow  cell  was 
built  for  her,  communicating  by  a  door 
with  that  of  her  master,  and  she  was 
installed  with  the  accustomed  prayers 
and  blessings.  Geoffroy,  or  Jeffrey, 
abbot  of  Vendome,  wrote  to  Herve  and 
Eve  a  letter  beginning:  "Jeffrey,  the 
humble  servant  of  the  monastery  of 
Venddme,  to  the  servants  of  God,  Herve 
and  Eve,  secluded,  in  order  that  what 
they  have  so  well  begun  may  have  a 
still  better  ending."  He  sets  before 
them  the  truths  that  were  henceforth  to 
be  the  object  of  their  contemplation,  and 
bids  them  not  forget  the  punishment  of 
those  who  fail  to  persevere  to  the  end. 
Eve  took  upon  herself  the  part  of  Martha 
and  of  Mary  too,  faithfully  serving  and 
tending  her  master,  who  already  suffered 
from  the  infirmities  of  age,  and  spending 
all  the  rest  of  her  time  in  religious  con- 
templation and  other  exercises,  in  which 
he  was  her  director.  Her  austerities 
shortened  Ler  life.   She  died  young ;  and 


Herve,  notwithstanding  his  advanced 
age,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land. 
On  his  return  he  would  not  again 
inhabit  the  cell  where  he  had  formerly 
lived,  but  passed  his  few  remaining  years 
at  Chalonnes,  and  is  generally  called 
Saint  Herve  de  Chalonnes.  He  died 
1119.  Chamard,  Saints  personncufcs 
a" Anjou.    Ferrarius,  Dec.  2. 

B.  Eva  (6),  or  Eve,  June  4,  April  5. 
1 3th  century.  Kecluse  at  Liege.  Friend 
of  St.  Juliana  of  Liege.  When  St. 
Juliana's  vision  began  to  be  talked  about, 
and  people  sought  her  advice  on  spiritual 
matters,  one  of  those  who  came  to  con- 
sult her  was  a  young  girl,  named  Eve, 
who  experienced  a  profound  distaste  for 
the  world,  and  conceived  the  idea  of 
living  as  a  recluse  beside  the  ancient 
church  of  St.  Martin,  on  the  hill  of 
Publemont,  at  Liege.  Juliana  encouraged 
her  in  her  intention,  and  without  delay 
Eve  had  herself  walled  up  in  a  cell, 
looking  into  the  church.  Juliana 
promised  to  visit  her  atj  least  once  a 
year,  and  they  agreed  to  have  no  conceal- 
ments from  each  other.  When,  in  1248, 
Juliana  was  obliged  to  leave  her  convent, 
she  went  to  Eve,  who  procured  shelter 
for  her. 

After  Juliana's  death  Eve  lost  no  time 
in  influencing  John  of  Lausanne  to 
persuade  the  Pope  to  make  obligatory 
the  observance  of  the  feast  of  Corpus 
Christi:  this  was  done  in  1264. 

Eve  died  in  1265  or  1266,  and  was 
buried  in  the  church  of  St  Martin. 
On  June  4,  1622,  she  was  translated 
from  her  first  resting-place  under  the 
altar  of  the  venerable  sacrament  whose 
festival  she  had  been  instrumental  in 
establishing.  Her  relics  are  kept  with 
great  veneration  at  Vienna,  and  at 
Brussels.  Biographie  Nat.  de  Belgique, 
"  Julienne.' '  Her  Life  to  be  found  as 
corollary  to  that  of  B.  Juliana  of  Cor- 
neillon,  April  5.  AA.SS.,  Prseter.  Buce- 
linus.    Henriquez,  Zt'Zta,  p.  145. 

St.  Eval  has  a  church  and  village  in 
Cornwall.  Parker.  Possibly  Evilla, 
invoked  in  the  Dunkeld  Litany. 

St.  Evanthia,  April  27  (Euanthja, 
Evantia),  M.  at  Nicomedia,  in  Bithynia. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Evantia  (1),  Evanthia. 


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ST.  EXUPERIA 


303 


St.  Evantia  (2),  June  2.  One  of  227 
Roman  martyrs  commemorated  together 
in  the  Martyrology  of  St  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Evasia,  June  2.  One  of  227 
Roman  martyrs  commemorated  together 
in  the  Martyrology  of  St.*  Jerome.  AAJSS. 

St  Eve,  Dec.  19,  Jan.  18,  23,  the 
first  woman.  In  the  catacombs,  Adam 
and  Eve  are  represented,  he  with  a  spade 
and  she  with  a  sheep  or  ram,  to  indicate 
that  Adam  delved  and  Eve  span.  They 
are  patrons  of  gardeners.  In  the  Greek 
Church  they  are  honoured  the  Sunday 
before  Christmas  Day.  Baillet.  Cahier. 
Guerin. 

St.  Eve,  EvyI  French  corruption 
of  Avia,  same  as  Ad  vis  a,  or  Aurea. 

St.  Everildis,  July  9,  V.  7th 
century.  Of  noble  parents  in  England, 
in  the  reign  of  St.  Oswald.  She  was 
converted  to  Christianity  when  Kinegils, 
king  of  the  West  Saxons,  was  baptized 
by  St.  Berinus,  in  635.  She  took  the 
veil,  and  lived  with  great  sanctity  with 
two  other  virgins,  Bega  and  Waldreda,  at 
a  place  afterwards  called  Evereldsham, 
given  her  by  St.  Wilfrid.  Soller  gives 
this  account  from  a  manuscript  martyr- 
ology of  Usuard  and  from  the  lessons  of 
her  office,  but  he  doubts  the  authenticity 
of  the  souroes  of  the  story.  Brit  Sancta. 
Soller  in  AA.SS.  Butler.  She  is  per- 
haps the  same  as  Everilla. 

St.  Everilla.  In  the  Diario  Bomano, 
March  14,  1840,  this  saint  is  said  to 
be  patron  of  Everingham,  in  Yorkshire, 
where  a  magnificent  church  was  then 
being  built  by  Contestabile  Maxwel,  Esq., 
of  Everingham  Park,  at  a  cost  of  £30,000. 
Sixteen  statues  were  ordered  for  it  from 
an  Italian  sculptor.  They  were  to  repre- 
sent the  twelve  apostles,  the  Virgin 
Mary,  St.  Mary  Magdalen,  and  St. 
Everilla.  Perhaps  the  same  as  Everildis. 

St.  E villa.  Invoked  in  the  Dunkeld 
Litany.  Forbes. 

St.  Evocks,  Kevooa.  Forbes. 

St.  Evodia,  Euodias. 

St.  Evox,  Kevoca. 

St.  Evronia,  or  Evroine,  July  15, 
V.  in  Champagne.  Same  as  Aphonia. 
Chastelain. 

St.  Ewe,  or  Ev&  Same  as  Avia, 
Ad  visa,  Aurea. 

St.  Ewe,  or  Ewa,  pronounced  Eve, 


is  the  name  of  a  parish  and  village  in 
Cornwall.  Parker.  It  is  spelt  by  John 
of  Tinmouth,  Iwy.  Ewa  is  perhaps  Ia. 
Miss  Arnold  Forster,  ii.  267.  Smith  and 
Wace. 

St.  Ewyne,  Doc.  21.  "The  feest 
also  of  saynt  Ewyne,  a  quene."  Mart  of 
Salisbury. 

St.  Expergentia,  or  Expergentus, 
June  4,  M.  in  Sicily  or  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Extricata,  June  2.  Two  of  227 
Boman  martyrs  commemorated  together 
in  St.  Jerome's  Martyrology.  AA.SS. 

St.  Exupera,  or  Erenpebe,  Sept.  28. 
Harris  Nicolas,  Notitia  Hist. 

St.  Exuperantia,  April  26.  V.  at 
Troyes.  Her  body  is  kept  in  the  church 
of  St.  Frodobert,  at  Troyes,  in  a  gilded 
wooden  case,  curiously  ornamented. 
Mentioned  in  the  Boman  Mart,  in  the 
German  Mart,  of  Canisius,  and  by 
Molanus;  in  some  manuscript  martyr- 
ologies  she  is  styled  Exuperia  ;  Ferrarius 
speaks  of  one  Uxuperantia.  Hen- 
schenius  in  AA.SS. 

St.  Exuperia  (1).  Wife  of  St.  Qui- 
rinus  and  mother  of  St.  Balbina.  AA.SS., 
March  80  and  31,  lives  of  SS.  Quirinus 
and  Balbina.  Elsewhere  said  to  be  the 
wife  of  St.  Hermes ;  but  this  is  probably 
a  mistake. 

St.  Exuperia  (2),  or  Exsuperia, 
July  26,  Oct.  31.  2nd  or  3rd  century. 
M.  c.  161  or  259.  Wife  of  Olympius, 
a  Boman  tribune,  who  was  converted  by 
seeing  the  constancy  of  St.  Sempronius 
under  the  tortures  to  which  he  (Olympius) 
condemned  him,  and  by  seeing  a  statue 
of  Mars  miraculously  fall  down  in 
presence  of  the  holy  confessor.  Olympius 
told  the  story  to  his  wife,  and  they  sent 
for  St.  Stephen  (Pope),  who  instructed 
and  baptized  them  and  their  son,  Theo- 
dulus.  Their  conversion  was  soon  dis- 
covered, and  they  were  condemned  to  be 
burnt.  The  fires  were  kindled  before 
the  statue  of  the  sun  near  the  entrance 
to  the  Colosseum.  Their  remains  were 
buried  by  St.  Stephen.  B.M.  AAJSS. 
If  their  martyrdom  occurred  in  the 
time  of  Stephen,  the  later  of  the  above 
dates  must  be  the  right  one.  Hemans, 
Monuments  in  Borne,  gives  the  date  259. 

St.  Exuperia  (3),  June  3.  Eoman 
martyr.  AAJSS/ 


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304 


ST.  EYE 


St.  Eye.    Same  as  Ia,  or  Hya. 

St.  EzeleiS,  May  7,  June  7  (Eze- 
leind,  Ezelind;  in  French,  Alix;  in 
Latin,  Adelais,  or  Adeleid),  V.  in 
England.  AA.SS.,  Prseter.  Perhaps  St. 
Alice  Eich. 


St.  Ezelind,  Ezeleib. 

St.  Ezelinda,  May  4.  3rd  century. 
Wife  of  St.  Florian,  soldier  and  martyr, 
who  was  born  at  Zeiselmaur,  in  Lower 
Austria,  and  thrown  into  the  river  near 
Lorch,  where  he  is  now  honoured.  P.B. 


F 


St.  Fabiola,  Dec.  27,  +  390,  was 
a  member  of  the  illustrious  Fabian 
family  and  a  frequenter  of  the  ascetic 
Christian  society  which  gathered  round 
St.  Marcella.  Her  piety  seems  to  have 
been  ardent  but  inconstant,  and  she 
fluttered  from  asceticism  to  the  world 
and  back  again.  Her  parents  married 
her  at  an  early  age  to  a  dissolute  noble- 
man. She  obtained  a  divorce,  and 
married  again  a  husband  as  unsatis- 
factory as  the  first,  and,  without  seeking 
a  legal  divorce,  she  left  him  also.  Her 
conduct,  though  in  accordance  with 
Eoman  law,  was  condemned  by  the 
Christians,  and  on  Easter  Eve,  after  her 
second  husband's  death,  she  stood  in  the 
rank  of  the  penitents  at  the  door  of  the 
church  of  the  Lateran,  and  made  con- 
fession of  her  error  in  the  presence  of 
all  Rome. 

St.  Fabiola  is  chiefly  remarkable  for 
having  drawn  from  St.  Jerome  the  de- 
nouncement of  double  marriage  (the 
earliest  utterance  of  the  Church  on  the 
subject)  contained  in  his  fifty-fifth  letter. 
He  said  that  she  was  justified  in  leaving 
her  first  husband  on  account  of  his  mis- 
conduct, but  that  the  second  marriage 
was  a  crime ;  that  the  woman  could  not 
communicate  with  the  Church  until  she 
had  put  away  her  second  husband,  and 
that  she  could  not  go  back  to  the  first. 

Restored  to  communion,  Fabiola  sold 
her  estates  and  devoted  her  immense 
wealth  to  the  service  of  the  poor.  She 
founded,  with  the  help  of  Pammaohius, 
the  first  hospital  for  the  sick ;  with  her 
own  hands  she  dressed  the  most  loath- 
some wounds,  and  bore  the  helpless 
upon  her  shoulders.  In  all  Borne  there 
was  scarcely  a  needy  person  who  did 
not  owe  food  or  raiment  to  the  charity 
of  St.  Fabiola. 

In  395  a  sudden  impulse  led  her  to 


visit  St.  Jerome  and  St.  Paula  at  Beth- 
lehem. She  enjoyed  St.  Jerome's  hos- 
pitality, while  he  sought,  at  her  request, 
a  lodging  for  her  suited  to  her  rank. 
When,  however,  Bhe  saw  the  poverty 
and  simplicity  of  St.  Paula's  life,  her 
impressionable  nature  was  stirred,  and 
she  asked  St.  Jerome  to  seek  only  a 
lodging  suited  to  a  pious  woman,  who 
wished  to  live  in  solitude  and  have  the 
happiness  of  seeing  the  place  that  had 
sheltered  the  Virgin  Mary.  Under  his 
guidance  she  studied  the  Scriptures, 
asking  more  questions  than  she  gave 
him  time  to  answer.  To  satisfy  her 
eager  mind,  he  had  previously  written 
a  treatise  on  the  priestly  vestments  of 
Aaron,  and  he  now  began  an  explanation 
.of  the  forty-two  halting-places  of  the 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness,  which  was 
not  completed  until  she  too  had  "  passed 
through  the  wilderness  of  this  world, 
and  come  to  the  land  of  promise." 

The  rumour  of  the  descent  of  the 
Huns  on  Jerusalem  drove  Fabiola  back 
to  Borne.  She  busied  herself  in  found- 
ing, at  the  port  of  the  city,  a  hospice 
for  pilgrims,  on  the  model  of  that  erected 
by  St.  Jerome  at  Bethlehem,  and  the 
fame  of  it  spread  through  Egypt,  Parthia, 
and  Britain.  She  died  in  399.  At  the 
request  of  her  kinsman  Oceanus,  St. 
Jerome  wrote  a  eulogy  of  her  virtues. 
"  I  give  you  this,"  he  concludes,  "  Fa- 
biola, the  best  gift  of  my  aged  powers, 
to  be  as  it  were  a  funeral  offering ;  let 
envy  depart  and  detraction  be  silent 
.  .  .  the  soul  which  fell  among  thieves 
has  been  carried  home  upon  the  shoulders 
of  Christ."  It  was  not  without  hesita- 
tion that  she  was  numbered  among  the 
saints  of  the  4th  century,  on  account  of 
her  immense  charity. 

Jerome's  Letters  (Fremantle's  edition). 
Thierry,  Saint  Jerome.  Tillemont. 


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ST.  PANCHEA 


305 


St.  Face,  The  Holy  Face,  Ve- 

BONIOA  (1). 

St  Facinola,  Aug.  1.  Supposed  to 
be  the  same  as  St.  Felicula,  of  Giem, 
in  France.  AA.SS. 

St.  Faila  (Foila,  Foilenna,  Faoi- 
leann,  or  Failenna),  March  3.  6th 
century.  V.  of  the  house  of  Hy- 
fiachra  of  Gonnaught.  Daughter  of 
Aidus,  or  Hugh,  who  was  great-grand- 
son of  Dathy,  king  of  Ireland.  She  had 
three  brothers  who  are  reckoned  among 
the  Irish  saints,  namely,  SS.  Colga, 
or  Colgens,  an  abbot,  disciple  of  St. 
Columba  (February  20),  St.  Aidus,  and 
St.  Sorar,  of  whom  nothing  is  known. 
The  Church  of  Killfaile  (now  Killealy), 
called  after  her,  was  resorted  to  for 
centuries  by  multitudes  of  pilgrims. 
Lanigan,  ii.  326.  Colgan. 

St.  Failtigerna,  March  17,  V.  An 
ancient  Irish  saint  mentioned  in  Marian 
Gorman's  Martyrology.   AA.SS.,  Preeter. 

St  Faina,  or  Phania,  May  18,  V. 
M.  at  Ancyra  with  St.  Thecusa.  B.M. 

St.  Fainc,  Fainche,  or  Faine, 
Fanchea. 

SS.  Faith  (l),  Hope,  and  Charity, 
Aug.  1,  W.  MM.  Honoured  on 
various  days  and  by  different  names  in 
different  churches.  The  three  sisters 
are  called  in  French,  Foi,  Espebance, 
Chabit£  ;  in  Latin,  Fides,  Spes,  Ca- 
bitas;  in  Greek,  Pistis,  Elpis,  Agape. 
In  the  Coptic  Church  they  are  called 
Baruaba,  Axiosa,  and  Elisabeth  ;  by 
the  Ethiopians,  Bassenes,  Helis,  and 
Ghain;  and  by  the  Bussians,  Wjera, 
Nadedzda,  and  Lubove.  Their  mother, 
St.  Sophia,  Sapientia,  or  Wisdom,  gave 
them  these  names  out  of  love  for  the 
theological  virtues.  She  educated  them 
at  Borne,  and  then  witnessed  their 
tortures  and  martyrdom,  in  the  reign 
of  Adrian  (117-138),  when  St.  Faith 
was  twelve  years  old.  Sophia  survived 
them  some  years,  and  is  honoured  with 
them.  J.  B.  Soller,  AA.SS.  Baillet. 
Butler. 

St.  Faith  (2),  Oct.  6  (Fe,  Fides, 
Foi),  V.  M.  286  or  292.  Patron,  with 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  of  London.  Repre- 
sented holding  a  bundle  of  rods,  or  with 
a  brazen  bed  in  her  hand.  She  was 
born  at  Agen,  in  Aquitaine,  of  Christian 


parents,  and  was  put  to  death  in  the 
early  part  of  Diocletian's  persecution. 
Dacian  was  then  governor  of  Aquitaine. 
A  priest  named  Caprasius,  seized  with 
panic,  fled  to  a  wooded  hill  near  Agen. 
Faith  Btayed  on  in  her  house.  After 
many  Christians  had  suffered  martyr- 
dom, some  one  told  Dacian  that  Faith 
was  a  girl  delicately  brought  up,  who 
would  yield  if  threatened  with  tor- 
ture. She  was  roasted  on  a  brazen  bed. 
Many,  seeing  the  courage  with  which 
she  endured  martyrdom,  cried  out  that 
Faith's  God  was  the  true  God,  and  were 
beheaded.  Caprasius,  who  had  been 
watching,  envied  the  new  converts  who 
entered  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be- 
fore him,  and  at  last  came  down  from 
his  hiding-place,  gave  himself  up,  and 
was  beheaded. 

Sixteen  churches  in  England  are 
named  in  sole  honour  of  St.  Faith,  and 
the  crypt  of  old  St.  Paul's  was  dedicated 
in  her  name,  and  is  famous  in  Church 
history  as  the  Chapel  of  St.  Faith. 

B.M.  AA.SS.  Parker,  Col.  of  Angli- 
can Church.    Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Faith  (3),  +  c.  297.  Sister  of 
St.  Maurice  of  Agaunum.  Cahier. 

St.  Falbourg.  Under  this  name 
St.  Walbubga  is  honoured  in  Lucon. 

St.  Falsa,  Salfa,  or  Salsa,  May  20, 
M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 
St.  Falulla,TALULLA. 
St.  Famosa,  May  8,  M.  at  Constanti- 
nople with  St.  Acacius.  (See  Agatha  (2).) 
AA.SS. 

St.  Fanchea,  Jan.  1  (Fainc,  Fainche, 

FAINE,FAINCHE-GABBHE(rOUgh),FuiNCHE, 

Funchea,  Phaina,  V.  Nun,  +  c.  500. 
One  of  the  four  daughters  of  Conall  the 
Bed,  prince  of  Oriel,  in  Ulster,  and 
Briga,  his  wife.  The  other  daughters 
were  St.  Lochinia,  St.  Cabkoha,  and 
Darenia,  who  married  Angus,  king  of 
Cashel.  Fanchea  was  born  at  Bathmore, 
near  Clogher.  She  was  early  sought  in 
marriage  by  Angus,  son  of  Natfraich, 
king  of  Momonia,  who  did  all  he  could 
to  gain  her  consent,  but  she  remained 
firm  in  her  resolution  to  become  a  nun, 
and  have  no  husband  but  the  Ring  of 
kings.  With  the  help  of  her  sister 
Darenia,  she  built  a  monastery  at  Bos- 
airthir  (now  Bossory,  on  the  banks  of 


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ST.  FANCHEA 


Lough  Erne,  co.  Fermanagh).  They 
brought  together  a  number  of  virgins, 
many  of  them  daughters!  of  kings,  and 
instructed  them  in  the  religious  life. 

Fanchea's  brother,  St.  Enna  (Latin, 
Endew),  succeeded  his  father  as  chief  of 
the  Oriels,  but  did  not  long  remain  an 
earthly  prince,  being  chosen  as  a  soldier 
of  Christ.  He  came  with  his  warriors 
to  his  sister's  nunnery,  demanding  one 
of  her  virgins  as  his  wife.  Fanchea 
went  to  the  girl,  and  offered  her  an 
earthly  king  or  a  heavenly  for  her  hus- 
band. The  virgin  chose  to  be  the  bride 
of  heaven,  and  lay  down  and  died.  St 
Enna  again  demanded  his  bride,  but 
when  he  saw  her  corpse,  he  was  so  much 
struck  by  her  voluntary  death,  that  he 
listened  to  the  teaching  of  his  sister,  was 
converted,  and  became  a  monk.  When 
his  companions  and  followers  heard  this, 
they  wanted  to  take  him  back  and  restore 
him  to  his  worldly  place ;  but  Fanchea, 
by  the  sign  of  the  cross,  restrained  their 
power  by  making  their  feet  stick  to  the 
ground,  for  she  thought  it  just  that 
those  who  desired  the  earth  and  the 
things  thereof,  should  cleave  to  it. 
When  they  promised  to  do  penance  she 
set  them  free.  St.  Enna  was  under  his 
sister's  direction  for  some  time ;  he 
occupied  himself  by  digging  trenches 
round  the  monastery  and  doing  other 
manual  labour,  a  common  employment 
for  one  in  his  condition  in  those  days. 
He  was  one  day  sorely  tempted  to  forget 
his  vows,  and  join  in  a  fight  which  took 
place  near  his  cell,  between  some  of  the 
men  of  Oriel  and  a  hostile  clan.  Fanchea, 
seeing  this,  recalled  him  to  his  duty, 
bade  him  leave  the  country  and  go  to 
Kosnat,  in  Britain,  and  there  place  him- 
self under  the  guidance  of  Mansenus  the 
abbot.  St.  Enna  asked  how  long  he 
should  stay  away.  "Until  your  fame 
comes  back  to  us,"  Fanchea  replied. 
He  accordingly  went  to  Britain,  and 
after  being  a  disciple  there  for  a  long 
time,  went  on  to  Eome,  and  was  ordained 
priest.  He  then  collected  disciples  and 
built  a  monastery  called  Latinum.  Some 
years  after  there  came  pilgrims  from 
Borne  to  Ireland,  and  when  St.  Fanchea 
had  hospitably  entertained  them  at  her 
monastery,  she  proceeded  to  question 


them  about  the  saints  living  in  distant 
countries.  Among  others,  they  told  her 
of  an  Irishman,  called  Enna,  of  wonder- 
ful holiness  and  great  fame,  who  ruled 
over  the  Latin  monastery  at  Borne.  On 
hearing  this,  Fanchea  set  off  with  three 
of  her  nuns  to  visit  her  brother.  She 
did  not  allow  them  to  take  anything 
with  them ;  but  one  nun,  thinking  she 
knew  better  than  her  mistress,  took  a 
brass  bowl  for  them  all  to  wash  their 
hands  in.  When  they  came  to  the  sea, 
there  was  no  ship  in  which  to  cross  it, 
so  the  holy  abbess  spread  her  cloak  on 
the  water,  and  they  all  got  on  it,  and 
put  off  from  the  shore  with  a  fair  wind. 
When  they  were  a  little  way  from  land, 
the  border  of  the  cloak  began  to  sink, 
which  Fanchea  perceiving,  said,  "  Now, 
my  daughters,  give  glory  to  God  and 
confess  your  sins,  for  our  cloak  is  sink- 
ing on  account  of  a  sin  committed  by 
one  of  you."  Then  the  culprit  produced 
the  brazen  bowl  and  confessed  her  fault. 
Fanchea  threw  the  bowl  into  the  sea, 
whereupon  the  border  of  the  cloak  rose 
again  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
they  soon  arrived  safely  at  the  desired 
port  in  Britain. 

At  the  same  time,  St.  Darerc a,  other- 
wise called  Moninna,  being  at  her  monas- 
tery of  Belflebe,  or  Kilflebe,  afterwards 
Ardmachan,  in  Ulster,  went  to  pray  in 
her  church,  and  saw  this  very  bowl  lying 
on  the  ground  at  the  foot  of  the  cross. 
She  exclaimed,  "Lord  God,  this  is  a 
narrow  way  indeed !  Couldst  Thou  not 
even  allow  the  holy  virgin  this  one  little 
basin  to  wash  her  hands  in?"  Then 
she  tied  the  bowl  to  a  similar  one  which 
she  used  for  drinking,  and  prayed  that 
God  would  allow  them  to  go  to  St 
Fanchea.  Her  prayer  was  granted,  and 
Fanchea,  recognizing  the  gift,  gave 
thanks  to  God  and  St.  Darerca. 

St.  Enna,  having  secret  intelligence 
that  his  sister  was  coming  to  see  him, 
bade  his  monks  make  ready  to  receive 
her  and  her  friends.  Fanchea  arrived, 
and  asked  to  see  her  brother.  He  sent 
a  message  that  she  might  choose  his 
salutation  without  seeing  him,  or  see 
him  without  salutation.  She  chose  the 
salutation,  so  a  curtain  was  hung  across 
the  place,  and  St.  Enna  spoke  to  her 


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ST.  FARA 


307 


from  behind  it.  She  told  him  he  ought 
to  double  the  talent  entrusted  to  him  by 
sharing  it  with  his  own  countrymen  in 
his  native  land.  He  replied  that  he 
would  come  there  a  year  after  her  return 
home.  She  then  advised  him  to  settle, 
not  in  his  native  place,  but  in  the  Island 
of  Arran,  which  he  eventually  did. 

Fanchea  returned  to  Ireland  on  the 
same  ship,  namely,  the  cloak.  She  died 
before  reaching  home,  and  her  mourning 
nuns  wrapped  her  in  this  same  cloak  for 
her  burial.  The  people  of  Leinster  fought 
with  those  of  Meath  for  her  body,  so  it 
was  put  into  a  car  drawn  by  two  oxen, 
and  it  seemed  to  the  people  of  Leinster 
that  the  oxen  took  it  to  Barrigh,  where 
they  buried  it,  but  in  reality  they  took 
it  to  Kilhaine,  in  Meath;  and  there, 
in  the  parish  church  of  Bos-airthir,  in 
the  diocese  of  Clogher,  she  has  been 
specially  venerated. 

AA.SS.  Colgan.  Lanigan,  Eccl.  Hist, 
of  Ireland.  Butler.  Bucelinus.  Smith 
and  Wace. 

St  Faoileann,  Faila. 

St.  Fappa,  June  5  (  Jappa,  Pappia), 
M.  at  Borne.  AA.SS. 

St.  Fara,  Dec.  7,  April  3  (Burgun- 
dofara,  Phara),  V.  Abbess.  +  about 
655.  Patron  of  Brie  and  Faremoutier. 
Invoked  for  diseases  of  the  eye.  Founder 
and  first  abbess  of  the  monastery  of 
Faremoutier.  Bepresented  carrying  a 
bunch  of  ears  of  corn  or  one  single  ear. 
St.  Columbanus,  when  received  in  her 
father's  house,  in  her  childhood,  saw 
her  carry  in  her  hand  a  bouquet  of  wheat 
instead  of  flowers.  He  predicted  that 
the  wheat  of  the  elect  would  be  the 
portion  of  this  little  virgin,  and  that 
Jesus  Christ  destined  her  to  love  no 
man  but  Himself.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Agneric,  an  officer  at  the  court  of 
Theodebert  II.,  king  of  Austrasia,  and 
Leodegnnd  his  wife.  Sister  of  St.  Cag- 
noald,  who  became  a  monk  under  St. 
Columbanus,  at  Luxeuil,  about  594,  and 
of  St.  Faro,  bishop  of  Meaux.  SS.  Faro 
and  Fara  are  called,  in  the  old  writings, 
Burgundofaro  and  Burgundofara,  im- 
plying their  descent  from  the  Kings  of 
Burgundy.  St.  Fara  was  born  at  Pipi- 
misium,  about  five  miles  from  Meaux, 
whether  the  modern  Aupigny,  or  Cham- 


pigny  (or  Spigny),  is  not  certain,  nor  is 
the  date  known.  St.  Columbanus  being 
banished  from  Luxeuil  610,  St.  Cagnoald 
accompanied  him,  and  took  him  to  his 
father's  house,  where  Columbanus  gave 
his  blessing  to  all  the  family,  and  par- 
ticularly to  the  child  Fara,  whom  he 
consecrated  to  God.  When  she  was 
grown  up  her  father  wished  her  to  marry. 
She  opposed  his  plan,  and  was  seized 
with  a  dangerous  and  lingering  illness, 
from  which  she  only  recovered  when 
St.  Eustasius,  <ln  his  way  to  the  court 
of  Clothaire  II.,  came  to  Agneric's  house, 
and  persuaded  him  and  his  wife  to  con- 
sent to  Fara's  taking  the  veil  from  the 
hands  of  Gondoald,  bishop  of  Meaux, 
614.  A  few  years  afterwards,  Agneric 
gave  her  an  estate,  and  built  on  it  a 
double  monastery  at  the  junction  of 
the  Aubetin  and  the  great  Morin ;  it 
was  at  first -called  Brige.  The  forest 
and  district  near  it  are  now  called  Brie. 
The  abbey  was  afterwards  called  Fare- 
moutier, from  its  first  abbess. 

St.  Fara  established  the  rule  of  St. 
Columbanus,  which  was  very  strict.  It 
was  superseded  by  that  of  St.  Benedict,  but 
at  what  date  is  unknown.  The  fame  of 
her  sanctity  attracted  many  holy  women 
from  various  parts  of  France,  England, 
and  other  countries,  to  put  themselves 
under  her  rule  at  Faremoutier.  Among 
these  were  SS.  Sisetrude,  Gibitrudis, 
Hercantrudis,  also  Sedrido,  who  suc- 
ceeded her  as  abbess,  and  was  an  English 
princess,  daughter  of  St.  Hereswitha. 

Among  the  first  monks  of  the  abbey 
of  Faremoutier  were  Fara's  brother,  St. 
Cagnoald,  who  on  its  foundation  came 
thither  from  Luxeuil,  and  who  became 
Bishop  of  Laon,  620  ;  St.  Walbert,  father 
of  St.  Aldegonde ;  Jonas,  who  wrote  the 
Life  of  St.  Fara  and  of  some  other  con- 
temporary saints.  Her  brother,  St.  Faro, 
who  held  a  high  place  at  court  and  was 
betrothed  to  a  young  lady  of  rank  and 
wealth,  came  to  visit  St.  Fara,  and  was 
so  impressed  by  her  holiness  that  he 
persuaded  his  destined  bride  to  become 
a  nun  while  he  took  religions  orders. 
He  succeeded  Gondoald  as  bishop  of 
Meaux,  626,  and  died  672,  having  helped 
and  comforted  his  sister  in  all  the  diffi- 
culties and  trials  of  her  office. 


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ST.  PARAILDE 


The  relics  of  St.  Fara  were  enshrined 
695,  and  wrought  miraculous  cures.  In 
her  will  she  left  part  of  her  estates  to 
her  brothers  and  sisters,  but  the  greater 
part  to  her  monastery,  including  the 
ands  of  Champeaux,  where  a  priory  was 
afterwards  erected,  subject  to  the  mon- 
astery of  Faremoutier. 

Baillet,  Dec.  7.  Butler.  Brit.  Sand., 
April  3,  from  her  Life  ascribed  to  Bede, 
but  really  by  Jonas,  monk  of  Fare- 
moutier; and  from  the  Lives  of  SS. 
Columbanus  and  Eustace,  abbots  of 
Luxeuil.  Cahier. 

St.  Farailde,  Pharaildis. 

St.  Fausta  (1),  June  10,  M.  254. 
Wife  of  St.  Faustinus,  M.  In  the  per- 
secution under  Valerian  and  Gallienus, 
a  priest  named  Mam  marine,  aged  93, 
was  arrested  in  Numidia,  and  with  him 
several  Christians  whom  he  had  baptized 
and  instructed.  As  they  were  being  led 
away  to  judgment,  two  of  the  bystanders, 
Faustinus  and  his  wife  Fausta,  called 
out,  "  We  also  are  Christians,"  and  were 
at  once  seized  and  bound.  When  ques- 
tioned as  to  who  they  were  and  what 
they  had  done,  the  prisoners  all  said 
they  would  not  speak  before  their  master. 
Accordingly,  Mammarius  was  the  first 
to  give  an  account  of  their  faith  and 
manner  of  life.  After  many  tortures 
they  were  led  out  of  the  city  (Bosetta 
or  Amphoraria)  to  be  put  to  death.  The 
venerable  Mammarius  sank  down  ex- 
hausted by  his  sufferings  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  town,  and  was  there 
beheaded;  his  companions,  fifteen  in 
all,  were  taken  to  a  hill,  and  put  to 
death.  They  were  buried  privately  by 
Maximilla,  a  senatrix,  and  Lucian,  a 
priest.  A  woman  named  Faustina  was 
one  of  the  fifteen.  AA.SS.,  from  two  old 
MSS. 

St.  Fausta  (2),  Sept.  20;  Greek 
Church,  Feb.  6,  V.  M.  between  305 
and  311.  Bepresented  with  a  nail  in 
her  hand  or  driven  into  her  forehead. 
Patron  of  Narni. 

A  maiden  of  thirteen,  who  spent  her 
time  in  studying  the  sacred  books  of  the 
Christians,  was  accused  before  Evilasius, 
an  aged  heathen  holding  high  office  at 
Cyzicus.  He  ordered  her  to  be  shaven, 
and  then  condemned  her  to  be  sawn 


asunder ;  but  as  the  executioners  found 
their  arms  powerless  to  carry  out  the 
sentence,  Evilasius  had  her  tortured  by 
great  nails  being  driven  into  her  fore- 
head, breast,  and  heels.  Seeing  her 
constancy,  he  believed  in  her  God,  and 
was  cast  with  her  into  a  boiling  cauldron, 
by  Maximus,  the  pro-praBtor.  When 
Maximus  saw  that  they  were  praising 
God,  and  that  their  faces  were  trans- 
figured with  joy,  he  called  upon  Jesus 
Christ,  took  his  place  by  their  side,  and 
died  with  them.  Their  relics  were  even- 
tually translated  to  Narni,  in  Italy.  B.M. 
AA.SS.    Men.  of  Basil. 

St.  Fausta  (3),  Faustina  (1),  Em- 
press. 

St.  Fausta  (4),  March  15,  M.  at 
Nicomedia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Fausta  (5),  June  2.  One  of 
227  Koman  martyrs  commemorated 
together  in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Fausta  (6),  Dec.  19.  Of  noble 
Roman  birth  and  great  piety.  She  was 
mother  of  St.  Anastasia.  B.M. 

St.  Fausta  (7),  Jan.  4,  V.  M.  in 
Gascony.  Her  church  and  tomb  were 
burnt  in  an  invasion  of  Danes  or 
Normans.  Her  body  was  found  again 
in  the  13th  century,  and  translated  to 
the  Abbey  of  Solognac,  and  afterwards 
to  that  of  Free,  in  the  diocese  of  Bourges. 
Martin.  AA.SS. 

St.  Faustina  (l),  Feb.  17,  M.  with 
many  others  at  Rome.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Faustina  (2)  and  Floriana. 
July  9,  Roman  VV.  MM.  AA.SS., 
from  St.  Jerome. 

St.  Faustina  (3),  June  3,  Roman 
martyr.  AA.SS. 

St.  Faustina  (4),  May  6,  M.  at 
Milan.  AA.SS. 

St.  Faustina  (5),  May  7,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Faustina  (6),  or  Faustinus, 
Sept.  28,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Faustina  (7),  or  Faustinus,  Oct. 
18.  3rd  or  beginning  of  4th  century. 
M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Faustina  (8),  June  1,  M.  with 
St.  Aucega.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Faustina  (9),  or  Felicitas  and 
Anatolia,  July  9,  MM.  with  seven 
Christian  priests.  AA.SS. 


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St.  Faustina  (10),  June  10,  M.  with 
SS.  Faustinas  and  Fausta  (1). 

St.  Faustina  (11),  or  Fausta  (3), 
Nov.  23. 

"At  Alexander  the  feest  of  saynt 
Faustyne  quene  and  empresse,  a  martyr 
couerted  by  sayt  Katheryne,  <fe  put  to 
deth  by  her  owne  housbond  ye  emperour 
Maxiens."    (Martyrology  of  Salisbury.) 

Daras  says  she  was  probably  the 
daughter  of  Galerius.  (Les  Chretiens  a 
la  cour  de  Diocletien.) 

Another  account  calls  her  an  Arab, 
but,  in  fact,  it  is  not  very  likely  that 
there  was  an  empress  converted  by  St. 
Catherine  and  put  to  death  by  her 
husband ;  and  the  sudden  conversion  and 
martyrdom  of  hundreds  of  spectators 
only  lessens  the  probability  that  the 
incident  should  have  escaped  the  notice 
of  all  contemporary  writers  and  all 
secular  historians. 

St.  Faustina  (12),  Feb.  15,  V.  M. 
Commemorated  in  an  old  breviary  of 
Utrecht.  Possibly  one  of  the  11,000 
virgins,  in  whose  relics  the  churches  of 
the  Low  Countries  were  rich.  AA.SS. 
(See  Ursula.) 

St.  Faustina  (13),  sister  of  St. 

LlBERATA,  Of  ComO. 

St.  Feammor,  or  Femmair,  honoured 
in  Ireland,  Jan.  18,  with  St.  Scoth  (2). 

St.  Febaria,  Ermina.  Irish. 

St.  Febronia  (l),  or  Phebronia, 
June  25,  V.  M.  c.  304,  at  Sibapolis,  or 
Noziba,  in  Armenia,  or  Mesopotamia. 
Patron  of  Trani,  in  Calabria.  (Cahier.) 

There  was  at  Sibapolis  a  convent  of 
about  fifty  nuns,  over  whom  the  deaconess 
Bryene,  or  Brionia,  presided.  Bryene 
had  two  young  girls  under  her  care, 
whom  she  educated  to  the  best  of  her 
power  in  the  ascetic  rule  in  which  she 
herself  had  been  instructed.  One  of 
them  was  called  Procla,  and  was  at  this 
time  five  and  twenty  years  old ;  the  other 
was  her  niece,  Febronia,  who  was  eighteen. 
When  Bryene  saw  how  beautiful  Febronia 
was  growing,  she  was  filled  with  anxiety, 
and  ordered  that  she  should  only  eat 
every  second  day.  The  girl  was  dis- 
tressed at  her  own  beauty,  and  although 
she  only  lived  on  bread  and  water,  she 
never  took  as  much  as  she  wanted,  lest 
her  body  should  continue  to  improve  at 


the  expense  of  her  soul.  She  had  a 
small  wooden  bench  made  (three  cubits 
long  and  six  palms  broad)  on  which  she 
slept  a  certain  length  of  time,  and  some- 
times she  rested  on  the  bare  earth.  She 
read  the  Holy  Scriptures  diligently,  and 
knew  them  very  well,  so  that  Bryene 
used  to  choose  her  to  read  to  the  sisters 
in  the  oratory  on  Fridays.  A  number 
of  ladies  used  to  come  to  hear  the  read 
ing ;  and  Bryene,  determined  that  Febro- 
nia should  not  see  any  secular  person, 
hung  a  curtain  across  the  oratory  so  that 
the  reader  might  not  be  seen.  It  came 
to  be  known,  however,  throughout  the 
town,  that  Febronia  was  so  beautiful 
and  so  amiable,  and  read  the  Bible  so 
well,  and  a  young  widow,  named  Hieria, 
though  not  a  Christian,  was  seized  with 
a  great  desire  to  see  her.  She  came  to 
the  gate  and  entreated  Bryene  to  allow 
her  to  receive  instruction  from  Febronia, 
adding  that  her  parents  wished  her  to 
contract  a  second  marriage,  but  that  she 
was  inclined  to  become  a  Christian  in- 
stead, and  consecrate  the  rest  of  her  life 
to  religion. 

Bryene  explained  to  her  that  Febronia 
had  never  seen  any  secular  person  nor 
any  dress  but  that  of  nuns,  that  even 
her  nurse,  when  she  was  a  baby,  had 
never  been  allowed  to  see  her  face, 
although  she  often  begged  for  that  privi- 
lege with  tears;  but  she  said  that  as 
Hieria  hungered  and  thirsted  after  the 
knowledge  of  God,  and  as  her  salvation 
might  be  gained  by  it,  she  would  let  her 
come  and  talk  to  Febronia,  provided  she 
put  on  the  dress  of  a  nun. 

When  Febronia  saw  her,  she  supposed 
her  to  be  a  pilgrim  nun,  and  fell  at  her 
feet;  and  when  they  had  kissed  each 
other,  Bryene  told  them  both  to  sit 
down,  and  Febronia  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures. Hieria  was  so  much  interested 
that  they  spent  the  whole  night  together, 
Febronia  never  tiring  of  reading  nor 
Hieria  of  learning.  In  the  morning 
Bryene  had  some  difficulty  in  persuading 
Hieria  to  go  away  and  return  to  her 
parents.  At  last  she  did  so,  and  repeated 
so  well  what  she  had  heard  from  Febronia, 
that  she  persuaded  them  to  renounce 
their  idol  worship  and  become  Christians. 

Soon  after  this,  Febronia  was  very  ill, 


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ST.  FEBRONIA 


and  it  seemed  that  she  must  die.  Hieria 
came  and  sat  by  her  bedside,  and  would 
not  leave  her  until  she  showed  signs  of 
recovery. 

In  those  days  Selenus  and  his  nephew 
Lysimachus  were  charged  by  the  Emperor 
Diocletian  to  exterminate  Christianity 
in  the  East.  Selenns  was  a  fierce  perse- 
cutor, but  Lysimachus  secretly  favoured 
the  Christians,  and  with  the  help  of  his 
faithful  friend  and  aide-de-camp  Primus, 
he  often  contrived  to  warn  them  to  con- 
ceal themselves.  Just  at  this  time  a 
report  reached  Sibapolis  that  the  perse- 
cutors were  approaching,  and  all  the 
Christians,  including  the  bishop,  sought 
safety  in  flight.  Then  the  nuns  came  to 
their  deaconess,  and  said,  "What  shall  we 
do,  mother?  These  wild  beasts  are  already 
at  the  gates,  and  all  our  friends  have 
fled/' 

"  What  would  you  have  ?"  said  Bryene. 

They  said,  "  Give  us  leave  to  hide  in 
the  neighbourhood,  and  thus  save  our- 
selves." 

"  You  have  not  seen  war,  and  yet  you 
think  of  flight.  The  battle  is  not  begun ; 
and  are  you  vanquished  already  ?  Not 
so,  my  sisters ;  let  us  stay,  and,  if  neces- 
sary, die  for  Him  who  died  for  us,  that 
we  may  live  with  Him." 

The  nuns  could  say  no  more ;  but  next 
day  one  of  them,  named  Etheria,  said  to 
the  others,  "  I  know  it  is  on  account  of 
Febronia  that  our  mistress  will  not  let 
us  go  away.  Are  we  all  to  perish  for 
her  sake?" 

Some  of  them  agreed  with  Etheria, 
and  some  differed,  and  as  a  great  dissen- 
sion arose  amongst  them,  they  decided 
to  refer  the  matter  to  the  superior. 

Etheria  spoke  for  them  all,  and  said, 
"  We  come  to  ask  you  to  order  us  to  flee 
from  the  coming  tribulation.  Are  we 
better  than  the  bishop  and  the  clergy  ? 
Is  it  certain  that  we  should  be  able  to 
bear  all  the  trials  and  torments  to  which 
we  might  be  subjected  by  the  heathen  ? 
We  might  forsake  our  faith  and  so  lose 
our  souls.  Consider  also  that  there  are 
young  girls  amongst  us,  and  that  you 
ought  not  to  suffer  them  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  soldiers.  If  you  will  give 
us  the  order  to  go,  we  will  carry  Febronia 
with  us,  and  set  off" 


Then  Febronia,  who  was  lying  on  her 
bench,  and  heard  all  that  was  said, 
answered,  "  As  the  Lord  liveth,  to  whom 
I  am  betrothed,  and  to  whom  I  have 
committed  my  soul,  I  will  not  go  out  of 
this  place,  but  I  will  die  here  and  be 
buried  here." 

Bryene  then  said  to  the  sisters,  "  Each 
one  of  you  knows  what  she  wishes ;  let 
each  choose  what  she  will  do." 

They  all  took  leave  of  Bryene  and 
Febronia  with  many  tears,  and  left  the 
monastery.  Procla,  Febronia's  friend 
and  fellow-pupil,  embraced  and  kissed 
her,  and  entreated  her  to  pray  for  her. 
Febronia  held  her  hand  and  kept  her 
back,  saying,  "Fear  God,  Procla,  and 
do  not  you  also  desert  us.  Do  you  not 
see  that  if  I  die,  our  mother  will  not  be 
able  to  bury  me  without  your  help  ?  " 

Procla  replied,  "Since  you  wish  it, 
I  will  stay  with  you." 

Febronia  said,  "  I  adjure  you  before 
God,  who  sees  all  that  we  do,  go  not 
away  from  me." 

Nevertheless,  in  the  evening,  Procla 
disappeared. 

When  Bryene  saw  the  desolation  of 
the  convent,  she  went  into  the  oratory, 
and  wept  and  lamented.  Then  Thomais, 
her  assistant,  who  had  not  left  with  the 
others,  came  and  sat  by  her,  and  tried  to 
comfort  her,  saying  that  God  was  able 
to  save  His  own  people.  Bryene  said, 
"You  say  the  truth,  sister;  but  what 
shall  I  do  with  Febronia?  Where  can 
I  hide  her,  or  how  could  I  bear  to  see 
her  carried  captive  by  barbarians  ?  " 

"  Do  you  forget  what  I  have  just  said 
to  you?"  said  Thomais.  "God,  who 
raises  the  dead,  can  defend  Febronia  from 
harm.  Dry  your  tears,  and  let  us  go  and 
comfort  her,  for  she  is  lying  ill  on  her  bed." 

They  went;  but  Bryene  could  not 
restrain  her  tears  or  comfort  Febronia, 
who  asked  Thomais  why  the  deaconess 
was  in  such  distress.  Thomais  said, 
"Her  distress  is  on  your  account.  If 
the  soldiers  come  here  they  can  do  no 
harm  to  old  women  like  us— they  can 
but  kill  us  to  be  rid  of  us ;  but  you  are 
young  and  beautiful,  and  they  will  try 
to  seduce  you  from  the  innocent  life  and 
holy  religion  in  which  you  have  been 
brought  up." 


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Bryene  then  began  to  warn  Febronia 
and  entreat  her  not  to  let  her  have 
laboured  in  vain  to  bring  her  np  so 
carefully  in  ignorance  of  all  evil,  and 
even  of  secular  matters,  and  begged  her 
not  to  bring  disgrace  on  her  old  age  by 
forsaking  her  Lord,  or  forgetting  her 
vows.  She  reminded  her  that  not  only 
men  bnt  women  and  young  girls  had 
been  honoured  with  the  crown  of  mar- 
tyrdom, and  instanced  the  sister  martyrs 
Lybia  and  Leonis,  the  first  of  whom  was 
beheaded  and  the  other  burnt.  "  Have 
yon  not  always  praised  their  courage? 
And  you,  who  have  taught  others,  will 
surely  not  be  found  wanting." 

Next  morning,  at  sunrise,  a  great 
clamour  announced  to  the  nuns  that  the 
Romans  were  come.  Many  Christians 
were  seized  and  put  in  prison  by  order 
of  Selenus,  and  some  soldiers  were  sent 
to  the  convent.  They  broke  open  the 
door  with  their  axes,  and,  seizing 
Bryene,  they  were  going  to  kill  her  on 
the  spot;  but  Febronia,  with  a  great 
effort,  rose  from  her  sick  bed  and  threw 
herself  at  the  feet  of  the  soldier,  con- 
juring him  to  kill  her  first,  that  she 
might  not  see  the  death  of  her  spiritual 
mother.  At  this  moment  Primus  arrived, 
and  when  he  had  rebuked  the  soldiers, 
he  asked  Bryene  where  the  other  in- 
habitants of  the  monastery  were.  She 
told  him  they  had  fled  for  fear  of  him 
and  his  companions.  Then  he  told  her 
she  also  might  save  herself  if  she  would ; 
and,  taking  the  soldiers  away  with  him, 
he  went  to  Lysimachus,  and  told  him 
that  all  the  nuns  had  left  the  place 
except  two  old  women  and  one  young 
girl,  and  added  that  the  beauty  of  the 
girl  was  such  that  he  had  never  seen 
any  woman  who  could  be  compared  to 
her,  and  that,  if  she  were  not  so  poor 
and  obscure,  she  would  be  a  worthy  wife 
for  Lysimachus  himself. 

Lysimachus  answered  him,  "  If  for 
my  mother's  sake  I  will  not  shed  the 
blood  of  the  Christians,  much  less  would 
it  become  her  son  to  lay  snares  for  the 
servants  of  God.  Go  you  and  save  these 
women,  and  take  them  to  some  place 
where  they  may  hide  from  my  cruel 
uncle  Selenus." 

Meantime  one  of  the  wickedest  of  the 


soldiers  ran  and  told  Selenus  that  a 
beautiful  girl  had  been  found  in  the 
convent,  and  that  Primus  had  spoken  of 
her  as  a  wife  for  Lysimachus.  Selenus 
was  furious,  and  instantly  sent  a  guard 
to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  three  nuns ; 
at  the  same  time  he  sent  a  herald  to 
proclaim  through  the  town  that  next 
day  Febronia  was  to  be  brought  to  a 
public  trial.  Early  next  morning  the 
soldiers  went  to  the  convent,  rudely 
pulled  Febronia  from  her  bed,  bound 
her  with  iron  fetters,  and  took  her  away, 
her  old  friends  to  the  last  exhorting  her 
not  to  fear  the  sufferings  and  death  of 
the  body,  but  to  let  it  be  announced  to 
Bryene  that  her  child  was  numbered 
among  the  martyrs.  Febronia  promised 
to  obey  her  mother  to  the  end,  as  she 
had  always  done,  and  added,  "The 
people  shall  wonder  at  my  courage,  and 
shall  bless  your  old  age  by  saying,  *  That 
was  a  true  daughter  of  Bryene.'" 
Thomais  promised  to  put  on  a  secular 
dress  and  be  present  at  the  trial;  and 
the  two  old  nuns  blessed  their  child  and 
let  her  go  with  the  soldiers.  An  im- 
mense concourse  of  people  was  gathered 
around  the  judgment- seat.  Hieria,  and 
all  the  women  who  used  to  come  to  the 
convent  to  hear  Febronia  read,  were 
among  the  spectators.  Febronia  was 
led  to  her  place  wearing  a  heavy  iron 
collar  on  her  neck,  and  chains  on  her 
hands.  Weeping  and  lamentation  were 
heard,  and  murmurs  of  discontent. 
Selenus  commanded  silence,  and  Lysi- 
machus began  the  interrogation — 

"Tell  me,  young  woman,  of  what 
condition  you  are,  slave  or  free  ?  " 

"  Slave,"  answered  she. 

"Whose?" 

"  Christ's." 

«  What  are  you  called  ?  " 

"A  humble  Christian." 

"  But  I  want  to  know  your  name  ?  " 

"  My  mistress  calls  me  Febronia." 

Selenus  here  interrupted  Lysimachus 
by  telling  Febronia  that  he  had  not 
intended  even  to  condescend  to  speak  to 
her;  but  that,  seeing  her  honesty  and 
modesty,  he  would  now  interrogate  her, 
not  as  a  criminal,  but  as  a  daughter. 
Having  given  her  this  encouragement, 
he  proceeded — 


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ST.  PEBRONIA 


"  The  gods  know  that  my  late  brother 
Anthimus,  the  father  of  Lysimachus, 
and  I  arranged  to  marry  Lysimachus  to 
a  very  rich  maiden  of  noble  family ;  but 
I  hereby  annul  the  engagement,  and 
choose  you  to  be  the  wife  of  my  nephew 
Lysimachus,  who  is  sitting  at  my  right 
hand,  and  whom  you  can  see  to  be  as 
beautiful  as  yourself.  Listen  to  me  as 
to  your  father,  and  be  not  ashamed  of 
your  poverty,  for  I  have  neither  wife 
nor  children,  and  I  will  adopt  you  and 
give  you  all  my  property  as  a  dowry 
when  you  marry  Lysimachus ;  and  when 
he  is  prefect  you  will  be  raised  to  the 
highest  rank,  all  women  will  envy  you, 
and  the  emperor  will  take  you  into 
favour.  So  now  choose;  accept  the 
destiny  I  offer  you,  or  else  I  swear  by 
my  gods  that  you  have  not  three  hours 
to  live." 

But  Febronia  answered,  "I  have  a 
bridal  palace  not  made  with  hands;  I 
have  the  whole  kingdom  of  heaven  for 
my  dowry ;  I  have  an  immortal  Bride- 
groom, and  I  will  have  no  earthly 
husband.  Therefore,  0  judge,  neither 
promises  will  tempt  me  nor  threats 
terrify  me," 

Selenus  was  very  angry,  and  said  to 
the  soldiers,  "  Take  off  her  clothes  and 
gird  her  about  with  rags,  that  she  may 
be  vile  and  contemptible  in  the  sight  of 
all  the  people."  The  soldiers  tore  off 
her  clothes,  and  giving  her  a  little  cape 
for  a  girdle,  set  her  naked  before  the 
eyes  of  them  all. 

Then  a  very  strange  thing  happened. 
This  girl,  who  had  grown  up  in  the 
seclusion  of  a  monastery,  and  had  never 
seen  the  face  of  a  man  until  the  day  the 
soldiers  broke  into  her  house,  felt  no 
shame  and  showed  no  embarrassment  at 
finding  herself  unclothed  in  presence 
of  her  cruel  judge  and  all  the  multitude. 
Selenus  at  first  thought,  or  affected  to 
think,  her  self-possession  was  the  result 
of  impudence  and  vanity,  and  that  the 
consciousness  of  her  extreme  beauty 
gave  her  courage  to  meet  the  gaze  of 
the  people.  But  her  answers  to  his 
insulting  speeches  showed  that  her  con- 
duct was  owing  to  her  perfect  innocence, 
and  to  her  being  prepared  to  suffer  all 
things  for  her  Master's  sake.  The 


tortures  by  which  she  was  slowly  put 
to  death  exceed  in  horror  anything  that 
can  be  imagined.  They  can  be  read  in 
detail,  by  the  curious,  in  her  Acts  in  the 
Bollandist  collection.  The  crowd  who 
stood  by  remonstrated  several  times 
against  the  brutality  of  the  orders  given 
by  Selenus,  and  interfered  to  prevent 
his  bringing  Hieria  to  trial  also  for 
openly  expressing  her  sympathy  with 
the  saint.  Hieria  said,  "Perhaps  Fe- 
bronia's  God  will  accept  me  also,  a  poor 
heathen,  with  my  teacher  ?  " 

At  last  Lysimachus  rose  from  his 
seat,  and  said  to  Selenus,  "  Come,  let  us 
go.  How  long  will  you  go  on  torturing 
this  girl?  It  is  dinner-time."  But 
Selenus  swore  by  his  gods  that  he 
would  not  go  till  Febronia  was  dead, 
and  as  she  still  seemed  to  have  life  in 
her  body,  he  ordered  her  to  be  beheaded. 
When  this  was  done,  the  judges  rose  to 
go  to  dinner.  Lysimachus  wept,  and 
the  people  cried  out,  "Cursed  be  Dio- 
cletian and  his  gods  I "  The  bystanders 
wanted  to  carry  away  the  body  of 
Febronia;  but  Lysimachus  placed  a 
guard  around  it,  and  ordered  them  to 
let  no  one  touch  her.  Instead  of  sitting 
down  to  dinner  with  his  uncle,  he  went 
and  shut  himself  up  in  his  room,  and 
there  he  abandoned  himself  to  grief  and 
horror  at  the  scene  in  which  he  had 
taken  part.  Selenus,  hearing  that  he 
was  so  overcome,  could  nob  eat,  but  rose 
from  the  table  and  walked  about  the 
hall  of  the  protorium,  and  was  suddenly 
seized  with  great  melancholy,  which 
deprived  him  of  his  senses;  he  went 
about  groaning,  ran  his  head  violently 
against  a  pillar,  and  fell  dead. 

When  this  was  told  to  Lysimachus, 
he  said,  "Great  is  the  God  of  the 
Christians !  "  He  then  called  his  faith- 
ful attendant  Primus,  and  bade  him 
immediately  get  a  coffin  of  precious 
incorruptible  wood  for  Febronia,  and 
have  it  proclaimed  by  criers  that  all 
Christians  who  wished  to  pay  the  last 
honours  to  the  martyr  might  come  with- 
out fear,  as  Selenus  was  dead.  No  one 
was  to  be  allowed  to  take  away  any 
relic  of  Febronia,  nor  was  any  dog  or 
unclean  beast  to  touch  the  earth  that 
was  saturated  with  her  blood.     That  * 


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ST.  FEDOSIA 


313 


earth  and  the  severed  head  and  limbs 
were  gathered  np  and  taken  with  the 
body  to  the  convent. 

Bryene's  grief  was  great  when  her 
child  was  brought  back  to  her  in  this 
way.  She  and  her  nnns  laid  her  on  her 
little  bench,  and  pnt  all  her  limbs  in 
their  places,  and  washed  her.  They 
then  opened  the  gates,  and  the  people 
came  in  to  see  the  saint,  and  filled  her 
coffin  with  incense  and  sweet  ointments. 
They  would  not  allow  the  coffin  to  be 
closed.  The  bishop  and  the  clergy  tried 
to  persuade  them  to  let  Febronia  be 
buried,  but  they  would  not  until  Bryene 
stood  up  on  a  high  place  and  spoke  to 
them  An  immense  number  of  the 
soldiers  and  other  heathens  were  con- 
verted on  this  occasion.  Among  the 
first  were  Lysimachus  and  Primus,  who 
became  monks.  Hieria,  having  been 
baptized  with  all  her  family,  begged 
Bryene  to  take  her  to  wait  upon  her  for 
the  rest  of  her  life  in  the  place  once 
filled  by  their  beloved  Febronia. 

The  bishop  built  a  beautiful  church 
in  honour  of  Febronia.  It  was  finished 
in  six  years.  He  then  begged  to  have 
the  body  of  the  martyr  placed  in  the 
new  church,  but  the  nuns  would  not 
give  it  up.  After  much  argument, 
Bryene  said  that  if  Febronia  would %  go 
the  bishop  might  take  her.  So,  after 
prayers,  the  priests  attempted  to  take 
the  coffin,  but  a  frightful  thunderstorm 
so  terrified  them  all  that  they  desisted 
for  a  time.  Their  next  attempt  was 
interrupted  by  a  terrific  earthquake.  At 
last  one  of  the  teeth  which  had  been 
collected,  and  laid  on  her  breast  on  the 
day  of  her  martyrdom,  was  given  to  the 
bishop,  who  exposed  it  to  the  veneration 
of  the  people  in  the  new  church,  and 
immense  multitudes  came  there  to  be 
healed  of  divers  diseases  through  the 
virtue  of  the  holy  virgin  martyr  Fe- 
bronia. 

Dr.  Neale,  in  his  History  of  the  Holy 
Eastern  Church,  says  that  Febronia  was 
put  to  death  by  Saracens.  This  would 
place  the  story  somewhat  later.  R.M. 
Her  Life  from  a  MS.  in  the  Vatican, 
translated  into  Latin  by  Papebroch,  in 
the  AA.SS.  The  narrative  purports  to 
be  written  by  Thomais,  who  was  in 


authority  under  the  abbess  in  the  con- 
vent where  Febronia  lived,  and  an  eye- 
witness of  her  martyrdom.  The  part 
of  the  story  she  did  not  see  was  told  to 
her  by  Lysimachus.  Eibadeneira  and 
other  collections. 

St.  Febronia  (2),  Feb.  14.  Nun  at 
Pa  via,  with  her  sister  Euphrasia  (10). 
They  are  said  to  be  daughters  of  Aistolfo, 
king  of  the  Lombards,  who  built  a  church 
for  them,  which  was  for  some  time  called 
All  Saints',  but  afterwards  San  Marino. 
AA.SS.,  in  note  to  Febronia  (1).  Buce- 
linus. 

St.  Febronia  (3),  Oct.  28.  7th 
century.  Daughter  of  the  Emperor 
Heraclius.  Probably  her  name  was 
Eudocia,  and  she  may  have  become  a 
nun  and  taken  the  name  of  Febronia. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter.  Gynecseum. 

St.  Febronia  (4),  June  25.  +  1228. 
Wife  of  St.  Peter,  prince  of  Volodomir, 
a  province  of  Russia  north  of  Moscow. 
He  was  gifted  with  all  the  virtues  be- 
fitting a  Christian  prince,  and  with  the 
power  of  healing  diseases,  and  of  know- 
ing secret  and  future  events.  They 
lived  at  Murom,  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Oka.  They  led  a  holy  and  charitable 
life,  much  beloved  by  all  classes ;  and  at 
last,  in  extreme  old  age  and  oppressed 
with  infirmities,  Prince  Peter  assumed 
the  monastic  dress  and  tonsure,  and  the 
name  of  David,  and  soon  afterwards 
died.  The  Princess  Febronia  took  the 
veil,  and  with  it  the  name  of  Euphrosyne. 
She  died  in  the  same  year,  1228.  The 
whole  population  accompanied  the  vene- 
rable bodies,  and  laid  them  both  in  one 
grave  in  the  church  at  Murom,  where 
they  work  miracles  for  those  who  apply 
to  them  in  faith.  AA.SS.  Martinov, 
Grssco-Slav.  Calendar.  Slavo-Russian 
Menology.   Buthenian  Synaxary. 

St  Febronia  (5).  St.  Tropimena  is 
sometimes  erroneously  called  Febronia. 

St.  Fede.  (See  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity.) 

St.  Fedella.  (See  Ethnea  and  Fe- 
delmia.) 

St.  Fedelmia.    (See  Ethnea.) 

St.  Fedlimid,  of  Kilmore.  Daughter 
(or  son  ?)  of  St.  Editna,  or  Dediva,  and 
sister  (or  brother  ?)  of  St.  Femia. 

St.  Fedosia.    Same  as  Theodota, 


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314 


ST.  FEIDELMAI 


commemorated  with  St.  Socrates.  Grmco- 
Slav.  Martyrology. 

St.  Feidelmai.  (See  Ethnea  and 
Fkdblmia.) 

St.  Felicia  (1),  in  some  places  called 
Fetxe,  Oct.  20.  3rd  century.  Mother 
of  St  Just  (Oct.  18),  a  child  of  nine 
years,  who  went  with  Justin  his  father, 
from  Autun  where  they  lived,  to  Amiens, 
to  redeem  his  uncle  Justinian  from 
slavery.  On  the  way  back  they  were 
pursued  by  the  servants  of  a  Roman 
general  who  hated  the  Christians,  and 
Just  was  beheaded  in  287.  Felicia  praised 
God  that  her  son  was  numbered  among 
the  martyrs,  and  prayed  to  St.  Just  to 
remember  her  before  God.  The  Bol- 
landists  give  two  versions  of  the  legend 
of  St.  Just,  whose  worship  is  very 
ancient;  but  they  do  not  appear  to 
consider  that  of  St.  Felicia  established 
on  good  authority.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Felicia  (2),  May  10,  M.  at  Tarsus, 
in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St  Felicia  (3),  April  26,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Felicia  (4),  May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Felicia  (5),  April  12,  M.  AA.SS. 

St  Felicia  (6),  April  27,  M.  at 
Nicomedia,  in  Bithynia.  AA.SS. 

St  Felicia  (7),  June  2.  One  of  227 
martyrs  commemorated  together  this 
day  in  St  Jerome's  Martyrology.  AA.SS. 

St.  Felicia  (8)  Modica,  March  29, 
Y.  M.,  went  from  Seville  to  Rome,  and 
was  there  martyred  for  Christianity  and 
virginity.  AA.SS.,  from  Lahire,  Prseter. 

St.  Felicia  (9),  May  8,  M.  at  Con- 
stantinople with  St.  Acaoius.  (See 
Agatha  (2).)  AA.SS. 

St  Felicia  (10),  June  1,  M.  with 
St.  Aucega.  AA.SS. 

B.  Felicia  (11),  of  Meda,  Sept  30 
(Felice,  Felix,  Felixina).  1378-1444. 
V.  Abbess  of  the  Order  of  St.  Clara. 
Reputed  founder  of  the  Franciscan  con- 
vent of  Corpus  Christi  at  Pesaro.  Born 
at  Meda,  or  at  Milan,  of  a  noble  family 
of  Milan.  Her  parents  died  when  she 
was  just  grown  up.  She  and  her  brother 
and  sister  gave  all  their  goods  to  the 
poor  and  took  the  habit  and  vows  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Francis.  Felicia  and  her 
sister  entered  the  convent  of  St.  Ursula, 


at  Milan.  Four  years  later  the  sister 
died.  Twenty-five  years  after  her  pro- 
fession Felicia  was  elected  abbess.  Her 
sanctity  was  so  well  known  that  Battista 
Montefeltrio,  wife  of  Galeazzo  Malatesta, 
lord  of  Pesaro,  and  her  daughter  Elisa- 
beth— who  were  building  a  convent  in 
honour  of  the  body  of  Christ,  at  Pesaro — 
in  1439  begged  St.  Bernardino  of  Siena 
(May  20)  to  procure  the  services  of 
Felicia  to  establish  it.  She  went  there, 
and  ruled  it  with  great  success  for  four 
years.  During  that  time  she  effected, 
by  her  prayers,  the  cure  of  the  said 
Elisabeth,  who—after  the  death  of  her 
husband,  Pietro  Gentili  Yarani,  prince 
of  Camertum — took  the  veil,  and  died  at 
Urbino,  about  1477  (July  22),  and  is 
considered  a  saint.  Battista  also  became 
a  nun.  Felicia  died  at  Pesaro,  aged 
forty-six.  BB.  Serapina  Colonna  and 
Frahcesca  da  Fano  were  among  her 
nuns.  Perier,  in  AA.SS.  Jacobilli, 
Santi  di  Foligno.]  Leon,  AurMe  Sera- 
phigue. 

B.  Felicia  (12),  Dec.  26.  +1439.  V. 
Abbess,  O.S.F.,  born  at  Verona.  Sent 
from  a  Franciscan  convent  at  Mantua,  to 
Treviso,  to  reform  the  convent  of  Cella. 
After  two  years  she  was  transferred  to 
that  of  St.  Nicholas  de  Mariano,  at 
Venice,  by  order  of  Pope  Eugenius  IV., 
in  order  tto  establish  the  Order  of  St. 
Clara  there,  and  send  to  other  places  the 
Benedictine  nuns  who  were  then  in 
possession  of  it.  This  she  happily  accom- 
plished. Gynecwum. 

St.  Feliciana,  June  20,  M.  at  Tomi 
in  Bulgaria,  on  the  western  shore 
of  the  Black  Sea,  the  place  to  which 
Ovid  was  banished,  and  which  enriched 
the  early  Church  with  many  martyrs. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Felicissima  (l),  April  26,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St  Felicissima  (2),  May  5,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Felicissima  (3),  June  2.  One 
of  227  Roman  martyrs  commemorated 
in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome  on  this 
day.  AA.SS. 

St  Felicissima  (4),  Aug.  12.  c. 
310.  V.  M.  probably  in  the  reign  of 
Galerius  Maximianus.  Taken  by  her 
mother,  Fortunata,  to  St.  Gracilian  in 


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ST.  FELICITAS 


315 


prison  to  be  cured  of  blindness ;  baptized 
by  him ;  stoned  and  beheaded  with  him. 
BJH. 

St.  Felicitas  (1),  Nov.  23,  and  with 
her  seven  sons  on  their  day,  July  10. 
Middle  of  2nd  century.  Represented 
with  seven  boys.  The  Chronicle  of 
Nuremburg  represents  her  holding  a 
large  sword  with  seven  heads  impaled 
on  the  blade.  She  is  invoked  by  persons 
anxious  for  male  children.  She  was  a 
noble  Roman  widow,  mother  of  seven 
sons,  whom  she  brought  up  in  the 
Christian  faith.  They  were  tortured 
and  put  to  death  before  her  eyes,  she 
exhorting  them  to  look  up  to  heaven, 
"  whence  they  expected  Christ  and  His 
saints."  Januarius,  the  eldest,  was 
scourged  with  thongs  loaded  with  lead ; 
Felix  and  Philip  were  beaten  with  clubs ; 
Sylvanus  was  thrown  from  a  rock ; 
Alexander,  Yitalis,  and  Martial  were 
beheaded.  Felicitas  was  kept  four 
months  in  a  dungeon  after  the  death  of 
her  sons,  and  was  then  beheaded,  or, 
according  to  another  account,  thrown 
into  boiling  oil.  B.M.,  Nov.  23.  AA.S8. 
Mrs.  Jameson  (Cahier).  Yillegas  and 
all  the  Collections. 

St.  Felicitas  (2),  March  7.  One  of 
the  most  valuable  records  of  the  early 
Church  is  the  story  of  the  martyrdom  of 
SS.  Pbbpetua  and  Felicitas.  (See 
Pebpetua.)  Many  martyrs  of  the  name 
of  Felicitas  are  mentioned  in  various 
calendars,  and  honoured  on  different  days 
and  in  different  places.  When  there  is 
nothing  to  distinguish  the  particular 
saint,  it  may  generally  be  inferred  that 
the  famous  martyr  is  meant,  and  that 
the  day  and  place  are  those  on  which 
some  translation  or  dedication  occurred, 
or  some  special  blessing  was  attributed 
to  her  intercession.  AA.SS. 

St  Felicitas  (3),  June  5,  M.  with 
Felicula  and  twenty-one  others  on  the 
Via  Ardeatina,  Rome.  Smith  and  Waee, 
from  St.  Jerome9 8  Martyrology. 

St.  Felicitas  (4),  March  8,  M.  in 
Africa  with  Hebenia.  B.M. 

St  Felicitas  (5),  Oct.  21,  M.  at 
Capua  in  the  middle  of  the  3rd  century. 
Smith  and  Wace. 

St  Felicitas  (6),  June  3,  M.  at 
Rome. 


St  Felicitas  (7),  Feb.  17,  M  at 
Rome  with  many  others. 

St  Felicitas  (8),  Jan.  9.  One  of 
twenty-two  martyrs  in  Africa. 

St  Felicitas  (9),  Jan.  10,  M.  in 
Africa. 

St  Felicitas  (10),  Jan.  13,  M.  in 
Africa. 

St  Felicitas  (ll),Feb.  3,  with  St. 
Felix  and  others  in  Africa. 

St  Felicitas  (12),  Jan.  11,  M.  in 
Spain. 

St  Felicitas  (13),  Sept.  2,  M.  at 
Rimini  with  her  brother  St.  Peregrinus 
and  others. 

SS.  Felicitas  (14  and  15),  Feb.  lr 
two  MM.  with  many  others. 

St.  Felicitas  (16),  March  13.  (See 
Hebemita.) 

St  Felicitas  (17),  Feb.  2.  (See 
Cappa.) 

St  Felicitas  (18),  or  Faustina, 
July  9,  M.  with  Anatolia  (3). 

St  Felicitas  (19),  July  5,  M.  with 
Pebpetua  and  Agnes.  AA.SS. 

St.  Felicitas  (20).  +420.  One  of 
St.  Augustine's  letters  is  addressed  to 
"my  very  dear  and  very  holy  mother 
Felicitas,  and  to  my  brother  Kusticus." 
This  Felicitas  is  supposed  to  be  the 
successor  of  his  sister  Perpetua  as 
superior  of  his  nuns  at  Hippo,  and 
Rusticus  is  believed  to  be  a  priest  who 
ministered  to  them.  He  exhorts  them 
to  preserve  peace  and  unity  in  their 
establishment.  There  were  divisions 
in  the  community  soon  afterwards.  He 
then  wrote  a  letter  of  reproof,  and  gave 
the  nuns  a  rule,  the  only  existing  rule 
of  his  making,  that  for  men  of  the  Order 
being  comparatively  modern  (Helyot, 
Ordres  Monastiques,  vol.  iii.).  Felicitas 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty,  ten  years  before 
Augustine.  Torelli,  Bistretto,  calls  her 
"Saint,"  and  the  "elder  sister  of  St. 
Augustine,"  but  Smith  and  Wace  support 
the  statement  of  Helyot. 

St.  Felicitas  (21),  March  26.  A 
nun  at  Padua.  Her  body  was  discovered 
about  1050  in  the  church  of  St.  Justina, 
of  Padua,  by  St.  Bernard,  the  bishop,  in 
a  tomb  bearing  an  inscription  to  the 
effect  that  she  was  an  illustrious  woman 
who  dedicated  herself  to  God  with  a 
sacred  veil,  and  served  Him  day  and 


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316 


ST.  FELICULA 


night.  Ferrarius  says  that  after  living 
as  a  hermit  for  some  time,  she  entered 
the  convent  of  SS.  Cosmo  and  Damian, 
and  ended  her  days  there.  A  tradition, 
not  very  well  supported,  says  she  was 
abbess  of  that  house.  She  is  perhaps 
the  saint  Felicitas  called  by  Bucelinus 
(March  24),  a  sister  of  the  Emperor  Otho 
II.  AAJSS. 

St.  Felicula  (1),  June  13.  1st 
century.  V.  M.  under  Nero  or  Domitian. 
She  was  the  servant  or  intimate  friend 
of  St.  Petronilla,  daughter  of  St.  Peter. 
Count  Flaccus,  after  Petronilla's  death, 
said  to  Felicula,  "Choose  one  of  two 
things:  be  my  wife  or  sacrifice  to  the 
gods."  She  said,  "I  will  neither  be 
thy  wife,  for  I  am  consecrated  to  Christ ; 
nor  will  I  sacrifice  to  thy  gods,  for  they 
are  devils." 

Flaccus  betrayed  her  to  the  vicario, 
who  shut  her  up  in  a  dark  cell  for  seven 
days  without  food.  Her  gaoler  then 
said  to  her,  "  Why  wilt  thou  die  an  evil 
death?  Take  this  husband,  who  is 
noble,  rich,  beautiful,  young,  and  a 
friend  of  the  emperor."  Felicula  only 
answered,  "  I  am  the  virgin  of  Christ, 
and  I  accept  no  other  than  Him."  She 
was  then  given  in  charge  to  the  vestal 
virgins,  and  fasted  seven  days  more, 
because  she  would  receive  no  food  from 
their  hands.  When  placed  on  the 
equuleus,  she  called  out,  "Now  I  begin 
to  see  my  lover."  Her  torturers  then 
said,  "Deny  thy  Christianity,  and  we 
let  thee  go."  She  answered,  "  I  will  not 
deny  my  Beloved,  who  for  me  was  fed 
upon  gall,  drank  vinegar,  was  crowned 
with  thorns,  and  crucified." 

After  this  she  was  thrown  into  a 
sewer.  St.  Nicomedes,  who  was  living  in 
the  catacombs,  took  her  up  secretly  and 
buried  her  at  his  house,  seven  miles 
from  the  city,  on  the  Via  Ardeatina, 
which  branches  off  from  the  Via  Appia. 
Flaccus,  hearing  of  it,  seized  Nicomedes, 
and  ordered  him  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods, 
and  on  his  refusal,  had  him  thrown  into 
the  Tiber ;  his  clerk  Justus  buried  him 
in  his  garden  near  the  wall,  on  the  Via 
Nomentana.  Her  story  is  taken  from  the 
Acts  of  SS.  Nereus  and  Achilles,  which 
are  not  genuine;  but  her  worship  is 
very  ancient;  and  her  name  is  in  old 


martyrologies.  B.M.  Martyrum  Acta. 
Flos  Sanctorum.  AA.SS. 

St.  Felicula  (2),  Feb.  14,  V.  M. 
Mentioned  in  several  old  martyrologies. 
She  is  variously  stated  to  have  been 
martyred  at  Borne,  Spoleto,  Tusculum, 
with  Vitalis  and  Zeno.  B.M.  Hen- 
schenius,  AA.SS. 

St.  Felicula  (3).  Companion  of  St. 
Marcian.    (See  Ibene.) 

St.  Felicula  (4),  or  Filocala,  June 
5.    Matron.    M.  at  Rome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Felicula  (5),  Oct.  5,  V.  Patron 
and  supposed  native  of  Gien.  Lived  pro- 
bably before  the  10th  century.  Buried 
at  Auxerre;  removed  to  Gien.  Belies 
dispersed  by  Calvinists.  AA.SS. 

B.  Felix,  or  Felixina,  of  Meda, 
Felicia  (11^. 

St.  Femia.  Daughter  of  St.  Editna, 
or  Dediva,  by  her  third  husband,  Carill. 
Sister  of  St.  Dagius  and  half-sister  of 
five  other  holy  men  in  Ireland. 

St  Fenella,  Febcinta. 

St.  Feodora.  A  Bussian  princess 
buried  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  St. 
Sophia,  at  Novgorod.  Neale,  Holy 
Eastern  Church. 

St.  Fercinta,  Nov.  13  (Fenella, 
Fkboincta,  Febreola,  Febbocincta).  A 
recluse  at  Toledo  in  or  before  the  6th 
century.  Honoured  in  Limousin  and 
Poitou.    Gynecseum.    Cahier.  Guerin. 

St.  Fennina,  Fibmina. 

St.  Ferreola,  Febcinta. 

St.  Ferrocincta,  Febcinta. 

St.  Fertula,  June  1,  M.  with  St. 
Aucega.  AA.SS. 

St.  Festina,  June  14,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Fethle.  (See  Ethnea  and  Fbdbl- 
mia.) 

St.  Feue,  Felicia.  Cahier.  Mas 
Latrie. 

Ste.  Feyre.  Honoured  in  Limousin. 
The  name  is  said  by  Mas  Latrie  to  be  a 
corruption  of  St.  Symphorien. 

St.  Fides,  Faith. 

St.  Fifael,  Barbea. 

St.  Filagonia,  or  Felatagonia, 
March  6,  M.  with  several  other  martyrs 
in  Italy.  AA.SS. 

St.  Filippina,  Philippina. 

St.  Filocala,  or  Felicula,  June  5. 
Matron.    M.  at  Borne.  AA.SS. 


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ST.  PINTANA 


317 


St.  Filomena,  Phelomena. 

St.  Fina  (1).  6th  century.  A  pupil 
of  St.  Ita.    O'Hanlon,  in  Life  of  Ita. 

St.  Fina  (2),  March  12,  Oct.  13.  + 
March  12, 1253.  Patron  of  San  Gemig- 
nano.  Represented  eaten  alive  by  rats 
and  mice.  She  belonged  to  the  poor, 
though  noble,  family  of  Ciardi,  at  San 
Gemignano,  in  Tuscany,  and  was  pro- 
bably christened  Sebaphina.  Although 
afflicted  with  a  spinal  complaint,  she 
worked  for  her  parents  when  she  possibly 
could,  and  gave  to  those  who  were  still 
poorer.  After  her  mother's  death,  her 
old  nurse  Beldia,  though  very  infirm, 
still  attended  to  Fina,  who  edified  all 
by  her  patience  and  cheerfulness.  For 
five  years  she  was  obliged  to  lie  on 
one  side  without  turning;  that  side 
became  a  mass  of  corruption,  and  was 
eaten  by  worms  and  mice.  She  derived 
oomfort  from  hearing  of  the  sufferings 
of  St.  Gregory,  and  he  appeared  to  her 
and  warned  her  of  her  approaching 
death.  She  was  already  venerated  as 
a  saint  by  her  neighbours.  When  she 
died,  all  the  bells  in  the  town  rang* 
without  being  touched  by  human  hands. 
Flowers  sprang  from  the  hard  bench 
where  she  had  lain  so  long.  Yellow 
wallflowers  and  white  violets  abound  at 
San  Gemignano  to  this  day,  and  are 
called  Fiori  di  Santa  Fina.  They  grow 
not  only  on  the  ground  and  on  the  walls, 
but  high  up  on  the  old  roofs  and  towers 
far  out  of  reach. 

Before  her  burial,  she  raised  her  hand 
and  blessed  her  aged  nurse,  thereby 
curing  her  of  a  painful  disorder. 

Her  worship  is  the.  glorification  of 
simple  piety,  patience,  and  charity. 

There  is  a  beautiful  chapel  in  her 
honour  in  the  church  of  La  Collegiata 
at  San  Gemignano,  where  frescoes  by 
Ghirlandajo  illustrate  the  scenes  of  her 
life. 

A  few  miles  off  the  main  road,  between 
Florence  and  Siena,  San  Gemignano, 
with  its  fourteen  picturesque  towers, 
preserves  the  appearance  of  a  medieval 
Italian  town.  It  resembles  those  painted 
by  the  early  Italian  masters  in  the 
backgrounds  of  their  pictures.  It  is 
called  San  Gemignano  delle  belle  torre. 

Story,  Boba  di   Roma,  ii.  265,  5th 


edition.  Hare,  Cities  of  Italy.  Mrs. 
Boss,  Italian  Sketches.  Mrs.  Jameson, 
Sacred  and  Legendary  Art.  The  story 
of  this  saint,  written  about  fifty  years 
after  her  death,  by  a  Dominican  of  her 
native  place. 

St.  Fincana  (1),  or  Fyncana,  Oct.  13. 
6th  century.  Patron  of  Echt.  Forbes. 
(See  Fincana  (2),  Fintana,  and  Fin- 
docha.) 

St.  Fincana  (2),  Aug.  21.  8th 
century.  One  of  the  daughters  of  St. 
Donald,  king  of  Scotland.  Bishop 
Forbes  (Kalendars)  thinks  there  was 
only  one  Fincana.  {See  Fintana  and 
Findocha.) 

St.  Findia,  Finnia. 

St.  Findoca,  Oct.  13  (Findocha, 
Frudoche,  Fyndoc),  V.  Honoured  with 
St.  Fincana.  Each  had  some  dedica- 
tions in  Scotland.    (See  Fintana.) 

St.  Fine,  Finnia. 

St.  Finia,  Jan.  9  (Fine,  Finnia). 
Abbess  of  Kildare.  +  c.  800.  Lanigan. 
O'Hanlon,  from  Colgan,  i.  152. 

St.  Finnia  (1),  Sept.  28  (Findia, 
Fine).  One  of  "  the  two  shining  Finnias." 
Sister  of  St.  Ita,  or  Mida.  Gammack, 
from  Colgan. 

St.  Finnia  (2),  Sept.  28  (Findia, 
Fine).  Abbess  of  Kildare.  +  805. 
Gammack,  in  Smith  and  Wace's  Diet,  of 
Christian  Biog. 

St.  Finnseach,  Finsecha. 

St.  Finnsegh,  Finsecha. 

St.  Finsecha,  Feb.  17  (Finnseach, 
Finnsegh,  Finsiche,  etc.),  V.  5th  cen- 
tury. Mentioned  in  an  old  Irish  martyr- 
ology  at  the  end  of  a  list  of  persons 
buried  at  Athrumia  (Trim),  in  Ireland, 
with  St.  Loman,  first  bishop  of  Trim, 
son  of  St.  Tigkidia,  sister  of  St.  Patrick, 
and  St.  Fortchern,  disciple  and  successor 
of  Loman.  Henschenius  doubts  if  they 
are  all  martyrs,  or  only  magnates  who 
had  the  honour  of  being  buried  beside 
the  bishop.  Mr.  Gammack,  in  Smith 
and  Wace's  Diet,  of  Christian  Biog.,  says 
there  were  two  Finsechas,  one  commemo- 
rated in  county  Cavan  on  Oct.  13  and 
Feb.  1 7,  the  other  in  Tipperary  Nov.  i>. 
He  says  that  the  name  means  "  white 
woman." 

St.  Finsiche,  Finsecha. 

St.  Fintana,  May  27.    6th  or  8th 


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318 


ST.  FIRMINA 


century.  V.  in  Scotland  or  Ireland. 
The  Bollandists  regard  her  as  identical 
with  St.  Fincana,  Oct.  13,  and  sister  of 
St.  Findoca,  or  Frudocha.  They  say 
it  is  possible  that  all  these  names  belong 
to  one  person.  AA.SS.  Forbes,  Scottish 
Kalendars. 

St.  Firmina  (1),  Nov.  24,  V.  M. 
c.  303.  Patron  of  Amelia,  in  Italy,  and 
of  Civita  Vecchia.  She  was  a  member 
of  one  of  the  principal  families  of  Borne. 
At  the  age  of  fifteen  she  left  her  home 
and  went  to  Civita  Vecchia,  where  Christian 
convicts  broke  stones  and  prepared  blocks 
to  embellish  the  imperial  city.  For 
some  time  she  ministered  to  these  sufferers 
for  the  faith,  then  travelled  through 
great  part  of  Italy,  preaching  and  work- 
ing miracles.  At  twenty  she  was  in- 
volved in  the  great  persecution  under 
Diocletian.  Being  accused  before  Olym- 
piades,  she  converted  him  to  Christianity, 
and  was  kept  in  prison  until  a  new 
judge,  who  succeeded  him,  subjected  her 
to  many  tortures,  and  finally  had  her 
suspended  by  her  hair  to  a  beam  and 
burnt  with  lamps  until  she  died.  Olym- 
piades  was  put  to  death  on  the  rack,  and 
is  honoured  a  week  after  her,  Dec.  1. 
B.M.  Jacobilli,  Santi  dell  Umbria,  iii. 
95.    Edwardes,  Sardinia, 

Ven.  Firmina  (2)  Cassia,  June  7, 
Deo.  19.  +1567.  A  nun  in  the  convent 
of  St.  Clara,  at  Narni.  Of  undoubted 
sanctity  and  undeniable  miracles.  Her 
Life  was  written  by  Sister  Cherubina 
Hernia.  Her  body  was  found  fresh  in 
1612,  which  re-awakened  the  veneration 
of  the  people.  Jacobilli  gives  her  Life, 
Dec.  19.  Her  canonization  was  not 
decided  at  the  time  Papebroch  wrote. 
AA.SS.,  June  7,  Prseter. 

St.  Fista,  Nov.  16,  M.  at  Antioch. 
Stadler. 

St.  Fivea,  or  Thibea,  Sclavonian  for 
Barbea. 

St.  Flabodia,  also  called  Flavise, 
Flazue,  and  Flavue.  Patron  of  a  church 
in  Bretagne.    Cahier.  Gu6rin. 

St.  Flaccilla,  Sept.  14,  385  (Pla- 
cella,  Placidia,  Placilla).  Empress. 
Mli&  Flacilla  Augusta  was  the  first  wife 
of  Theodosius  the  Great.  Mother  of  the 
emperors  Arcadius  and  Honorius.  She 
was  born  in  Spain,  and  was  probably 


the  daughter  of  Antonius,  prefect  of 
Gaul.  She  was  married  to  Theodosius 
before  he  became  emperor;  he  was 
devotedly  attached  to  her.  She  set  an 
example  of  every  virtue.  The  poor 
needed  no  recommendation  to  her  but 
their  miseries.  Without  guards  or  atten- 
dants she  passed  whole  days  amongst 
them,  especially  in  the  hospitals,  where 
she  waited  on  the  sick,  and  rendered 
them  the  humblest  services  with  her 
own  hands.  She  used  to  say,  "  What  I 
give  them  in  alms  is  from  the  emperor, 
the  gold  and  silver  are  his ;  all  I  can 
give  is  the  service  of  my  hands,  due  to 
Him  who  has  given  us  the  empire  and 
the  poor."  She  visited  the  prisoners 
and  made  interest  for  their  release. 
She  had  a  daughter  Pulcheria,  very 
beautiful,  amiable,  and  in  every  way 
promising,  who  tdied  a  few  months  or 
weeks  before  her.  St.  Gregory,  of 
Nyssa,  pronounced  the  funeral  orations 
of  both.  The  holy  empress  died  at 
Scotumin  (now  unknown),  in  Thrace, 
where  she  went  to  take  mineral  waters. 
She  was  mourned  by  all  the  people. 
They  had  found  her  a  strong  supporter 
of  all  the  virtues  of  Theodosius. 

St.  Jerome  speaks  in  praise  of  her 
good  qualities.  She  is  honoured  by  the 
Greek  Church  on  Sept.  14,  which  is 
supposed  to  be  the  day  of  her  death. 
Lebeau,  Bas  Empire,  iv.  310.  Ferrarius. 

St.  Flamina  (1),  or  Flaminia,  May  2, 
V.  M.,  called  also,  in  French,  Cli amine, 
or  Flamme.   AA.SS.  F.M. 

St.  Flamina  (2),  Aug.  3,  M.  of 
virginity.  Her  brothers,  Peregrinus, 
Machorat,  and  Yiventian,  were  martyred 
with  her,  in  her  defence,  at  Auvergne. 
FM. 

St.  Flamme,  Flamina. 

St.  Flavia  (l)  Domitilla,  May  7 

and  12.    (See  Domitilla.)  B.M. 

St.  Flavia  (2),  June  3,  Eoman 
martyr. 

St.  Flavia  (3),  June  2.  One  of  227 
Roman  martyrs  commemorated  in  St. 
Jerome' 8  Marty  rology. 

St.  Flavia  (4),  May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Flavia  (5),  Feb.  2,  M.  at  Nico- 
media  with  St.  Antiga  and  others. 
AA.SS. 


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ST..  FLORA 


St.  Flavia  (6),  May  8,  M.  at  Con- 
stantinople with  St.  Acacius.  (See 
Agatha  (2).) 

St.  Flavia  (7),  Oct.  5,  V.  O.S.B. 
6th  century.  Eepresented  with  a  dagger 
sticking  in  her  breast.  She  often  appears 
in  a  group  among  the  chief  Benedictine 
saints.  Sister  of  St.  Placidns.  They 
were  both  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict, 
and  were  sent  into  Sicily  about  540. 
The  monastery  where  they  lived  near 
Messina  was  attacked  by  pirates;  the 
brother  and  sister,  with  thirty  of  their 
companions,  were  dragged  out  and  mur- 
dered.   B.M.    Mrs.  Jameson. 

St.  Flaviana,  Oct.  5,  V.  Sister  of 
St.  Firmatus,  deacon  at  Anzerre.  B.M. 

St.  Flavise,  Flabodia. 

St.  Flavue,  Flabodia. 

St.  Flazue,  Flabodia. 

St.  Fleur,  Flora.    Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Flobarde,  Fbodoberta. 

St.  Floberbe,  or  Floberde,  Fbo- 
doberta. 

SS.  Flora  (1)  and  Lucilla  (2), 
July  29,  VV.  MM.  in  the  time  of  the 
Emperor  Gallienus.  Carried  off  from 
Italy  by  Eugegius,  or  Eugenius,  a  bar- 
barian African  king  or  chief,  whom  they 
converted.  After  keeping  them  in  his 
dominions  free  and  honoured  for  twenty 
years,  he  returned  with  them  to  Home 
and  shared  their  martyrdom,  as  did  about 
twenty  others.  Their  worship  is  very 
ancient,  and  their  Acts  by  St.  Peter 
Damian  are  given  by  the  Bollandists. 
The  narrative  is  nearly  identical  with 
that  of  St.  Julia  of  Troyes  and  St. 
Luceja.    B.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Flora  (2),  Blata,  St.  Brigid's 
cook. 

St.  Flora  (3),  Nov.  24,  V.  M.  851. 
Born  at  Ausinan,  near  Cordova,  in  the 
reign  of  Abderrahman  IL,  king  of  the 
Saracens.  She  was  secretly  instructed 
in  the  Christian  faith  by  her  mother, 
and  early  showed  her  piety  and  charity 
by  giving  her  dinner  to  the  poor  during 
Lent.  As  the  daughter  of  a  Mussulman, 
she  was  subject  to  the  law  which  for- 
bade Christianity  to  the  Arabs,  while 
it  tolerated  the  different  creeds  of 
foreigners.  She  fled  to  a  convent,  and 
her  brother,  not  knowing  what  had 
become  of  her,  raised  a  persecution 


against  all  the  Christians.  Flora  then 
gave  herself  up,  lest  others  should  suffer 
on  her  account.  The  cadi  had  her 
beaten  on  the  head  with  great  cruelty, 
and  ordered  her  to  remain  in  her 
brother's  house  to  be  cured  of  her 
wounds,  and  instructed  in  the  Moham- 
medan faith.  When  she  had  recovered 
she  got  over  a  wall  of  immense  height, 
and  escaped.  Having  been  concealed 
some  time  by  her  sister  at  Ossaria,  now 
Martos,  she  repented  of  her  cowardice, 
returned  to  Cordova,  and  prayed  publicly 
in  the  church  of  St.  Acisclus.  There 
she  met  St.  Mary  (39).  These  two 
young  women,  anxious  to  attain  the 
honour  of  martyrdom,  presented  them- 
selves to  the  cadi,  who  threw  them  into 
prison,  allowing  no  one  but  some  wicked 
women  to  have  access  to  them.  St. 
Eulogius,  afterwards  martyred  in  the 
same  reign,  was  at  that  time  confined 
in  another  prison,  whence  he  wrote  and 
sent  to  them  his  Exhortation  to  Martyr- 
dom. Flora  and  Mary  were  beheaded 
Nov.  24,  851.  They  promised  that 
after  their  death  they  would  pray  for 
the  release  of  their  fellow-prisoners, 
who  accordingly  were  liberated  in  a 
short  time.  In  the  same  persecution 
were  martyred  SS.  Aurelius  and 
Natalia,  Felix  and  Liliosa,  and  their 
friend  St.  George  the  deacon.  St.  Eulo- 
gius wrote  a  history  of  this  persecution, 
which  is  extant  B.M.  Butler.  Baillet. 
Mesenguy. 

St.  Flora  (4),  June  11 ;  at  Beaulieu, 
Oct.  15.  1291.  Flora  of  Beaulieu  was  a 
nun  of  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jeru- 
salem, at  one  time  called  Maltese  nuns. 
She  is  represented  in  the  habit  of  her 
Order — a  red  gown  having  a  plain  white 
cross  on  the  breast,  white  cloak  with 
the  eight-pointed  cross  on  the  shoulder, 
and  a  rosary  with  the  same  cross;  an 
angel  handing  her  a  wreath  of  flowers, 
and  God  the  Father  offering  her  a  chair 
in  the  clouds.  She  derived  her  name 
from  a  miracle.  Daring  a  famine  she 
had  her  robe  full  of  bread  to  give  to 
the  poor,  and  when  the  prioress  grudg- 
ingly bade  her  show  what  she  was 
carrying,  she  opened  the  bundle,  and 
showed  a  quantity  of  flowers. 

These  nuns  were  instituted  to  attend 


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B.  FLORA 


to  the  hospitals  in  Jerusalem,  while  the 
men  of  the  same  Order  fought  against 
the  infidels.  When  Jerusalem  was  lost 
the  nuns  were  brought  to  Europe  and 
established  in  convents,  of  which  one  of 
the  chief  was  that  of  Beaulieu,  in  Quercy, 
in  the  diocese  of  Cahors,  in  France.  It 
was  a  dependency  of  the  priory  of  St. 
Giles,  in  Provence. 

Papebroch,  in  AA.SS.;  he  quotes 
Bosius'  History  of  the  Order,  published 
at  Borne,  1594.  Helyot,  Ordres  Monas- 
tiques,  Part  iii.  chaps.  14,  15,  gives  an 
account  of  the  origin  of  the  convent  of 
Beaulieu  and  its  first  abbesses. 

B.  Flora  (5)  of  Todi.  (See  Helen 
(14)  of  Todi.) 

St.  Florence  (l),or  Flozence,  July 
15.  At  Carthage  "the  feeste  of  saynt 
Catulyne  a  deacon,  saynt  January  his 
felowe,  &  ot  ye  holy  women  saynt 
Flozence,  saynt  Jule,  &  saynt  Juste,  all 
martyrs  togyder,  &  buryed  in  saynt 
Faustes  chirche  "  (Mart  Salisbury).  The 
B.M.  has  the  name  Florentius,  appa- 
rently a  man,  and  calls  the  place  of  their 
burial  Basilica  Fausti,  and  adds  that  St. 
Augustine  praises  St.  Catulinus  in  a 
sermon  to  the  people. 

St.  Florence  (2),  or  Florentia, 
Nov.iIO.  +  c.  303.  A  matron,  martyred 
with  SS.  Tyberius  and  Modestus,  at 
Agde,  in  Provence.  B.M.  Ferrarius, 
Novo  Topographia.  Grynecseum. 

St.  Florence  (3),  Dec.  l ,  t.  +  367. 
Supposed  to  be  a  native  of  Phrygia, 
where  she  and  her  family  were  con- 
verted by  St.  Hilary  of  Poitiers  (see 
Afra)  during  his  exile.  On  his  return 
to  France,  she  insisted  on  accompanying 
him.  He  placed  her  under  the  care  of 
St.  Triaise,  a  recluse  at  Poitiers,  and 
then  built  her  a  cell  six  leagues  from 
the  town,  where  she  lived  in  holy  asceti- 
cism for  six  or  seven  years,  and  died  in 
367.  The  priory  of  Comble  was  after- 
wards built  on  the  spot.  Cahier.  P.B. 
Oynecseum. 

SS.  Florence  (4)  and  Euphrosyne, 
July  7.  Companions  of  St.  Ursula; 
translated  from  Cologne  to  Schleswick 
in  1445,  and  worshipped  there.  AA.SS., 
Prseter. 

St.  Florence  (o),  or  Florentine, 
June  20,  V.  +c.  590.    The  first  sainted 


nun  in  Spain.  Sister  of  SS.  Leander  and 
Isidore,  successively  bishops  of  Seville ; 
and  St.  Fulgentius,  bishop  of  Ecija, 
afterwards  of  Cartagena.  Her  sister 
Theodosia  married  Leovigild,  king  of 
the  Visigoths,  and  was  mother  of  St. 
Hermenigild,  M. 

When  St.  Isidore  was  being  fed  in  his 
cradle,  St.  Florentina  repeatedly  saw  a 
swarm  of  bees  in  his  mouth.  Being 
affrighted,  she  prayed,  and  presently 
understood  this  vision  to  be  a  sign  that 
he  would  be  a  great  doctor  of  the 
Church,  and  would  drive  the  heretics 
(Arians)  out  of  Spain.  From  that  time 
she  strove  to  feed  him,  not  with  animal 
milk,  but  with  the  milk  of  the  Spirit. 
She  had  many  invitations  to  marry 
different  princes,  but  she  preferred  a 
celibate  life,  and  gathered  round  her 
about  fifty  young  women  of  similar 
tastes  in  the  convent  of  St.  Maria  de 
Valle,  at  Ecija.  She  was  afterwards 
superior  of  forty  convents  and  a1  thou- 
sand nuns.  Her  brothers,  SS.  Leander 
and  Isidore,  wrote  some  books  for  their 
use  and  instruction.  Isidore  dedicated 
to  her  two  books  against  the  Jews. 

AA.SS.  Yepez,  Sermon  50.  Monta- 
lembert,  Moines,  book  vi.  chap.  i.  Espana 
Sagrada. 

St.  Florentia,  Florence. 

St.  Florentina  (l),  June  2.  One  of 
227  Boman  martyrs  commemorated  to- 
gether in  the  Mart,  of  St.  Jerome. 

St.  Florentina  (2),  of  Seville,  Flo- 

BENCE  (6\ 

St.  Floriana  (1),  May  6,  M.  at  Milan 
under  Maximian.  AA.SS.  Mas  Latrie, 
Trdsor. 

SS.  Floriana  (2)  and  Faustina, 
July  9.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Florida  (1  and  2),  May  8,  MM. 
Two  martyrs  of  this  name  are  among  the 
companions  of  St.  Acacius.  (See  Agatha 
(2» 

St.  Florida  (3),  Jan.  18,  M.  at  Avi- 
tina.    (See  Victoria  (2).) 

St.  Florida  (4),  Jan.  19,  M.  in  Africa 
with  more  than  six  hundred  others. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Florida  (5),  Jan.  14,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Florida  (6),  Jan.  10,  V.  M.,  at 
Dijon.    She  was  a  nun  at  that  place, 


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and  was  buried  and  worshipped  there. 
AA.SS.  Saussaye,  Martyrologium,  Gal- 
licanum,  Appendix. 

St.  Fiorina  (1),  May  1,  V.  M.  in 
Auvergne.  Supposed  to  have  been  of  a 
Roman  family  living  in  Gaul  when  over- 
run by  Alemanni,  and  other  barbarians. 
Local  tradition  says  she  was  persecuted 
on  account  of  religion  and  chastity,  and 
used  to  escape  from  her  enemies  and 
hide  in  a  rocky  valley,  which  now  bears 
her  name.  One  day  they  nearly  caught 
her,  and  she  took  a  leap  across  a  chasm 
of  forty  or  fifty  feet  from  a  high  rock, 
on  which  the  print  of  her  left  foot 
remains,  as  does  that  of  her  right  foot 
on  the  opposite  rock,  where  she  arrived 
in  safety.  AA.SS. 

St.  Fiorina  (2),  Oct.  21  or  22,  V.  M. 
Companion  of  St.  Ursula.  Honoured  at 
Langres.  Martin. 

St.  Flos,  Flora.    Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Foca,  Phoca. 

St.  Foedosa,  June  1,  M.  with  St. 
Aucega. 

St.  Foi,  Faith. 

St.  Foila,  or  Foilenna,  Faila. 

St.  Fonilla,  Jonilla,  or  Junilia,  M. 
with  Leonilla. 

St.  Foricia,  or  Foriga,  Aug.  29.  M. 
at  Eome  on  the  road  to  Ostia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Foriga,  Foricia. 

St.  Fortelea,  Sept.  28,  M.  in  Africa. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Fortuna  (1),  May  6,  M.  at  Milan. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Fortuna  (2),  Feb.  22,  M.  with 
thirty-two  other  martyrs  in  Africa. 
Supposed  to  be  the  Fortuna  mentioned 
in  a  letter  from  St.  Cyprian,  bishop  of 
Carthage,  to  St.  Celerinus.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Fortunata.  Twenty  martyrs  at 
divers  places  in  the  persecutions  under 
the  emperors. 

St.  Fosca,  Feb.  13,  in  Latin,  Fuse  a, 
Y.  M.,  about  202,  under  Caracalla. 
Daughter  of  Sirio  of  Bavenna ;  martyred 
under  Quintianus,  prefect  of  that  city: 
At  fifteen,  Fosca  revealed  to  her  nurse, 
St.  Maura,  her  wish  to  be  a  Christian. 
She  agreed  with  her,  and  they  went 
secretly  to  be  taught  and  baptized  by 
St.  Girolamo.  Sirio,  hearing  of  it,  shut 
up  Fosca  without  food  for  three  days, 
and  then  sent  many  women  to  try  and 


reconvert  her;  but  in  vain.  He  then 
was  on  the  point  of  killing  her,  but 
being  dissuaded  by  her  mother,  he  sacri- 
ficed to  his  gods  in  the  hope  that  they 
would  persuade  Fosca.  Quintianus,  hear- 
ing of  it,  sent  for  Fosca,  Maura,  Sirio, 
and  his  wife.  When  the  messengers 
came  to  bring  her,  they  saw  her.  praying, 
and  a  shining  angel  standing  by  her,  and 
they  turned  back  terrified.  Fosca  and 
Maura,  however,  declared  with  a  loud 
voice  that  they  were  Christians,  and 
after  being  beaten,  they  were  put  in 
prison.  They  were  afterwards  led  out 
of  the  city,  and  pierced  from  side  to  side 
with  a  sword;  their  bodies  were  taken 
by  Christian  sailors  to  Tripoli,  and 
honourably  buried  there,  and  afterwards 
removed  to  Torcello,  a  Venetian  island, 
where  she  is  specially  venerated.  B.M., 
Feb.  10  and  13.  AA.SS.  Leggendario 
delle  Sante  Vergini. 

St.  Fracla,  or  Franda.  Sister  of  St. 

POSENNA. 

St.  Framechilde,  May  17  and  4 

(Framehild,  Frameuse,  Franchild).  7th 
century.  A  German  princess,  wife  of 
Woldefroi,  or  Badefroi,  count  of  Hesdin, 
mayor  of  the  palace,  under  Childerio  II. 
Mother  of  St.  Austreberta.  AA.SS., 
May  4,  Prseter.  Martin,  French  Martyr- 
ology. 

St.  Frameuse,  Framechilde. 

St.  Franca,  April  27  or  25  (called 
also  Francha,  Franchea,  Franche,  and 
by  some  modern  writers  Frances),  V. 
1173-1218.  Abbess  of  St.  Sirio,  at 
Placentia,  and  afterwards  of  Plectole. 
Patron  of  Placentia.  [Represented  in  a 
cellar  with  a  cask. 

Franca  was  the  daughter  of  the  Count 
of  Vidalta.  Before  her  birth,  her  mother 
dreamt  that  she  brought  forth  a  barking 
dog.  The  dream  returned  so  frequently 
that  she  was  greatly  troubled,  and  con- 
fided her  fears  to  her  confessor.  He 
comforted  her  by  saying  that  her  child 
would  be  a  watch  and  guardian  of  the 
Church,  and  an  enemy  to  the  devil — a 
prophecy  which  turned  out  to  be  true. 
At  the  age  of  seven,  Franca  resolved  to 
forsake  the  world,  and  was  placed  by  her 
father  in  the  convent  of  St.  Sirio.  At 
fourteen  she  made  her  profession.  When 
the  bishop  had  cut  off  her  hair  and 


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ST.  FRANCES 


given  her  the  monastic  habit,  an  angel 
appeared  and  placed  the  veil  on  her 
head.  Franca  soon  became  abbess,  and 
practised  great  austerity.  Many  miracles 
are  attributed  to  her.  The  most  famous 
is  that  once  two  dolia  (measures)  of  wine 
being  dried  up,  she  put  her  lips  to  the 
cask  and  began  to  drink;  immediately 
the  vessel  was  full  of  wine. 

A  popular  tumult  determined  her  to 
leave  Placentia,  and  live  in  greater 
solitude  than  the  convent  life  of  St. 
Sirio  permitted.  She  fled  to  Mount 
Luna,  and  thought  of  building  a  convent 
there.  That  being  impracticable,  she 
went  to  Valleria,  and  there  also  failing 
to  find  what  she  required,  she  journeyed 
on  to  a  place  called  Plectole,  where  she 
took  the  Cistercian  habit  with  all  her 
nuns. 

Funds  were  required  to  build  a  new 
convent  for  the  reception  of  the  strangers 
and  others  who  might  be  called  to  join 
them.  A  rich  young  lady  of  Placentia, 
named  Carentia,  very  clever  and  studious, 
attracted  by  the  wisdom  and  sanctity  of 
Franca,  had  often  visited  her  when  she 
was  at  St.  Sirio,  and  now  desired  to 
become  one  of  her  nuns.  She  was 
persuaded  by  Franca  to  supply  the 
deficiency,  and  a  convent  was  built  by 
her  means.  Franca  was  appointed  to 
preside  over  the  new  convent.  Fifty 
nuns  had  followed  her  from  Placentia, 
and  many  virgins  and  widows  joined  her. 

At  Plectole  her  fasts  became  more 
and  more  rigorous.  All  through  Lent 
she  lived  on  bread  and  vegetables.  At 
length  her  health  gave  way,  and  towards 
the  middle  of  Lent,  1218,  she  was  seized 
with  a  painful  illness,  and  died  April 
25  or  27. 

St.  Franca,  is  counted  among  the 
Myroblites,  i.e.  the  saints  whose  tombs 
distil  a  miraculous  oil. 

B.M.  Papebroch,  in  the  AA.SS.,  from 
a  contemporary  authority.  Cahier. 
Henriquez,  Lilia  Cistercii.  Bagatta, 
Admiranda, 

St.  Frances  (1),  of  Plaoentia,FnANCA. 

B.  Frances  (2),  March  27.  +  March 
26,  1238.  O.S.F.  Francesca  Comitola 
was  the  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Colle- 
mezzo,  who  came  from  Todi  and  settled 
in  Perugia,  and  was  there  called  dei 


Comitoli.  She  was  a  sister  of  Pietro 
Comitoli,  created  cardinal  and  bishop  of 
Albano,  in  1244,  by  Innocent  IV.  She 
took  the  veil  under  St.  Clara  in  1213. 
She  saw  the  Holy  Child  Jesus  in  the 
arms  of  Clara.  Jacobilli,  Santi  deW 
Umbria. 

B.  Frances  (3),  or  Francischina,  of 
Gubbio,  Feb.  6.  +  1360.  3rd  O.S.F. 
Her  body  lay  neglected  in  the  church 
of  Gubbio,  in  Umbria,  until  certain 
Hungarian  pilgrims  discovered  its 
miracle-working  powers,  since  when,  the 
saint  has  been  held  in  great  honour  by 
the  Franciscans.  AA.SI3. 

B.  Frances  (4),  of  Fano,  Sept.  30. 
15th  century.  Nun  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Francis,  in  the  convent  of  Corpo  di 
Cristo,  at  Pesaro,  under  B.  Felicia,  of 
Meda.    Jacobilli,  Santi  dell'  Umbria. 

St.  Frances  (5),  of  Rome,  March  9. 
1384-1440.  Patron  of  Rome.  Founder 
of  the  Order  of  Oblates  or  Collatines. 
One  of  the  chief  saints  of  the  Olivetan 
Order,  and  one  of  the  most  popular 
saints  of  Rome. 

Represented  generally  in  the  dress  of 
a  Benedictine  nun,  with  a  black  gown 
and  white  hood:  (1)  in  company  with 
St.  Charles  Borromeo,  founder  of  the 
Oblate  brotherhood  at  Milan ;  (2)  with 
an  angel  holding  open  the  book  of  the 
office  of  the  Virgin,  at  the  words, 
"  Tenuisti  manum  dexteram  meam,"  etc., 
in  allusion  to  a  legend  given  below; 

(3)  the  B.  V.  Mary  appearing  to  her, 
holding  a  number  of  broken  arrows, 
while  dead  and  dying  persons  lie  around, 
in  allusion  to  the  cessation  of  an  epidemic 
attributed  to  the  prayers  of  Frances ; 

(4)  leading  an  ass  laden  with  wood; 

(5)  finding  grapes  on  a  leafless  vine,  in 
mid-winter,  to  satisfy  the  thirst  of  her 
nuns. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  Paolo  de 
Bassi  and  Giacobella  Rofredeschi,  both 
of  whom  were  of  noble  families  now 
extinct.  She  gave  early  evidence  of  her 
pious  and  serious  disposition,  shunning 
childish  amusement,  and  all  familiarity 
even  with  persons  of  her  own  family. 
She  would  not  suffer  her  father  to  touch 
her  hands  unless  they  were  covered  up. 
At  eleven  years  old  she  wished  to 
become  a  nun,  but  in  obedience  to  her 


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parents,  she  married  Lores zo  Ponziani, 
1396.  He  encouraged  her  in  the  strict 
observance  of  religions  duties  and  in  all 
good  works.  During  the  forty  years  of 
their  married  life  no  dispute  or  unkind- 
ness  ever  arose  to  mar  the  harmony  of 
their  union.  Some  historians  say  that 
she  took  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis 
on  her  marriage,  or  on  her  recovery 
from  a  serious  illness,  which  she  had 
immediately  after  her  marriage,  but  this 
is  denied  by  Baillet  and  some  other 
esteemed  writers.  She  avoided  places  of 
gaiety  and  amusement,  and  gave  all  her 
spare  time  and  money  to  works  of  charity. 
She  wore  a  hair  shirt,  and  used  a  dis- 
cipline made  of  six  cords  each  armed 
with  a  sharp-pointed  rowel.  She  dressed 
in  the  coarsest  serge  and  used  no  linen. 
She  took  an  affectionate  interest  in  the 
temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  of  her 
servants,  and  arranged  the  affairs  of  her 
house  with  the  greatest  economy  and 
order.  She  never  allowed  her  religious 
observances  to  interfere  with  her  domestic 
duties,  saying  that  "  a  wife  must  when 
necessary  leave  her  devotions  at  the 
altar  and  find  God  in  her  household 
affairs."  So  that  when  called  away  from 
her  prayers  by  her  husband  or  any  of 
the  servants,  she  always  obeyed  the 
summons  without  a  murmur.  Once  when 
she  was  reciting  the  office  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  she  was  called  away  four  times 
at  the  beginning  of  the  passage,  "  Tenu- 
isti  manum  dexteram  meam  et  in  volun- 
tate  tua  deduxisti  me,  et  cum  gloria 
8U8cepisti  me  "  (Ps.  lxxiii.  23,  24).  On 
returning  to  her  devotions  for  the  fifth 
time,  she  found  the  words  written  in 
letters  of  golden  light  by  her  guardian 
angel. 

She  used  to  go  into  her  vineyards 
outside  the  Porta  San  Paolo  to  gather 
faggots  for  the  poor,  which  she  some- 
times carried  home  in  her  arms,  or  if 
they  were  too  large  and  heavy,  she  used 
to  lay  them  on  an  ass  and  walk  beside 
it.  On  these  expeditions  she  wore  the 
coarse  rough  dress  of  the  poorest  class. 

Her  example  and  influence  caused 
several  Roman  ladies  to  withdraw  from 
the  luxury,  idleness,  and  vanity  of  their 
ordinary  life.  They  joined  the  con- 
gregation of  Mount  Olivet,  of  which 


Frances  was  already  a  member.  This 
was  a  brotherhood  to  which  laymen  and 
women  were  admitted  without  renouncing 
their  secular  condition  and  worldly 
duties.  They  were  only  bound  to  lead 
a  godly  and  virtuous  life,  and  to  observe 
certain  devotional  practices. 

About  1413,  at  the  time  of  the  Council 
of  Constance,  and  during  the  schism 
which  divided  the  Church,  Ladislas,  king 
of  Naples,  invaded  Eome.  In  one  of  the 
fights  in  the  streets,  Lorenzo  Ponziani 
was  stabbed  in  the  back,  as  had  been 
foretold  by  his  little  son  Evangelist  He 
was  afterwards  banished  with  his  brother 
Paoluccio ;  his  property  was  confiscated, 
and  his  eldest  son,  John  Baptist,  was 
imprisoned.  All  these  trials  were  borne 
by  St.  Frances  with  patience  and  cheer- 
fulness. After  the  return  of  her  hus- 
band, the  liberation  of  her  son,  and  the 
restitution  of  their  goods,  about  1425, 
with  the  consent  of  Lorenzo,  she  founded 
the  Order  of  Oblates,  which  was  at  first 
a  branch  of  that  of  Mount  Olivet  already 
mentioned,  and  was  instituted  for  women 
who  wished  to  withdraw  entirely  from 
the  world  and  lead  a  religious  life.  It 
was  placed  under  the  special  protection 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  under  the 
direction  of  the  Olivetan  brothers. 

Frances  wished  to  retire  from  worldly 
cares,  and  become  a  nun  in  her  own 
order;  but  though  her  husband  would 
have  consented  to  this  arrangement,  she 
was  retained  in  her  family  by  two  cir- 
cumstances. One  was  the  death  of  the 
only  person  on  whom  she  could  depend 
to  supply  her  place,  her  dear  friend 
Vanoccia,  wife  of  her  brother-in-law, 
Paoluccio  Ponziani.  The  other  hindrance 
to  her  vocation  was  her  daughter-in-law, 
a  woman  of  a  proud,  capricious,  and 
overbearing  disposition,  whom  she  suc- 
ceeded in  rendering  pious  and  docile. 

In  1436,  on  the  death  of  Lorenzo,  she 
found  herself  at  liberty  to  join  the 
Oblates,  and  instead  of  claiming  the  right 
of  a  founder  to  be  received  into  her  own 
order,  she  threw  herself  at  the  feet  of 
the  sisters,  and  begged  the  favour  of 
admission  to  their  community.  They 
joyfully  received  her,  and  offered  her  all 
the  honour  their  respect  and  affection 
could  bestow.    The  superior,  Agnes  de 


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B.  FRANCES 


Leilis,  wished  to  resign  her  office  to  the 
saint ;  but  Frances  wonld  not  consont  to 
this,  and  insisted  on  being  treated  as 
the  humblest  of  the  sisters,  with  whom 
she  shared  the  meanest  offices,  often 
going  to  the  vineyards  for  firewood  for 
the  house,  carrying  it  on  her  shoulders 
or  putting  it  on  an  ass  which  she  led. 
She  could  not  avoid  being  appointed 
superior,  as  all  the  Oblates  refused  to 
accept  the  command  during  her  life. 
Notwithstanding  the  responsibilities  of 
this  post,  she  did  not  neglect  to  visit  the 
hospitals  and  minister  to  the  poor.  After 
living  as  a  nun  for  four  years,  she  died 
at  the  house  of  her  only  surviving  son, 
Giambattista,  after  an  illness  of  seven 
days,  March  9,  1440,  in  the  fifty-sixth 
year  of  her  age. 

Her  canonization  began  to  be  discussed 
throughout  the  Church  immediately 
after  her  death.  Permission  was  given 
to  worship  her  in  Borne,  where  her 
festival  was  observed  without  positive 
command,  and  was  very  popular  long 
before  her  formal  canonization.  Her 
worship  was  made  universal  in  1622. 

Among  the  miracles  related  of  her,  it 
is  said  that  her  father-in-law  gave  her  a 
cask  of  wine  to  put  by  in  the  cellar,  and 
she  gave  it  little  by  little  to  the  poor. 
He  found  it  empty,  and  scolded  her  and 
her  husband.  She  went  to  the  cellar, 
and  prayed  that  Christ  would  turn  not 
water,  as  at  Cana,  but  air  into  wine,  that 
her  alms  might  not  be  forbidden.  The 
cask  was  found  to  be  full  of  much  better 
wine  than  what  was  missing.  A  similar 
thing  occurred  with  a  quantity  of  flour 
placed  under  her  care. 

B.M.  Butler.  Baillet.  Mrs.  Jameson. 
AA.SS.,  March  9;  and  an  Italian  Life, 
Bagatta,  Admiranda.  These  authorities 
derive  their  information  chiefly  from  her 
Life  by  Mattiotti,  her  confessor,  and  that 
by  Magdalen  dell'  Anguillara,  superin- 
tendent of  the  Oblates,  210  years  later ; 
both,  says  Baillet,  full  of  incredible  and 
extravagant  things.  Both  Lives  are  given 
by  Henschenius ;  the  first  includes  her 
ninety-seven  visions. 

She  was  buried  in  the  chapel  belonging 
to  her  order,  in  the  Franciscan  church 
of  Santa  Maria  Nuova,  the  scene  of  her 
visions  and  ecstatic  trances, 


Her  room,  with  its  worm-eaten  rafters 
and  table,  was  long  preserved  as  she  left 
it,  but  has  been  transformed  into  a 
chapel. 

Helyot,  Ordres  Monastiques,  vol.  <>, 
ch.  26,  says  the  congregation  of  the 
Oblates  of  St  Frances  are  not  nuns. 
They  promise  at  their  profession  to  obey 
the  superior  according  to  custom,  but 
they  do  not  take  solemn  vows,  and  they 
are  at  liberty  to  leave  the  community 
and  marry.  They  are  called  Oblates 
because  they  call  their  profession  an 
oblation,  and  use  in  the  ceremony  the 
word  offero  instead  of  profiteor.  Their 
seclusion  and  their  fasts  are  less  strict 
than  those  of  most  of  the  religious  orders. 
Prisoners  are  among  the  favourite  objects 
of  their  immense  liberality.  They  send 
them  food  on  certain  days  of  the  week, 
and  on  the  great  festivals. 

B.  Frances  (6)  de  Ugolino  da  Castel 
Durante,  Feb.  2.  +  1484.  Founded,  in 
1468,  the  monastery  of  St.  Spirito,  in 
Gubbio,  where  she  was  abbess  many 
years.    Jacobilli,  Santi  deW  Umhria. 

B.  Frances  (7),  Nov.  4,  5,  1427- 
1485,  of  the  Order  of  Mount  Carmel. 
Duchess  of  Brittany.  Founder  of  the 
Carmelites  in  Brittany.  Francoise  d'Am- 
boise  was  daughter  of  Louis,  prince  do 
Talmont,  vicomte  de  Thouars,  seigneur 
d'Amboise ;  her  mother  was  Marie  de 
Bieux,  daughter  of  the  Marechal  of 
France.  As  soon  as  Frances  was  born,  a 
great  number  of  suitors  applied  for  her 
hand,  as  she  was  considered  a  great 
heiress.  When  she  was  two  years  old, 
she  was  affianced  to  Prince  Peter,  count 
of  Guingamp,  second  son  of  John  V., 
the  Good,  duke  of  Brittany.  The  infant 
bride  was  received  very  affectionately  by 
her  future  family,  particularly  by  the 
duchess,  Madame  Jeanne  de  France,  a 
disciple  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer,  and 
daughter  of  King  Charles  VI.  She  died 
1433,  but  during  the  two  years  that  the 
young  Frances  was  under  her  care,  she 
had  carefully  imbued  her  with  pious 
sentiments.  One  day  the  little  girl  saw 
in  church  the  picture  of  St.  Francis 
barefooted  ;  she  at  once  took  off  her  own 
shoes,  and  wished  to  give  them  to  the 
saint.  At  the  age  of  seven,  Frances 
desired  to  withdraw  from  the  world  into 


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some  religions  house,  but  the  duke  did 
not  encourage  the  idea.  He  assembled 
all  the  barons  and  lords  who  were  at 
Nantes  at  the  time,  and  brought  his  three 
sons  into  their  presence,  and  also  Made- 
moiselle d'Amboise,  and  bade  her  choose 
which  of  the  three  should  be  her  hus- 
band. She  chose  Peter,  for  whom  she 
had  already  been  destined,  and  they 
were  then  formally  betrothed.  The 
marriage,  which  took  place  in  1442, 
when  Frances  was  fifteen,  was  a  very 
happy  one,  except  that  during  a  short 
time  Peter  appears  to  have  been  tor- 
mented with  groundless  jealousy,  and  to 
have  been  very  unkind  in  consequence. 
They  lived  at  Guingamp,  now  in  the 
department  Cotes-du-Nord. 

Frances  had  a  great  devotion  to  St. 
Ursula  and  the  11,000  virgins,  and 
in  their  honour  she  gave  a  dinner 
every  Wednesday  to  eleven  girls,  served 
them  at  table,  and  after  dinner  presented 
each  of  them  with  five  sous.  Many  other 
proofs  and  instances  of  her  charity  and 
piety  are  recorded  by  Albert  le  Grand. 
Peter's  elder  brother  Francis  seems  to 
have  succeeded  his  father  about  the  time 
of  the  marriage  of  the  saint.  He  had  a 
younger  brother  Giles,  married  to  Fran- 
chise de  Dinan,  dame  de  Chateaubriand. 
The  duke  was  much  under  the  influence 
of  a  young  nobleman  named  Arthur  de 
Montauban,  who  was  madly  in  love  with 
the  beautiful  young  wife  of  Giles ;  and 
in  the  hope  of  getting  rid  of  her  husband, 
he  accused  him  of  being  in  correspond- 
ence with  the  English,  and  had  him 
imprisoned.  The  duke  assembled  the 
states  of  Bretagne,  but  they  would  not 
sanction  the  execution  of  Giles.  Prince 
Peter  and  his  wife  remonstrated  strongly 
with  Duke  Francis,  but  he  resented  their 
interference,  and  kept  Giles  in  prison. 
Montauban  still  schemed  the  destruction 
of  his  rival,  and  ultimately  gained  his 
end.  Prince  Giles  was  taken  from  one 
prison  fortress  to  another,  and  finally 
confined  in  the  castle  of  Hardouinaye, 
where,  in  1450,  after  various  attempts 
on  his  life,  his  keepers  strangled  him. 
His  sister-in-law,  Frances,  was  deeply 
afflicted,  and  caused  a  great  number  of 
masses  to  be  said  for  his  soul.  Duke 
Francis  was  besieging  the  English  at 


Avranchos  when  he  heard  of  the  murder. 
As  soon  as  the  town  was  taken,  he  went 
to  Mont  St.  Michel,  and  ordered  a  solemn 
service  for  the  soul  of  Giles.  When 
crossing  the  sands  on  his  return  to 
Avranches,  he  met  a  monk,  who  said,  "  I 
bring  you  a  message  from  your  murdered 
brother.  He  has  appealed  against  your 
injustice  and  cruelty  to  a  Higher  Tri- 
bunal, and  summons  you  to  meet  him 
there  within  forty  days." 

The  duke  was  greatly  distressed.  His 
fate  soon  overtook  him.  Ho  was  seized 
with  fever,  and  after  two  or  three  attacks 
of  it,  he  arrived,  very  ill,  at  his  country 
house,  Plaisance,  near  Vannes.  There 
his  brother  Peter  and  the  Blessed  Frances 
hastened  to  visit  him.  Frances  per- 
ceived at  once  that  her  brother-in-law 
was  dying,  and  although  his  attendants 
flattered  him  by  making  light  of  his 
illness,  she  found  means  to  speak  to  him 
privately,  and  persuaded  him  to  see  his 
confessor  and  prepare  for  death.  He 
died  on  July  17,  1450,  exactly  forty  days 
after  receiving  his  brother's  message. 

Peter  succeeded  his  brother  as  Duke 
of  Brittany,  and  he  and  Frances  were 
crowned  at  Eennes. 

Frances  insisted  that  the  murderers 
of  Giles  should  be  brought  to  justice. 
She  persuaded  her  husband  to  give  up  a 
heavy  tax  he  was  going  to  impose  upon 
his  people. 

The  canonization  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer 
was  due  in  a  great  measure  to  her  exer- 
tions. 

She  built  a  Clarissan  convent  at  Nantes, 
and  sent  for  some  nuns  to  establish  it. 
She  brought  them  into  the  presence  of 
the  duke,  who  was  very  ill,  and  who 
made  them  a  gift  of  the  convent,  and 
asked  them  to  pray  for  him.  He  died 
soon  afterwards,  1457.  The  night  before 
his  death,  a  great  white  cross  was  seen 
over  the  castle  of  Nantes  where  he  was 
lying.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  uncle 
Arthur,  the  constable  of  France,  the 
same  who  had  arranged  the  marriage  of 
Peter  and  Frances ;  but  although  he  had 
shown  so  much  affection  for  her  for  so 
many  years,  he  changed  his  behaviour 
to  her  after  he  became  duke,  being 
offended  that  she  took  no  part  in  the 
general  rejoicings  and  festivities.  She 


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B.  PRANCES 


spent  all  her  time  in  devotion,  only 
leaving  her  honse  to  make  her  daily 
visit  on  foot  to  the  duke  and  duchess. 
He  deprived  her  of  her  property  and 
jewels,  saying  it  did  not  become  a  widow 
to  be  so  rich,  nor  a  nun  to  have  such 
fine  jewels,  and  he  wanted  her  to  re- 
marry because  she  had  no  children.  All 
this  she  bore  with  patience  and  cheer- 
fulness, and  at  the  end  of  Arthur's  short 
reign,  she  nursed  him  dutifully  in  his 
last  illness,  and  closed  his  eyes  when 
he  died.  His  nephew  and  successor, 
Francis,  made  good  to  her  all  the  spolia- 
tion she  had  suffered  from  Arthur.  She 
spent  all  her  revenues  and  her  time  in 
charity  and  masses  for  the  souls  of  her  hus- 
band and  other  near  connections.  With 
permission  of  the  duke,  Frances  made 
arrangements  to  take  the  habit  of  St. 
Clara,  and  end  her  days  in  the  convent 
she  and  her  husband  had  built;  but  she 
was  prevented  by  a  serious  illness  from 
carrying  out  her  intention.  She  took 
leave  of  the  nuns,  and  had  herself  carried 
to  the  castle  of  Nantes,  where  the  duke 
wished  to  have  her  near  him.  She  re- 
covered, contrary  to  all  expectations, 
and  began  to  think  of  taking  the  veil  in 
some  order  less  ascetic  than  that  of  St. 
Clara.  At  this  time,  Father  Soreth, 
general  of  the  Order  of  Carmelites, 
arrived  in  Nantes,  and  spoke  so  much 
in  praise  of  his  own  order  that  Frances 
founded  a  Carmelite  convent  for  nuns 
at  Yannes,  where  she  took  the  veil,  with 
four  of  her  nieces  and  several  other 
young  ladies  of  the  most  distinguished 
Breton  families.  After  she  had  made 
her  vows,  but  before  she  was  a  regular 
nun,  her  father,  having  disinherited  his 
second  daughter,  who  had  married  Mon- 
sieur de  la  Tremouille  without  his  con- 
sent, wanted  to  marry  Frances  to  the 
Duke  of  Savoy,  who  was  brother  to  the 
Queen  of  France.  Louis  XI.  tried  to 
persuade  her  to  this  second  marriage, 
but  in  vain.  Shortly  after  this,  she  was 
shut  up  in  Nantes,  as  her  relations  still 
hoped  to  arrange  her  marriage. 

One  day,  on  her  way  to  the  cathedral, 
she  met  the  duke,  who  began  to  discuss 
the  subject  and  to  remonstrate  about  her 
intention  to  become  a  nun.  In  the  heat 
of  argument  he  laid  his  hand  upon  her 


shoulder,  and  as  Frances  showed  some 
sign  of  offended  dignity,  the  passers-by 
who  were  watching  them,  spread  an 
alarm  that  violence  was  being  used  to 
carry  off  their  beloved  duchess.  Imme- 
diately thousands  turned  out  to  protect 
her ;  the  duke  had  to  seek  in  all  haste 
a  place  of  concealment.  The  crowd 
escorted  her  to  church,  stood  round  it 
until  she  had  finished  her  devotions, 
accompanied  her  home,  and  would  not 
disperse  until  she  appeared  on  the  balcony, 
thanked  them  for  their  devotion,  and 
assured  them  that  she  was  safe  and  free, 
and  that  she  intended  to  live  and  die  in 
Bretagne,  near  the  grave  of  her  husband. 
Nevertheless,  her  uncles,  in  league  with 
her  father,  made  a  plan  to  capture  her. 
A  litter  was  to  be  ready  at  midnight,  in 
which  she  was  to  be'  carried  to  a  boat  on 
the  river.  Her  holy  vocation  was  de- 
fended by  a  miracle;  although  it  was 
the  month  of  June,  the  Loire  was  frozen 
hard  from  the  bridge  of  Nantes  to  that 
ofMauves.  The  boats  became  immovable, 
and  when  the  ice  gave  way,  they  were 
all  broken  to  pieces  and  completely  spoilt. 

Her  father  disinherited  her,  and  left 
his  estates  to  the  king.  He  afterwards 
repented  his  harshness,  but  the  king 
would  not  give  them  up.  After  her 
father's  death,  she  brought  an  action  in 
favour  of  her  sister's  children,  and  the 
lands  were  restored,  with  the  exception 
of  Amboise,  which  continued  to  be  the 
property  of  the  Crown. 

Frances  bore  the  death  of  her  mother 
quietly,  because  she  felt  sure  her  soul 
was  safe ;  but  she  grieved  greatly  at  her 
father's  death,  as  she  knew  his  worldly 
life,  and  feared  for  the  salvation  of  his 
soul. 

She  now  finished  her  convent,  and 
brought  Flemish  nuns  to  fill  it.  It  was 
called  "  Des  Trois  Maries,"  and  was  the 
first  for  Carmelite  nuns  founded  in 
Brittany.  It  was  close  to  the  monastery 
of  the  Carmelite  Fathers  of  Bondon. 
She  was  obliged  to  remain  secular  for 
four  years  in  order  to  confirm  her  gifts 
to  the  convent. 

She  took  the  novice's  veil  in  1467. 
She  would  not  be  called  "  Madame,"  but 
"Sister  Frances,  the  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ."    She  helped  to  nurse  during 


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the  Plague.  At  her  profession  she  cut 
the  corners  off  her  veil,  considering  her- 
self inferior  to  the  virgin  nuns.  Some 
time  after,  the  duke  and  duchess  made 
Frances  and  some  of  her  nuns  come 
to  the  convent  of  ScoStz,  near  Nantes. 
Here  she  died  Nov.  4, 1485.  Seven  years 
later  her  body  was  taken  up  to  be  placed 
in  a  corner  of  the  chapter-house,  and 
was  found  uncorrnpted.  Thenceforward 
her  tomb  became  a  place  of  pious  pil- 
grimage, much  frequented  by  the  faith- 
ful, who  went  there  to  invoke  "  la  bonne 
duchesse."  In  18G3  the  Pope  approved 
her  immemorial  worship  and  /<?/e,  Nov.  5, 
and  her  solemn  beatification  was  pro- 
claimed with  great  pomp  at  Nantes  in 
1865.  A.R.M.  Albert  le  Grand  de 
Morlaix,  Saints  de  la  Bretagne.  P.B. 

B.  Frances  (8),  June  4,  born  at 
Como,  +  1495.  Became  a  nun  of  the 
Order  of  the  Servants  of  Mary,  at  Mantua, 
in  1482.  A  year  after  her  death,  when 
the  bones  of  some  buried  nuns  were  dis- 
placed in  making  an  addition  to  the 
church  and  convent,  the  body  of  Frances 
was  found  sweet  and  life-like,  holding 
in  her  hand  a  lily  as  fresh  as  if  it  had 
been  newly  gathered.  She  was  placed 
in  a  marble  tomb,  on  which  was  in- 
scribed, "  La  Beata  Francesca  da  Como." 
AA.SS.,  from  Giani's  Annals  of  the 
Order. 

B.  Frances  (9)  de  Lucena.  Founder 
of  the  Order  of  Minims  (Order  of  St 
Francis  of  Paula)  for  women,  in  Spain, 
about  1495.  Represented  with  her  hands 
clasped  and  holding  a  rosary.  Gu6ne- 
bault. 

B.  Frances  (10),  Aug.  17,  Sept.  12, 
burned,  in  1627,  with  B.  Magdalene,  at 
Nangasaki.  Beatified  with  Lucy  Freitas. 

B.  Frances  (1 1),  of  the  Five  Wounds, 
Maky  Frances. 

St.  Franchild,  Framechilde. 

B.  Francischina,  Frances  (3),  of 
Gubbio. 

St.  Franda,  Fracla.  (See  Posenna.) 

St.  Fratria,  June  27,  M.  at  Cordova, 
in  Spain.  AA.SS.,  from  St.  Jerome's 
Martyrology. 

St  Fraude,  Pharaildis. 

St.  Freaude,  or  Fr^eaude,  Phara- 
Ildis. 

St  Frecise.    6th  century.  Relics 


at  Borne.    Mas  Latrie.   Perhaps  Fre- 

scendis. 

St.  Fredeswend,  Fredeswytha, 
Frideswide. 

St.  Frescendis,  June  29.  Cistercian 
nun  in  the  abbey  of  Prato,  at  Douai. 
Henriquez,  Lilia. 

St.  Frevise,  Frevisse,  or  Frewisse, 
French  for  Frideswide. 

St.  Frideswide,  Oct.  19;  translation, 
Feb.  12  (Fredeswend,  Fredeswytha, 
Fritheswitha,  Fritheswoed,  etc.;  in 
French,  Frevise,  Frewisse).  c.  650-735. 
Patron  of  .Oxford  and  of  Bomy,  in  Artois. 
Represented  with  the  pastoral  staff  of  an 
abbess,  a  fountain  springing  up  near  her, 
an  ox  at  her  feet.  Born  at  Oxford,  which 
was  then  in  the  kingdom  of  Mercia.  Her 
pious  parents,  Didan  and  Safrida,  com- 
mitted her  to  the  care  of  a  holy  woman 
named  Algiva.  After  her  mother's  death, 
she  returned  to  live  with  her  father.  He 
built  a  church  at  the  gates  of  Oxford, 
and  there  she  took  the  veil  with  twelve 
young  women  of  her  acquaintance. 
Didan  then  built  them  a  convent  near 
the  church,  and  they  lived  there,  not 
bound  by  the  rules  of  the  cloister,  but 
by  holy  charity  and  love  of  seclusion. 
Algar,  prince  of  Mercia,  sent  to  ask 
Frideswide  to  marry  him,  as  she  was 
beautiful  and  very  rich.  She  excused 
herself  on  the  plea  of  her  vow  of  celi- 
bacy. He  persisted,  and  at  last  made  a 
plan  to  carry  her  off.  She  fled  to  the 
river,  and  finding  a  boat,  floated  to 
Benton,  about  ten  miles  from  Oxford. 
She  took  up  her  abode  in  a  deserted  hut 
used  to  shelter  the  swine  that  fed  on  the 
acorns  in  the  forest  Here  a  fountain 
sprang  up  at  her  prayer.  She  remained 
concealed  for  about  three  years,  while 
Algar  tried  to  find  her,  at  one  time 
threatening  to  burn  the  city  of  Oxford 
unless  she  were  given  up  to  him.  At 
last  he  discovered  her  hiding-place,  and 
vowed  to  sacrifice  her  not  only  to  his 
own  brutality,  but  to  that  of  his  men. 
Just  as  she  was  about  to  fall  into  his 
hands,  and  was  so  worn  out  with  fatigue 
and  starvation  that  her  last  strength  was 
forsaking  her,  she  bethought  her  of  the 
great  saints  who  in  the  days  of  the  early 
Church  had  saved  their  honour  at  the 
price  of  life ;  she  invoked  SS.  Catherine 


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ST.  PRINA 


and  Cecilia.  Immediately  ber  perse- 
cutor was  struck  blind,  and  sbe  was  un- 
molested. Sbe  restored  sigbt  to  ber 
enemy  on  bis  repentance.  Sbe  returned 
to  Oxford,  and  tbere  collected  round  ber 
a  number  of  Saxon  maidens,  over  wbom 
sbe  presided  in  great  boliness  until  ber 
death  in  735. 

Many  miracles  are  told  of  ber  in  ber 
life,  and  after  ber  deatb.  One  of  tbe 
former  is  tbat  a  leper  conjured  ber  in 
tbe  name  of  Christ  to  kiss  him,  and  sbe, 
overcoming  her  fear  of  infection  and 
natural  disgust  at  bis  loathsome  con- 
dition, made  the  sign  of  tbe  cross  and 
kissed  him.  Immediately  the  scales  fell 
from  him,  and  bis  flesh  came  again  like 
tbat  of  a  child. 

Multitudes  of  pilgrims  resorted  to  ber 
tomb,  the  chapel  on  the  site  of  the  pigs' 
but,  and  the  fountain  which  had  sprung 
up  at  her  prayer,  and  which  soon  became 
famous  for  miraculous  cures. 

In  1180  her  body  was  solemnly  taken 
up  from  tbe  obscure  part  of  the  church 
where  it  was  buried,  and  translated  to 
tbe  chief  place  in  the  church,  in  presence 
of  a  great  concourse  of  nobles,  prelates, 
and  people. 

For  centuries  no  king  of  England 
would  enter  Oxford  for  fear  of  being 
struck  blind.  Henry  III.  was  the  first 
to  disregard  the  tradition,  and  there 
were  not  wanting  persons  who  attributed 
all  bis  misfortunes  to  his  presumption. 
Many  kings,  however,  gave  munificent 
offerings  to  the  churches  and  schools  of 
Oxford.  The  first  school  known  with 
certainty  to  have  existed  in  the  sanctuary 
of  St.  Frideswide  has  become  one  of  tbe 
most  famous  centres  of  literary  and  in- 
tellectual life  in  the  world.  Her  monas- 
tery is  the  College  of  Christ  Church, 
the  chief  college  of  Oxford,  and  ber 
church,  rebuilt  in  the  12th  century,  is 
tbe  cathedral. 

One  version  of  her  story  says  that  she 
lived,  died,  and  was  buried  at  Tbornbury, 
now  Binsey,  and  that  her  body  was  trans- 
lated thence  to  Oxford  in  the  12  th  cen- 
tury. 

At  Bomy,  near  Therouanne,  in  Artois, 
tbere  is  a  tradition  that  she  fled  thither 
from  the  pursuit  of  Algar,  and  a  fountain, 
said  to  have  sprung  up  at  ber  desire,  is 


resorted  to  for  cures  and  other  answers 
to  prayer. 

Notwithstanding  these  discrepancies 
in  the  accounts,  and  the  fact  that  Bede, 
who  was  living  during  her  reputed 
period,  does  not  mention  her,  critics 
agree  that  her  story  is  true  in  the  main. 

B.M.  Smith  and  Wace.  AA.SS. 
Mabillon,  Montalembert,  Baillet,  Butler, 
and  every  collection  of  English  saints. 

St.  Frina,  May  5,  V.  Misprint  for 
Herina,  or  Irene  (1),  a  martyr  famous 
in  the  East.  Some  relics  were  at  Aletii, 
or  Lupii,  or  Lucienta,  in  Calabria,  in  a 
church  called  Santa  Maria  di  Luce,  be- 
cause the  image  of  the  B.  V.  Mary  was 
surrounded  with  lamps.  This  Irene  has 
been  thought  to  be  another  martyr  at 
this  place,  but  it  is  not  so;  it  is  only 
worship  and  relics  of  the  Eastern  virgin 
martyr.  AA.SS.  Appendix  to  Irene, 
May  5. 

St.  Frinseca,  or  Frinsecha,  Fin- 

SECHA. 

Ste.  Frique.  In  Guienne,  St.  Efri- 
que,  a  man,  is  corrupted  into  Ste. 
Frique.  Chastelain,  Voc.  Hag.,  in 
Menage's  Dictionary. 

St.  Fritheswoed,  Frideswide. 

St.  Fritheswytha,  Frideswide. 

St  Frodoberta,  April  2  (Flobarde, 
Floberbe,  Floberde),  V.  Lived  at 
Amilly  (Ameliacum)  in  Brie,  in  tbe 
8th  century.    Cabier.  Guerin. 

St.  Frolla,  Fronilde.   Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Fronilde,  or  Froila.  12tb  cen- 
tury. In  1175,  the  venerable  reformer, 
Countess  Donna  Fronilde,  presented  the 
monastery  of  Ferreyra  to  tbat  of  Meyra 
(both  in  the  diocese  of  Lugo,  in  Galicia, 
Spain),  thereby  placing  it  under  the 
authority  of  the  Abbot  Vidal,  and  sub- 
jecting it  to  tbe  Cistercian  rule,  which 
had  just  been  introduced  into  Spain,  and 
bad  already  acquired  a  great  reputation 
for  sanctity.  Having  secured  the  promise 
of  other  members  of  her  family  that  the 
property  should  never  be  claimed  again 
by  them  or  their  heirs,  but  regarded  as 
given  to  God  and  the  Cistercians  for  ever, 
she  gave  a  handsome  donation  to  the 
House  of  Ferreyra,  and  to  all  tbe  nuns 
who  chose  to  go  over  to  the  Cistercian 
Order.  Her  daughter,  Donna  Guiomary 
confirmed  the  gift  on  condition  that  she 


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or  any  daughter  of  their  house  who 
chose  to  become  a  Cistercian  nun  there 
should  be  admitted  and  provided  for  in 
that  monastery.  Fronilde  died  in  1188 
or  1196,  and  was  buried  in  the  cloister 
of  Ferreyra.  Risco,  Espana  Sagrada, 
xli.  31,  etc. 

St.  Frontiana,  March  14  (Frontina, 
Frontinus),  M.  at  Nicomedia,with  others. 
AA.SS. 

St  Frostine,  Euphbosine.  Cahier. 

St.  Fructuosa,  Aug.  23,  M.  with 
others,  at  Antioch,  in  Syria.  Supposed 
4th  century.  AA.SS. 

St.  Frudoca,  or  Frudoche,  Findooa. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Fua.  Eva,  M.  at  Avitina,  Feb. 
11,  is  called  Fua,  perhaps  in  error,  by 
Baronius. 


St.  Fuinche,  Fanchea. 

BB.  Fulcide,  Sancta,  and  Rues- 
sella,  Aug.  16,  VV.  sisters,  who  built 
the  convent  of  Prato,  near  Douai,  and 
became  nuns  there.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Funchea,  Fanchea. 

St.  Furnata,  Feb.  22,  M.  at 
Nicomedia,  in  Bithynia,  with  Antiga. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Fusca,  Fosca. 

SS.  Fuscina  (1,  2),  Feb.  5.  Two 
relatives  of  St.  Avitus,  bishop  of  Vienne, 
are  mentioned  as  holy  nuns  this  day,  with 
Aspida  and  Severiana.  AA.SS.,  Prmter. 
Stadler. 

St.Fustolia,Nov.9,V.  Nun.  Sup- 
posed 14th  century.  Appears  in  a  col- 
lection of  prints  of  saints  referred  to  by 
Guenebault. 


St.  Gabtina,  Jabhthena. 
B.   Gachilosoinda,  or  Gachilo- 

8WINTHA,  GAL8WINTHA. 

St.  Gadda,  Aug.  19,  M.  at  Amasea, 
in  Pontus,  with  others. 

St.  Gadea.  Under  this  name  St. 
Agatha  has  a  chapel  in  the  Cathedral 
of  Burgos. 

St.  Gadron,  Angadresima  (1). 

St.  Ga&ne,  or  Gaenne,  Gaiana. 

St.  Gaerilla,  Oct.  28,  M.  at  Rome. 
Occurs  in  the  Mart.  Labbeanutn.  AA.SS., 
Prefationes,  vol.  iii.  Apparently  same 
as  Cyrhxa  (1). 

St.  Gaffe,  Eva,  abbess  of  Gloucester. 

St.  Gagia,  June  3,  Roman  martyr. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Gagiora,  Gajosa  (2). 

St.  Gaiana,  Dec.  10,  June  4  (Agai- 
eta,  Gaene,  Gaenne).    (See  Ripsima.) 

St.  Gaida,  or  Legadia,  Oct.  15.  Sup- 
posed same  as  Leocadia,  J)ec.  9.  AA.SS. 

B.  Gailesuinda,  Galswintha. 

St.  Gaiola,  March  3  (Cacola,  Caiola). 
First  in  a  long  list  of  MM.  in  Africa 
this  day.  AA.SS. 

St  Gaiora,  Gajosa  (2 ). 

St.  Gajosa  (1),  March  3,  M.  with 
Martia  and  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Gajosa  (2),  March  4  (Gagiora, 
Gaiora),  M.  The  only  woman's  name 
in  a  long  list  of  martyrs.  AA.SS. 


G 

St.  Galalia,  or  Eur  alia,  Dec.  10,  V. 
Sir  N.  H.  Nicolas,  Notitia  Historica. 

St.  Galata  (1),  or  Galatus,  March 
13,  M.  with  several  others  at  Lacum 
Gerati,  conjectured  to  be  that  part  of 
the  Sea  of  Galilee  where  the  herd  of 
swine  perished  (St.  Luke  viii.).  AA.SS. 

St.  Galata  (2),  April  19,  M.  at  Meli- 
tina,  in  Armenia.  AA.SS. 

B.  Galena,  Feb.  10.  +  202. 
Daughter  of  the  Emperor  Severus. 
When  the  venerable  Charal ampins  was 
living  at  Antioch,  in  Pisidia,  in  his 
114th  year,  the  devil,  disguised  as  a  king 
of  the  Scythians,  accused  him  of  taking 
away  all  his  soldiers  by  magic.  The 
Emperor  Severus,  lest  he  also  should  be 
deprived  of  his  army,  ordered  the  aged 
saint  to  be  tortured.  Galena  re- 
proached her  father  for  his  cruelty. 
She  had  a  vision  of  Paradise,  which  was 
interpreted  by  Charalampius  to  mean 
that  she  should  be  admitted  there,  but 
her  father  should  not.  When  Severus 
»  afterwards  ordered  her  to  sacrifice  to 
the  gods,  she  went  to  the  temple  and 
threw  down  their  statues.  The  era- 
l  peror  sent  500  men  to  replace  them 
during  the  night,  and  next  day  brought 
,  her  to  see  the  miracle  the  gods  had 
i  wrought.  She  destroyed  the  new  ones 
also.    When  St.  Charalampius  and  some 


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other  martyrs — three  of  whom  were 
women — were  put  to  death,  she  buried 
them  honourably  about  the  year  202. 
AA.SS.,  from  a  Greek  MS.  Life  of  St. 
Charalampius. 
St.  Galesonda,  or  Galsoxta,  Gal- 

8W1NTHA. 

St.  Galla  (1),  M.  with  Chabiessa. 

St.  Galla  (2),  or  Gallus,  March  3, 
commemorated  with  Mabtia  and  others. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Galla  (3),  May  8,  M.  at  Constan- 
tinople with  St.  Acacius.  AA.SS.  (See 
Agatha  (2).) 

St.  Galla  (4),  Sept.  4.  Mother  of 
St.  Simpliciola.  Mentioned  in  the 
German  Martyrology  of  Walasser,  and 
in  Greven's  additions  to  Usuard.  AA.SS., 
Prater. 

St.  Galla  (5),  May  31.  SS.  Galla 
and  Alexander,  confessor,  are  honoured 
at  Clermont,  in  Auvergne,  where  they 
were  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Vener- 
andus,  and  where  miraculous  cures  were 
wrought  at  their  tombs.  Their  history 
is  unknown,  but  their  worship  is  very 
ancient,  being  mentioned  by  St.  Gregory 
of  Tours  in  the  6th  century.  AA.SS. 
F.M. 

St.  Galla  (6),  Placidia. 

St.  Galla  (7),  Nov.  16.  5th  century. 
Wife  of  St.  Eucherius,  and  mother  of 
St.  Consortia. 

St.  Galla  (8),  Feb.  1,  V.  5th  or  6tn 
century.  This  saint  was  of  noble  birth, 
renounced  the  world,  and  was  veiled  at 
Valence  by  seven  bishops.  She  led  a 
religious,  ascetic  life,  worked  miraculous 
cures,  and  cast  out  devils.  A  deacon 
who  seduced  her  maid  was  destroyed  by 
fire  from  heaven.  A  mamwho  put  an 
evil  construction  on  her  actions,  and 
caused  her  to  be  spoken  ill  of,  was  seized 
by  the  devil,  but  released  in  answer  to 
her  prayers.  She  lived  to  a  very  great 
age.  AA.SS.,  Appendix,  from  an  anony- 
mous MS. 

St.  Galla  (9),  Oct.  3,  5.  6th  century. 
A  young,  beautiful,  and  wealthy  Eoman 
widow,  daughter  of  Symmachus,  one  of 
the  most  learned  and  virtuous  of  the 
Roman  patricians.  He  was  consul  in 
485,  and  was  put  to  death  at  Ravenna 
in  526,  by  Theodoric,  king  of  the  Ostro- 
goths.   Her  sister,  Rusticiana,  married 


BoBthius.  Galla  lost  her  husband  within 
a  year  of  her  marriage,  and  decided  to 
devote  her  life  to  God.  She  soon  had 
a  serious  illness,  and  was  told  that  un- 
less she  married  again  very  soon,  she 
would  have  a  beard,  which  indeed 
eventually  happened.  She  was  not  to 
be  turned  from  her  pious  purpose  by 
fear  of  disfigurement,  but  took  the  veil 
in  the  monastery  of  St.  Peter.  In  the 
last  years  of  a  long  and  holy  life,  she 
was  afflicted  by  a  cancer  in  her  breast. 
Shortly  before  her  death,  St.  Peter 
appeared  to  her  standing  between  the 
two  candles  which  she  always  kept  burn- 
ing at  the  foot  of  her  bed.  She  said, 
"  What  is  it  ?  Are  my  sins  forgiven  ?  " 
He  said,  "Yes;  come."  She  begged 
that  Benedigta  ( 1 1),  her  favourite  among 
the  nuns,  might  come  with  her.  He 
answered  that  Benedicta  should  follow 
her  in  thirty  days,  but  that  another 
nun  whom  he  named  should  die  with 
her.  She  told  her  vision  to  the  mother 
of  all  the  nuns.  She  and  the  other 
nun  died  in  three  days,  and  Benedicta 
thirty  days  after  them.  St.  Greg.  Mag., 
Dial,  lib.  iv.  cap.  13  ;  Migne,  77.  This 
is  the  only  St.  Galla  in  the  Roman 
Martyrology.  AAJSS.  Butler,  Oot  3. 
Yepez,  sermon  40. 

St  Gallena,  M.  with  Chabiessa. 

St.  Gallenia,  Nioeta. 

St.  Gallica,  Jnne  2.  One  of  227 
Roman  martyrs  commemorated  together 
in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Gallicia,  Jnne  3.  Roman  martyr. 
AA.SS. 

Ven.  Galliota,  Jnne  24,  or  Mother 
Gaillotte  de  Gourdon  de  Genouillac  et 
Vaillac  of  Aquitaine.  +1618.  Having 
been  vowed  to  a  religious  life  before  her 
birth,  she  was  brought  up  in  the  convent 
of  Beaulieu,  of  the  Order  of  Hospitallers 
of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  took  the  veil 
at  twelve,  became  assistant  prioress  at 
fifteen,  and  at  sixteen  prioress  of  Fieux, 
a  small  convent  in  the  middle  of  a  wood 
far  from  help  or  society  of  any  kind. 
She  was  obliged  to  return  to  Beaulieu, 
as  it  was  not  thought  proper  that  young 
nuns  should  live  in  such  a  lonely  place. 
She  then  contemplated  entering  the 
Order  of  St.  Clara,  but  was  persuaded  by 
her  directors  to  attempt  instead  the 


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reformation  of  her  own  order,  in  which 
far  too  much  liberty  prevailed,  the  nuns 
receiving  visits  from  secular  persons  of 
either  sex.  Mother  Yaillao,  as  she  was 
now  called,  resided  some  time  with  the 
nuns  of  St  Clara,  at  Tulle,  to  learn  their 
rules,  but  her  health  having  suffered 
from  long  fasts  and  other  austerities,  she 
did  not  live  to  complete  the  attempted 
reform,  which  was  carried  on  by  Mother 
Mirandol  after  the  death  of  Galliota. 
She  died  in  the  odour  of  sanctity,  and 
appears  in  collections  of  founders  and 
reformers.  Helyot,  Part  iii.  chap.  15. 
Jubin,  Fondatrice89  says  that  she  was 
called  Ste.  Anne  in  the  Hospital  of  Beau- 
lieu.  Possibly  she  was  not  simply  Ste. 
Anne,  but  GaUlotte  of  St.  Anne. 

St.  Gallosa,  March  3,  M.  with 
Mabtia  and  others.  AA.SS. 

B.  Galonia,  or  Galonica,  July  24, 
Nicbta. 

B.  Galsonda,  Galsoinda,  or  Gal- 

SONTA,  GALSWINTHA. 

St.  Galswintha,  May  24,  Dec.  26 
^galbsonda,  gal80nta,  gal80inda, 
Galsuinta,  Gachiloswintha,  Gailesu- 

INTHB,  GAU8UENDA,  GeLESWINTHA,  CeLE- 

8WINTHA,  Chilswintha).  +  c.  568. 
Queen  of  the  Franks.  Daughter  of 
Athanagild,  king  of  the  Visigoths  in 
Spain,  and  wife  of  Chilperio  I.,  king  of 
the  Franks,  who  had  married  and  re- 
pudiated B.  Audovera.  His  share  of 
his  father's  kingdom  was  Neustria,  his 
capital  was  Soissons.  With  instincts 
not  a  whit  less  barbarous  than  those  of 
his  father  and  brothers,  ho  had  a  certain 
love  of  Roman  civilization,  and  a 
smattering  of  learning  which  emboldened 
him  to  make  Latin  verses,  and  to  give 
opinions  on  theological  subjects.  He 
and  his  two  elder  brothers  had  an 
infinite  number  of  wives,  and  made  no 
scruple  of  putting  some  away  at  their 
pleasure,  nor  of  taking  others,  whether 
the  former  ones  were  put  away  to  make 
room  for  them  or  not. 

Sigebert,  king  of  Austrasia,  the 
youngest  of  the  four  brothers,  disgusted 
with  the  troops  of  low-born  women  with 
whom  his  brothers  lived,  determined  to 
have  only  one  wife,  and  that  one  a 
princess.  Athanagild  had  two  daughters. 
Brunehault,  the    younger   and  more 


beautiful,  became  the  wife  of  Sigebert  in 
566.  This  marriage,  said  to  have  been 
the  first  solemnized  with  a  religious 
ceremony  in  France,  proved  a  happy  one ; 
and  the  following  year  Chilperic  was 
induced,  by  the  example  and  advice  of 
his  brother,  to  send  an  embassy  to 
Toledo,  to  ask  King  Athanagild  for  his 
elder  daughter  Galswintha.  Athanagild 
consented  on  oondition  that  his  daughter 
should  be  the  only  wife  of  Chilperio, 
which  he  solemnly  promised.  He  settled 
on  his  bride  several  towns  close  to  the 
Pyrenees,  and  in  return  received  with 
her  an  immense  dowry  in  gold  and 
jewels.  Galswintha's  mother,  Goi- 
swintha,  loath  to  part  with  her  child, 
accompanied  her  during  the  first  few 
stages  of  her  journey.  At  every  large 
town  through  which  the  bride  passed 
she  left  at  the  gates  the  lumbering  cart 
in  which  she  travelled,  and  entered  the 
town  in  an  ornamental  chariot  overlaid 
with  silver.  One  of  these  towns  was 
Poitiers,  where,  in  accordance  with  the 
customs  of  the  time,  she  lodged  in  the 
principal  abbey  of  the  place,  hospitably 
entertained  by  St.  Radegund,  her  hus- 
band's stepmother.  She  passed  through 
Tours,  visiting  the  famous  shrine  of  St. 
Martin,  and  on  to  Rouen,  where  the  king 
was  waiting  for  her.  Here  she  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Frankish  warriors  who 
followed  the  standard  of  Chilperio. 
They  stood  in  a  half  circle  and  swore 
fidelity  to  her  as  to  a  king,  then  all 
drawing  their  swords  at  the  same  moment 
and  brandishing  them  over  their  heads, 
invoked  a  heathen  curse  on  whomsoever 
should  break  the  oath  of  allegiance. 
After  this  the  king  solemnly  swore  on 
holy  relics  never  to  divorce  her,  and 
never  to  take  any  other  wife  while  she 
lived.  It  is  supposed  that  she  was  not 
beautiful,  but  she  won  the  favour  of  the 
wedding  guests  and  her  new  subjects  by 
her  gentleness  and  tact.  "Chilperic 
loved  her,"  says  Gregory  of  Tours,  "  with 
the  more  tenderness  that  she  had  brought 
him  great  treasures."  He  was  delighted 
to  have  married  as  good  a  princess  and 
received  as  large  a  dowry  as  his  brother ; 
and  all  went  well  for  a  short  time,  but 
he  was  incapable  of  appreciating  her 
best  qualities,  and  Fredegonda,  who  had 


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ST.  GAMNITE 


been  discarded  with  several  others  to 
make  way  for  Galswintha,  was  still  a 
member  of  his  household.  Pretending 
humble  attachment  to  her  king  and 
master,  she  had  entreated  to  be  kept  at 
the  court  as  a  servant  that  she  might  at 
least  have  the  happiness  of  ministering 
to  his  comfort.  Then  patiently  watching 
Galswintha  as  she  had  watched  Audovera, 
she  became  aware  in  due  time  that 
Chilperic's  love  for  his  new  queen  had 
diminished.  With  little  difficulty  she 
attracted  his  attention,  and  recovered 
her  influence.  Galswintha  at  first  bore 
her  injuries  in  silence,  until,  provoked 
by  the  insolence  of  the  favourite,  she 
complained  to  the  king  of  the  daily 
insults  she  received,  and'  requested  that 
he  would  send  her  back  to  her  own 
country,  offering  as  the  price  of  her 
liberty  to  leave  him  all  her  dowry. 
Ghilperic  did  not  wish  to  provoke  a  war 
with  the  king  of  the  Visigoths,  nor  did 
he  choose  to  part  with  the  wealth  his 
wife  had  brought  him,  and  this  he  knew 
Athanagild  would  demand  whatever  the 
unhappy  princess  might  agree  to,  so  he 
dissembled.  He  tried  to  appease  her, 
and  pretended  to  repent  and  renounce 
Fredegonda.  The  luckless  queen  spoke 
no  more  of  separation.  She  hoped  for  a 
return  of  her  husband's  affection,  but 
very  soon  afterwards  she  was  strangled 
in  her  bed  by  one  of  the  king's  pages. 

A  crystal  lamp  was  hung  over  her 
tomb  on  the  day  of  her  burial.  It  fell 
soon  afterwards  from  its  place  and  pene- 
trated deep  into  the  stone  floor,  as  if  it 
had  fallen  on  a  heap  of  sand,  without 
breaking  the  glass  or  the  fastenings,  or 
extinguishing  the  light  or  spilling  the 
oil.  This  wonderful  occurrence  attracted 
still  more  interest  to  the  ill-fated  young 
princess,  increased  the  general  respect 
for  her  innocence  and  piety,  and  the 
universal  indignation  at  her  murder,  and 
established  a  belief  in  her  miraculous 
sanctity.  Other  miracles  followed.  Al- 
though her  worship  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  sanctioned  throughout  the 
Church,  she  is  commemorated  among  the 
blessed  in  some  calendars  on  May  24, 
in  others  Dec.  26. 

The  king  and  his  mistress  pretended 
to  know  nothing  about  the  circumstances 


of  her  death,  and  after  having  wept  his 
bereavement  for  a  few  days,  Chilperic 
married  Fredegonda. 

The  fiercely  energetic  Brunohault 
probably  had  a  deep  affection  for  her 
gentler  sister.  That  her  brother-in-law 
should  have  a  dozen  wives  or  mistresses 
would  most  likely  have  interested  her 
very  little,  but  that  her  sister's  position 
and  life  should  be  sacrificed  for  any 
woman  was  unpardonable.  She  felt 
bound  in  honour  to  urge  her  husband, 
who  stood  in  the  place  of  next-of-kin  to 
Galswintha,  to  avenge  the  insult  to  her 
family.  Gontram,  though  convinced  of 
the  guilt  of  Chilperic,  attempted  a 
pacification.  Chilperic  was  condemned 
to  give  up  as  were-gild  to  Brunehault 
the  five  cities  he  had  given  to  his  wife. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  war  between  the 
two  kings  as  long  as  they  lived,  for 
although  they  would  perhaps  have  made 
up  their  differences,  the  wife  of  each 
was  the  implacable  enemy  of  the  other. 
The  two  queens  rivalled  each  other  in 
the  atrocity  of  their  crimes,  and  vexed 
France  with  their  outrages  and  their 
vengeances  for  many  years.  At  last, 
having  murdered  her  rival  wives  and 
their  children,  the  two  husbands  of 
Brunehault,  her  own  husband  and  other 
persons,  Fredegonda  died  at  Paris  in  a 
bad  old  age,  597.  Brunehault,  although 
not  without  some  good  qualities,  was 
condemned  when  upwards  of  seventy  to 
a  violent  death.  She  was  tied  by  one 
foot  and  one  arm  to  the  heels  of  an 
unbroken  horse,  and  was  thus  dragged 
and  kicked  to  death. 

Gregory  of  Tours  is  the  chief  authority 
for  these  occurrences,  and  he  is  largely 
quoted  by  all  subsequent  historians. 
The  story  is  told  with  many  details  and 
interesting  sidelights  by  A.  Thierry, 
Temps  Merovingiens  ;  Sismondi,  Hist,  des 
Francois;  Dreux  du  Radier,  Beines  de 
France;  Mariana's  history  of  Spain, 
etc. 

St.  Gamnite,  or  Jamnica.  One  of 
the  martyrs  of  Lyons  who  died  in  prison. 
(See  Blandina.) 

St.  Garimnia,  Feb.  22,  V.  An  old 
Irish  saint,  daughter  of  Congal,  com- 
memorated by  Gorman.  AA.SS. 

B.  Garsenda  d'Alphant,  Nov.  8. 


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+  1320.  3rd  O.S.F.  The  pious 
governess  and  blood  relation  of  St. 
Elzear  de  Sabran.  He  was  so  sensible 
of  the  good  he  owed  her  that  when  he 
and  his  wife,  St.  Delphina,  intended  to 
take  a  solemn  vow  of  celibacy,  he 
requested  Delphina  to  come  to  Naples 
from  their  home  in  Provence  for  the 
ceremony,  and  to  bring  Garsenda,  who 
would  rejoice  at  this  great  step  towards 
the  salvation  of  her  pupil.  She  was  ill 
and  unable  to  come,  so  Elzear  put  off 
the  function,  and  got  leave  from  King 
Robert  to  return  to  Provence  rather  than 
not  have  the  blessing  of  the  holy  woman's 
presence,  and  to  give  her  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  of  the  travail  of  her  soul. 
They  performed  part  of  the  ceremony 
in  the  church  of  Ansois,  and  the  rest  at 
the  foot  of  Garsenda's  sick  bed.  Having 
seen  what  she  most  desired  on  earth,  she 
departed  in  peace  in  a  few  days.  Baillet, 
Vies,  "  Elzear  and  Delphine."  Prayer- 
book  of  3rd  O.S.F. 

St.  Gaubourg,  Walburga. 

St.  Gaudentia  (l),  June  20,  M.  in 
Africa.  Probably  the  same  as  SS.  Gud- 
dene  and  Guddent.  Tillemont,  Hisioire 
Ecclesiastique,  bk.  iii.  Mas  Latrie,  TrSsor 
de  Chronologie. 

St.  Gaudentia  (2),  Aug.  30,  V.  M. 
at  Rome  with  three  others  in  the  time 
of  the  heathen  emperors.  AA.SS. 
R.M. 

St  Gaudiosa,  May  8  (Glandiosa, 
Glaudiosa),  M.  at  Constantinople  with 
St.  Acacius.  (See  St.  Agatha  (2).) 
AA.SS. 

St.  Gaudosa,  May  0,  M.  at  Milan. 

AA.SS. 

St.  Gaudree,  Waldrada. 

St.  Gaulbourg,  Walburga. 

St.  Gauld,  Gudula. 

B-  Gausuenda,  Galswintha. 

St.  Gavina,  May  6,  M.  at  Milan. 
AA.SS.  Guerin. 

St.  Gawdrysyve,  Oct.  14,  Anga- 
dresima  (1),  is  so  called  in  the  Martyr- 
ology  of  Salisbury. 

St.  Gawen,  Cofen. 

St.  Gebetrude,  Sept.  17,  Nov.  7 
(Cebedrude,  Cebetrude,  Gebertrude, 
Gertrude  (3),  Gobebtrude,  perhaps 
Gontrude  (2),  Tecta,  Tetta  (l)).  7th 
century.   Granddaughter  of  St.  Romaric. 


Third  abbess  of  Habend.    Not  to  be 
confounded  with  Gibitrude. 

When  SS.  Amatus  and  Eomaric  had 
built  the  great  double  monastery  of 
Habend,  in  the  Yosges,  St.  Romaric's 
married  daughter  Asselberga,  being  more 
worldly-minded  than  her  sisters,  who 
were  nuns  in  the  new  monastery,  was 
angry  that  her  father  had  given  so  much 
to  the  Church  and  his  new  foundation, 
so  she  sent  her  little  daughter  to  Romaric, 
hoping  he  would  give  the  child  the 
share  of  his  property  he  had  withhold 
from  his  daughter.  The  saint  joyfully 
received  the  present  of  a  little  grand- 
daughter, christened  her  either  Gebe- 
trude, Tetta,  Tecta,  or  Gertrude,  and 
gave  her  to  the  nuns  to  bring  up. 
Asselberga,  having  gained  nothing  by 
sending  her  daughter,  next  sent  her  son 
to  his  grandfather,  who  gladly  kept  him 
also.  St.  Amatus  was  his  godfather,  and 
the  two  holy  founders  called  him 
Adelphius,or  Aliphius ;  these  two  grand- 
children of  St.  Romaric  grew  up  saints 
in  the  monastery.  Adelphius  succeeded 
his  grandfather  as  third  abbot  of  the 
male  side  of  the  house,  and  Gebetrude 
succeeded  her  aunt,  St.  Gegoberga,  as 
third  abbess  of  the  nuns. 

In  670  Adelphius  went  to  the  monas- 
tery of  Luxeuil,  to  which  Habend  was 
subject,  and  there  died.  He  was  brought 
back  to  be  buried  in  his  own  church,  and 
his  sister  Gebetrude,  at  the  head  of  all 
his  monks  and  all  her  nuns,  came  out 
with  music  and  candles  and  crosses 
to  meet  the  funeral  procession.  St. 
Adelphius  was  laid  in  the  church,  and 
the  mass  was  solemnized.  When  the 
psalm  for  the  dead  was  being  sung,  the 
dead  abbot  joined  distinctly  in  the  sing- 
ing, and  a  pious  priest,  who  was  watch- 
ing by  the  bier,  saw  him  raise  his  hand 
and  make  the  sign  of  the  cross.  He 
called  on  God  and  St.  Peter  to  wit- 
ness the  truth  of  his  statement.  St. 
Gebetrude  ordered  the  account  of 
these  wonderful  circumstances  to  be 
written. 

The  lives  of  St.  Amatus,  St.  Romaric, 
and  St.  Adelphius  are  to  be  found  in 
the  AA.SS.,  and  in  the  AA.SS.  O.S.B. 
The  relationships  of  the  saints  to  each 
other  are  not  distinctly  stated  in  the 


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ST.  GEGOBERGA 


contemporary  accounts,  but  are  matter  of 
tradition.    (See  Macteflede.) 

St.  Gegoberga,  Aug.  12  (Gertrude 
(2),  Segoberga,  Segererge,  Cecilia, 
Clara  (1)).  -f  middle  of  7th  century. 
Second  abbess  of  Habend.  She  succeeded 
St.  Mactaflede  about  620,  ruled  for 
thirty  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  her 
niece,  St.  Gebetrude.  Tradition  says 
Gegoberga  was  one  of  three  daughters 
of  St.  Ko marie ;  the  others  were  Adzal- 
trude,  a  nun  with  Gegoberga,  and  Assel- 
berga,  mother  of  St.  Gebetrude.  Gego- 
berga either  took  the  name  of  Cecilia 
when  she  became  a  nun,  or  was  so  called 
because  much  weeping  had  made  her 
blind.  She  was  called  Clara  after  her 
death  on  account  of  the  numerous  cures 
wrought  at  her  tomb,  especially  of  blind- 
ness and  diseases  of  the  eye.  All  that 
is  certain  about  her  is  known  from  the 
life  of  St.  Eomaric,  which  was  dedicated 
to  her  in  653,  and  is  given  by  Mabillon, 
AA.SS.  O.S.B.,  with  commentaries  and 
notes. 

St.  Gehulf,  honoured  at  Mainz,  is 
probably  Wilgefortis.  Eckenstein, 
Woman  under  Monastictsm. 

St.  Gelasia,  V.,  on  whose  wrath  the 
sun  never  went  down,  was  a  disciple  of 
St.  Candia  (10\  and  survived  her.  Sylva 
Anachoretica,  from  Palladius. 

B.  Geleswintha,  Galswintha. 

St.  Gelonica,  Niceta. 

St.  Geltrude,  Gertrude. 

St.  Gemella.  Feb.  15,  M.  in  Syria 
with  Castula  (14)  and  many  others. 
Mentioned  in  Jerome's  Martyrology. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Gemelliana  (l),  Feb.  24,  M. 
One  of  a  great  number  of  Christians  put 
to  death  at  Nicomedia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Gemelliana  (2),  Germilina. 

St.  Gemellina  (1,  2,  3),  June  1. 
Three  martyrs  of  this  name  are  com- 
memorated with  St.  Aucega. 

St.  Gemellina  (4),  Germilina. 

St.  Gemilliana,  Germilina. 

St.  Gemina  (l),  June  1,  M.  with 
St  A.UCEOA 

St.  Gemina  (2),  April  20,  M.  in 
Africa.  Guerin. 

St.  Gemivera,  Nov.  1.  AAJ3S. 

St.  Gemma  (1),  April  20,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 


St.  Gemma  (2),  May  16,  V.  M. 
c.  138.  AA.SS. 

St.  Gemma  (3),  June.  20,  V.  M. 
Perhaps  10th  century,  or  earlier.  In 
Saussaye's  Oallican  Martyrology  she  is 
said  to  have  been  a  beautiful  young  girl 
dedicated  to  God  from  her  childhood. 
Her  father  insisted  on  her  marrying  a 
young  nobleman,  and  having  vainly  tried 
all  means  to  tempt  her  to  consent,  he  at 
last  treated  her  with  such  cruelty  that 
she  died  of  the  wounds  and  blows  in* 
flicted  on  her.  She  is  honoured  at 
Saintes.  Guy,  duke  of  Aquitaine  and 
count  of  Poitiers,  in  the  middle  of  the 
11th  century,  built  a  monastery  in  her 
honour  at  Casa  Dei,  in  the  diocese  of 
Auvergne.  Henschenius  does  not  con- 
sider the  legend  well  authenticated,  and 
says  that  some  people  suspect  the  name 
Gemma  to  be  a  corruption  of  James, 
and  that  the  person  who  is  worshipped 
under  the  name  of  St.  Gemma  in  so 
many  places  in  France,  is  no  other  than 
St.  James  the  Greater,  who  is  called 
Iago  and  Diego  in  Spain,  and  in  some 
parts  of  France  Sint  Jeme.  AA.SS. 

B.  Gemma  (4),  May  12,  V.  +  1421>. 
Becluse  near  Sulmona,  in  the  Abruzzi. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  a  peasant  whose 
only  worldly  wealth  consisted  of  a  few 
sheep  and  goats.  They  lived  at  Goriani 
Sicoli,  near  the  Lake  of  Fucino.  When 
Gemma  was  twelve  years  old,  the  lord  of 
the  place,  supposed  to  be  Count  Boger  of 
Celano,  had  her  carried  oflf  by  his  ser- 
vants. She  persuaded  him  to  preserve 
her  unharmed,  and  to  build  her  a  cell 
close  to  the  church  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  with  a  grated  window  looking 
into  the  church.  Here  she  lived  on 
alms  for  forty-two  years.  At  the  age  of 
fifty-four  she  was  seized  with  a  mortal 
disease,  asked  to  have  the  last  sacraments, 
and  happily  departed.  The  bells  of  the 
church  rang  as  for  a  funeral,  although 
they  were  moved  by  no  human  hand. 
AA.SS. 

B.  Gemma  (5),  April  24,  was  of 
noble  family.  +  1435.  She  married 
Francesco  Figliuoli  of  Sulmona,  and  had 
two  daughters,  Margaret  and  Clara,  great 
servants  of  God.  When  she  became  a 
widow,  she  followed  the  example  of  her 
nephew,  Fra  Benedetto,  a  monk  of  the 


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ST.  GENEVIEVE 


335 


Order  of  St.  Augustine,  in  Sulmona,  and 
took  the  veil  in  the  same  order  and  in 
the  same  place,  in  company  with  her 
daughter  Clara  and  her  niece  Lisa. 
Troubles  arising  in  Sulmona  (see  B.  Alex- 
andria), Gemma,  with  her  daughters 
and  niece,  was  obliged  to  go  to  Foligno, 
where,  in  July,  1425,  the  bishops  and 
lords  gave  her  the  deserted  monastery 
and  church  of  St.  Lucy,  formerly  occu- 
pied, for  about  one  hundred  years,  by 
virgins  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augustine. 
The  monastery  required  repairs,  and 
Conrad  Trinci,  lord  of  the  city,  gave 
the  nuns  a  garden  and  tower  close  by,  to 
be  enclosed  within  the  convent  wall, 
which  was  done  as  quickly  as  possible. 
For  about  two  months  during  the  build- 
ing the  nuns  were  hospitably  received 
by  B.  Angelina  di  Corbara,  in  the  con- 
vent of  St.  Anna  of  the  Third  Order  of 
St.  Francis.  Then  Gemma  and  her 
friends  went  to  their  own  convent,  and 
all  took  the  habit  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Clara.  Gemma  grew  old  in  her  own 
convent.  She  would  never  be  abbess, 
but  in  great  humility  obeyed  her  own 
daughters  and  nieces,  teaching  and  help- 
ing all  with  equal  affection  and  charity. 
Jacobilli,  Vite  de1  Santi  di  Foligno  and 
Santi  delV  Umbria,  and  his  Lives  of  cer- 
tain blessed  members  of  the  family  of 
Letto,  to  whom  Gemma  belonged  or  was 
related.  The  Bollandists  place  Gemma 
among  the  Prsetermim. 

St.  Generosa  (1),  patron  of  Porent- 
ruy,  where  her  relics  are  kept.  One  of 
the  catacombs  is  called  by  her  name ;  it 
is  on  the  Via  Portense,  near  that  of 
St.  Pontian.    Martyrum  Acta.  Cahier. 

St.  Generosa  (2),  July  17,  one  of 
the  Scillitan  martyrs.  R.M.  (See  Janu- 
aria  (1).) 

St.  Generosa  (3),  July  18,  M.  in 
Africa,  is  probably  the  same  as  Gene- 
rosa (2).  AA.SS. 

St.  Generosa  (4),  or  Gennosa, 
April  27,  M.  at  Antioch.  AA.SS. 

St.  Generosa  (5),  June  2,  one  of 
227  Roman  martyrs.  AA.SS. 

St.  Genesia  (l),  June  8,  V.  M. 
Honoured  at  Cherium,  a  town  six  or  seven 
miles  from  Turin,  where  her  relics  were 
discovered  in  a  wonderful  manner.  A 
ploughman,  pursuing  his  toil  in  a  field 


between  Cherium  and  Undeseno,  was 
surprised  by  seeing  the  oxen  kneel  down. 
After  careful  search  it  was  found  that 
they  did  so  in  veneration  of  a  buried 
sarcophagus,  which  contained  the  relics 
of  the  above-named  saint  and  those  of 
SS.  Julian  and  Basilissa.  They  re- 
ceived the  usual  honours,  and  the  bones 
of  Genesa  were  found  useful  in  procur- 
ing fine  weather.  AA.SS. 

St.  Genesia  (2)  left  her  home  at 
Micena,  a  ruined  town  of  Argolis,  with 
her  son,  St.  Gonez  (Genesius),  to  escape 
the  persecution  raised  by  the  Pro-consul 
of  Achaia.  St.  Genez  was  baptized  at 
Aries,  by  St.  Trophimus.  Shortly  after- 
wards he  was  beheaded  at  Thiers,  in  the 
year  68,  being  eighteen  years  old.  His 
day  is  Oct.  28  in  the  Martyrology  of 
France.    Guerin,  P.B. 

St.  Genetrude  ( 1 ),  of  Aachen,  April  1 , 
is  said  in  an  old  MS.  to  have  died  on 
this  day.  Nothing  further  known  to 
Henschenius.  AA.SS. 

St  Genetrude  (2),  Dec.  2,  appears 
this  day  among  English  virgin  saints  in 
an  ancient  Litany.    Ancient  Brit.  Piety. 

St.  Genevifeve  (l),  Jan.  3  (Geno- 
veva,  Gerveve),  Y.  of  Paris.  421-c. 
501.  Patron  of  France  and  of  Paris, 
Nanterre,  Puisieux,  Kosny,  near.  Vin- 
cennes,  of  fields  and  harvests,  and  against 
fever.  Represented  (1)  holding  a  spade  ; 
(2)  with  keys,  because  the  gates  of  Paris 
opened  to  her  when  locked  by  order  of 
Childeric,  and  because  she  prevented  the 
Parisians  from  forsaking  the  city  when 
threatened  by  Attila ;  (3)  with  a  candle 
in  one  hand,  keys  in  the  other,  the  devil 
with  bellows  in  hand  crouching  near 
her. 

One  night,  after  the  departure  of 
Attila  from  Paris,  St.  Genevieve  went  to 
the  cathedral  with  one  candle  to  guide 
her.  She  let  herself  in  with  the  key, 
and  went  to  the  altar  to  pray.  The 
devil  blew  out  her  candle,  thinking  she 
would  be  too  frightened  to  go  on  with 
her  devotions,  but  she  knelt  down  and 
prayed  undisturbed  by  his  interference. 
Suddenly  all  the  lamps  in  the  church 
began  burning,  and  the  devil  fled. 

St.  Genevieve  was  born  at  Nanterre, 
near  Paris,  and  was  the  daughter  of 
peasants,  Severus  and  Gerontia.  She 


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ST.  GENEVIEVE 


was  early  remarkable  for  her  piety  and 
modesty,  and  was  encouraged  therein 
by  St.  Germain  and  St.  Lonp,  who  first 
saw  her  when  on  their  way  to  root  out 
the  Pelagian  heresy  in  Britain.  St.  Ger- 
main counselled  her  to  make  a  vow  of 
virginity,  and  gave  her  a  little  coin  with 
a  cross  on  it,  charging  her  to  wear  it 
always,  and  no  other  ornament,  "Lest," 
said  he,  "  by  thinking  too  much  of  even 
the  least  ornament  of  this  world,  you 
should  miss  those  which  are  eternal." 
Soon  after  the  visit  of  the  saints,  Gene- 
vieve one  day  insisted  on  going  to  church 
instead  of  feeding  her  father's  goats. 
Gerontia,  exasperated  by  her  obstinacy, 
struck  her,  and  was  herself  instantly 
stricken  blind.  Genevieve  dutifully 
attended  her  mother  for  some  years, 
and  finally  her  restoration  to  sight  was 
granted  miraculously  to  the  prayers  of 
the  young  saint. 

At  the  death  of  her  parents  she  went 
to  live  in  Paris  with  her  godmother,  and 
was  there  the  subject  of  calumny  and 
jealousy.  At  the  age  of  thirty. one  she 
founded  the  Priory  of  St.  Denis — now 
called  Les  Haudriettes — that  other  young 
women  like  herself  might  have  a  refuge 
from  the  persecutions  and  seductions  of 
the  world.  She  wrought  a  miracle  to 
save  her  first  nun,  St.  Cilinia  (1),  from 
the  pursuit  of  a  lover. 

About  452,  Attila,  king  of  the  Huns, 
surnamed  "  the  Scourge  of  God,"  in- 
vaded France,  and  threatened  to  besiege 
Paris.  The  principal  inhabitants  pre- 
pared to  leave  the  city,  but  Genevieve 
entreated  them  not  to  do  so,  and,  in 
spite  of  much  opposition,  persuaded  the 
ladies  of  Paris  to  resort  to  the  churches 
and  spend  the  time  in  prayer,  vigils, 
and  fasting.  Attila  not  only  renounced 
his  plan  of  laying  siege  to  Paris,  but 
sustained  a  complete  defeat  from  the 
combined  armies  of  the  Romans,  Franks, 
and  Goths. 

Merovee,  king  of  the  Franks,  and  his 
son  Childeric,  soon  afterwards  besieged 
and  took  Paris.  St.  Genevieve,  who  was 
then  at  Troyes,  succeeded  in  taking 
provisions  to  the  famished  Parisians 
during  the  siege.  She  was  treated  with 
great  respect  and  consideration  by  the 
conquerors. 


It  is  related  that  several  persons 
being  condemned  to  death,  Childeric, 
fearing  the  influence  of  St.  Genevieve, 
went  out  of  the  city,  and  had  the  gates 
locked  and  guarded  to  prevent  her 
coming  to  intercede  for  the  prisoners. 
On  her  approach,  however,  the  gates 
opened  of  themselves,  which  fact  in- 
creased Child  eric's  respect  for  her, 
although  he  was  not  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity. Genevieve  became  the  friend 
of  his  son  Clovis,  also  of  St.  Clotilda 
his  wife,  who  erected  a  church  to  her 
memory. 

St.  Simon  Stylites  once  sent  to  ask 
Genevieve  to  pray  for  him. 

Many  miracles  are  recorded  of  her. 
When  the  workmen  were  building  her 
church  in  honour  of  St.  Denis,  they 
wanted  wine.  Genevieve  sent  for  the 
empty  cup,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross 
over  it,  and  it  was  full.  She  restored  to 
life  a  child  who  was  drowned,  and  to 
sight  a  man  who  was  struck  blind  for 
working  on  Sunday. 

Soon  after  her  death  she  was  chosen 
patron  saint  of  Paris.  In  1129  there 
was  a  plague  in  Paris,  called  the  holy 
fire,  of  which  numbers  died.  The  bones 
of  the  saint  were  taken  up  and  carried 
in  procession  to  the  principal  church  of 
the  city.  No  sooner  had  they  arrived 
at  the  gate  than  all  the  sick  were  made 
well  except  three,  who  perhaps  had  not 
sufficient  faith.  The  chapel  of  Ste. 
Genevieve  des  Ardens,  built  to  com- 
memorate this  miraculous  cure,  was 
demolished  in  1747. 

B.M.  AA.SS.  Baillet.  Lemaire,  Vie 
de  Ste.  Genevieve.    Ott,  Die  LSgende. 

St.  Genevieve  (2),  or  Genovepa,  of 
Brabant,  countess  palatine,  April  2. 
+  about  1100. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  among 
the  great  lords  at  the  court  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Treves  a  noble  palatine  called 
Sigfried,  "  the  good  Christian,"  who  had 
married  a  lady  of  royal  blood,  daughter 
of  the  Duke  of  Brabant ;  her  name  was 
Genevieve.  She  was  very  pretty  and 
very  good.  When  he  was  setting  off  to 
the  crusades,  he  placed  her  in  the  Castle 
of  Symern,  near  Mayence,  assembled  his 
friends  and  vassals,  and  asked  them  to 
whom  he  should  entrust  the  care  of  his 


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337 


lands  and  subjects  until  his  return. 
They  all  voted  for  Golo.  As  the  gallant 
Sigfried  rode  away,  he  lifted  up  his 
heart  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  heaven, 
and  said,  "  O  Madame  Marie,  I  confide 
my  wife  to  you." 

The  devil  entered  into  Golo,  and 
inspired  him  with  a  criminal  passion  for 
the  countess,  and  after  her  husband  had 
been  gone  some  time,  he  made  up  a 
story  that  he  had  perished  in  a  ship- 
wreck, and  tried  to  console  her  by  offer- 
ing his  own  love.  Genevieve  received  his 
suit  with  disdain.  Moreover,  the  Virgin 
Mary,  to  whom  Sigfried  had  entrusted 
her,  appeared  in  a  dream  to  the  good 
countess,  and  told  her  her  husband  was 
not  dead,  and  would  return.  One  day, 
when  Golo  pressed  his  suit  with  unusual 
insolence,  she  struck  him  in  the  face. 
He  now  saw  his  love  was  hopeless,  and 
determined  to  take  vengeance  on  her. 
So,  although  her  confinement  was  im- 
minent, he  took  away  all  her  ladies  and 
maids,  and  all  her  pages,  and  shut  her 
up  with  no  attendant  but  a  wicked  old 
woman  who  was  in  his  pay.  Poor 
Genevieve,  deprived  of  all  human  con- 
solation, and  not  knowing  whether  her 
husband  would  ever  come  home,  gave 
birth  to  a  son,  and  called  him  Tristram. 
One  of  her  faithful  servants  managed  to 
convey  to  her  the  intelligence  that  the 
count  palatine  was  on  his  way  home. 
She  was  very  glad,  and  did  not  conceal 
her  joy  from  her  faithless  custodian. 
Golo  was  now  in  a  great  fright ;  ho  went 
out  and  walked  about  the  hills  in  despe- 
ration. There  the  devil  sent  him  an 
accomplice. 

"What's  the  matter,"  said  the  old 
woman,  "  that  you  look  so  sad  and  so 
scared?" 

He  told  her  his  trouble,  and  she 
began  counting  on  her  fingers,  and  said, 
"  It's  true  our  lady  has  a  child ;  but 
who's  to  know  who  its  father  is  ?  The 
count  did  not  expect  an  heir  when  he 
went  away.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to 
make  him  believe  that  she  has  a  lover." 

"Nonsense,"  said  the  wicked  man, 
beginning  to  feel  a  faint  flutter  of  hope. 
"  She  has  had  no  visitors ;  no  one  will 
believe  it." 

"  Visitors,  indeed  !    How  stupid  men 


are!  Say  it's  the  cook.  Go  to  meet 
your  master,  and  have  the  first  word 
with  him." 

So  Golo  went  and  met  his  master,  and 
told  him  the  story  he  and  the  woman 
had  invented;  and  the  result  was  that 
the  miserable  count  ordered  some  of  his 
men  to  take  the  countess  and  her  baby 
into  the  forest  and  there  kill  them. 
The  ruffians  were  touched  by  her  youth 
and  misfortune,  and  her  protestations  of 
innocence,  and  on  her  promising  not  to 
betray  them  by  leaving  the  forest  and 
reappearing  in  the  town,  they  liberated 
her ;  but,  to  persuade  their  master  that 
he  had  been  obeyed,  they  killed  a  dog, 
and  brought  its  tongue  and  a  cloth 
stained  with  a  great  deal  of  blood,  as 
evidences  of  the  murder.  The  poor  ill- 
used  mother  had  no  milk  to  give  to  the 
baby ;  but  a  white  doe  came  running 
by,  and  she  called  it,  and  it  came  and 
lay  down  for  the  baby  to  suck  as  if  he 
had  been  its  own  fawn.  It  stayed  with 
them,  and  fed  the  baby  as  long  as  he 
wanted  it.  Genevieve  made  a  hut  of 
branches,  and  there  she  and  little  Tris- 
tram lived  for  six  years  and  three 
months,  during  which  time  all  Gene- 
vieve's clothes  wore  out.  At  last  it 
came  to  pass  that  Count  Sigfried  invited 
all  his  vassals  and  many  knights  and 
nobles  to  keep  the  feast  of  Epiphany 
with  great  splendour  and  rejoicing. 
They  assembled  in  the  town  some  days 
before,  and  to  keep  them  amused,  a 
hunting  party  was  organized.  They  had 
scarcely  arrived  in  the  forest  when  they 
started  Genevieve's  white  doe,  which  ran 
to  its  mistress  for  protection.  The  dogs 
were  close  behind  it,  and  Genevieve 
tried  to  beat  them  off  with  a  stick.  The 
hunters  arrived,  and  found  a  naked 
woman  defending  their  quarry  against 
the  pack.  Count  Sigfried  was  among 
the  foremost,  and  gave  his  cloak  to  the 
woman.  No  sooner  had  she  a  garment 
on  her  than  she  began  to  look  like  her- 
self, and  one  of  the  servants  exclaimed, 
"  By  all  the  saints,  I  believe  this  is  our 
good  countess,  whom  God  has  preserved 
because  she  was  innocent ! "  It  was  soon 
remembered  that  she  had  a  mark  on 
her  face ;  and  there  it  was,  to  help 
to  identify  her.     Then  her  husband 

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B.  GENNAIA 


recognized  her  wedding-ring,  and  ques- 
tions were  asked  and  answered.  Golo 
now  arrived.  A  full  explanation  resulted, 
and  he  was  condemned  on  the  spot  to 
the  death  his  crimes  deserved.  Sigfried 
in  great  grief  was  eager  to  restore  his 
wife  to  her  proper  station,  and  atone  for 
his  cruelty.  But  Genevieve  would  not 
stir  from  the  spot  until  it  had  been  con- 
secrated to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary; 
so  they  sent  in  all  haste  for  the  arch- 
bishop, and  as  soon  as  possible  they 
built  a  chapel  there. 

They  tried  to  restore  her  to  health 
and  strength  with  good  food,  but  she 
would  eat  nothing  but  raw  vegetables, 
such  as  she  had  lived  on  all  these  years. 
She  lived  till  April  2,  and  then  she  died, 
and  was  buried  at  the  new  chapel,  where 
two  miracles  on  the  day  of  its  consecra- 
tion attested  the  sanctity  of  the  long- 
suffering  Genevieve. 

Sigfried  built  a  monastery  at  the 
place,  which  was  called  "Our  Lady's 
Mount;"  and  there,  in  1113,  he  and  his 
son  Tristram  took  the  monastic  habit. 
While  the  ceremony  of  their  profession 
was  going  on,  one  of  the  priests  chanted 
"  Sancta  Geneveva,  ora  pro  nobis."  This 
was  taken  as  an  inspiration  and  a  proof 
of  her  holiness,  which  was  further 
attested  by  miracles. 

Le  Mire,  Fasti,  is  the  first  to  call  her 
"Blessed."  Migne,  Die.  des  Legendes. 
The  story  is  told  with  many  amplifica- 
tions and  variations  by  many  writers, 
and  in  different  collections  of  legends. 
A  Life  of  her  was  written  by  Matthew 
Emich,  of  Boppard,  in  1472,  and  this 
work  is  the  foundation  of  all  the  others ; 
but  the  whole  account  is  said  to  be  built 
on  the  true  story  of  B.  Mary  op  Bra- 
bant. Ram,  Hagivlogie  Nationale  de 
Belgique.  Guen6bault,  Die.  (Tlcono- 
graphie.  Molanus.  Cahier  says  Gene- 
vieve has  no  business  among  the  saints. 
Local  belief  has  it  that  she  is  still  sitting 
spinning  behind  the  altar  in  the  church 
of  Frauenkirchen,  on  the  site  of  the 
famous  Abbey  of  Lach,  and  that  the 
hum  of  her  wheel  is  heard  there. 
Eckenstein. 

B.  Gennaia,  or  Januaria  (31),  Jan. 
17,  V.  +  121)3.  Married  to  B.  Sper- 
andeo,  or  Sperandio  dei  Sperandei,  of 


Gubbio.  In  1250  they  separated  from 
religious  motives.  He  became  a  monk 
in  the  Benedictine  monastery  of  St. 
Peter,  at  Gubbio,  where  he  died  abbot, 
Jan.  15,  1260.  Meantime,  Gennaia,  in 
1250,  took  the  veil  in  the  monastery 
of  St.  Mary,  O.S.A.,  commonly  called 
Paradiso,  outside  the  walls  of  Gubbio. 
Nearly  a  hundred  years  afterwards  the 
nuns  of  that  house  removed  into  the 
new  convent  of  Santo  Spirito,  inside 
the  town ;  and  thither,  in  1482,  by  order 
of  Pope  Sixtus  IV.,  the  bodies  of  BB. 
Gennaia,  Agatha  (7),  and  Cecilia  of 
the  same  order,  were  translated  with 
great  devotion.  Jaoobilli. 

St.  Gennosa,  Generosa. 

B.  Genoise,  Genovese. 

St.  Genovefa,  Genevieve  (2). 

B.  Genovese,  of  Sienna,  Dec.  23. 
+  1287.  O.S.D.  Bepresented  con- 
versing with  her  guardian  angel.  Her 
name  is  forgotten.  She  was  called 
Genovese,  the  Genoese,  because  her 
father  came  from  Genoa.  She  was  a 
young  widow,  and  her  mother  ill  treated 
her,  because  she  persisted  in  not  marry- 
ing again.  She  was  a  friend  and  com- 
panion of  B.  Nbra  Tolombi,  and  the 
only  person  who  knew  how  rough  Nera's 
hair  shirt  was.  Mentioned  by  Pio  and 
Kazzi  in  their  histories  of  Dominican 
Saints,  and  by  Guerin,  who  calls  her 
Genoise. 

St.  Gentiana,  Sept.  11.  Supposed 
same  as  St.  Yinciana,  sister  of  St.  Lan- 
doaid.  AA.SS. 

B.  Gentile,  Jan.  28.  Born  at 
Bavenna,  1471.  +  Jan.  28,  1530.  Joint 
founder  with  B.  Margaret  of  Bavenna 
(whose  disciple  she  was)  and  Father 
Jerome  Maluselli,  of  the  Order  of  the 
Good  Jesus.  Gentile  was  the  daughter 
of  Domenica  and  a  goldsmith  named 
Thomas  Giusti.  She  married  a  Venetian 
tailor,  named  James  Pianella,  who  treated 
her  very  unkindly.  He  mistook  her 
abstraction  from  earthly  things  for  dis- 
like to  himself,  or  love  of  some  other 
man;  he  kept  her  up  sewing  for  him 
the  greater  part  of  the  night,  and  gave 
her  unkind  words,  and  sometimes  blows. 
He  denounced  her  as  a  sorceress,  and 
when  she  was  cleared  of  that  accusation, 
he  deserted  her  in  a  time  of  famine, 


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B.  GERARDESCA 


339 


leaving  her  to  starve.  After  a  few  years  tity,  she  rejected  them  all.     As  her 

he  returned  repentant,  was  converted  by  neighbours  were  carrying  her  to  the 

her  prayers  and  example,  and  led  a  most  basilica  to  be  buried,  an  innumerable 

exemplary  life.    Some  years  afterwards,  flock  of  white  doves  flew  round  and 

when  she  was  a  widow,  she  converted  round  the  funeral  procession.  When 

Jerome  Maluselli,  a  great  scamp,  who  they  arrived  in  the  church,  the  doves 

was  persuaded  by  his  sister  to  visit  alighted  on  the  roof.     After  Georgia 

Gentile.    He  became  as  eminent  for  his  was  buried,  they  flew  away  to  heaven, 

piety  as  he  had  formerly  been  for  his  She  is  mentioned  by  Gregory  of  Tours, 

licentiousness,  and  assisted  in  organ-  B.M.  AA.SS. 

izing  the  Society  of  the  Good  Jesus.       B.  Gerardesca,  of  Pisa,  May  29. 
She  had  a  son  named  Leo,  a  priest,  who  +  1240.  Of  the  Third  Order  of  Carnal- 
lived  with  her,  as  did  a  pious  woman  doli.    She  was  of  the  family  of  the 
related  to  them,  and  latterly  Maluselli  counts  of  La  Gherardesca,  was  piously 
also.    In  the  time  of  the  plague  they  educated  in  a  convent,  married  young, 
were  banished  from  Ravenna  on  an  but  had  no   children.     Her  mother 
accusation  of  superstition,  but  after-  prayed  that  Gerardesca  might  be  blessed 
wards  the  holiness  of  Gentile  was  so  with  a  child.    The  Lord  appeared  to 
well  established,  that  the  Pope  gave  her  her  in  her  sleep,  and  said,  "  As  you 
leave  to  have  mass  celebrated  in  her  desire  that  your  child  should  have 
own  room,  as  her  increasing  infirmities  children,  in  order  that  your  devout 
prevented  her  from  going  to  church,  petition  should  be  fulfilled,  I  offer  her 
On  the  death  of  Leo,  1528,  she  adopted  John  the  Evangelist  for  a  son ; "  and 
Maluselli  as  her  son,  and  left  him  all  the  Lord  gave  her  in  the  same  hour, 
her  property,  including  a  house  which  sage  and  cypress  and  rosemary.  When 
she  charged  him  to  turn  into  a  church,  the  mother  awoke,  she  went  to  her 
assuring  him  that  although  ho  had  not  neighbours  to  tell  them  her  dream, 
the  funds  necessary  to  do  so,  God  would  carrying  the  herbs  in  her  hands  to  show 
raise  up  well-disposed  persons,  who  to  them.    She  was  punished  for  her 
would  contribute  by  their  alms  to  the  pride  by  having  her  hands  and  arms 
good  work,  and  so  it  proved.    Seven  covered  with  ulcers    for  two  years, 
years  after  her  death,  Pope  Paul  III.  When  Gerardesca  heard  of  her  mother's 
sent  commissioners  to  Ravenna,  at  the  vision,  she  tried  to  persuade  her  husband 
request  of  Margaret  Palceologus,  duchess  to  renounce  the  world,  and  spend  the 
of  Mantua,  to  inquire  concerning  the    rest  of  their  lives  in  devotion  in  some 
miracles  of  BB.  Margaret  and  Gentile,    convent.    As  soon  as  he  consented,  she, 
with  a  view  to  their  canonization.  Some    fearing  he  might  change  his  mind  if 
years  later  he  approved  the  Order  of    she  gave  him  time,  hastened  to  the 
the  Good  Jesus,  which  followed  the  rule    Abbot  of  St.  .Salvino,  who  was  related 
of  St.  Augustine,  and  was  protected  by    to  her.    From  him  they  both  received 
the  princes  of  the  house  of  Gonzaga    the  religious  habit,  and  the  good  abbot, 
on  account  of  their  devotion  to  BB.    who  had  always  loved  them,  now  looked 
Margaret  and  Gentile.  It  was,  however,    upon  them  as  his  own  children.  Gerar- 
suppressed  by  Innocent  X.  in  1651,  at    desca  had  a  little  cell  outside  the 
which  date  it  is  said  it  had  only  ten    monastery,  while  her  husband  became 
members.    (See  B.  Maroabet  of  Ra-    one  of  the  monks.    As  long  as  she  lived 
vknn a  for  further  particulars.)    Helyot,    in  the  world  she  never  seemed  happy, 
Ordre8  Nona8tique8.    Ferrari  us  and  Fir-    but  now  that  she  had  adopted  a  religious 
man,    her   biographers,   call    Gentile    life,  she  always  appeared  radiant  with 
"  Blessed."    Bollandus,  AA.SS.,  calls    joy.    One  day,  while  praying  in  the 
her  "  Venerable."  garden  in  order  to  leave  her  cell  to  her 
St.  Georgia,  Feb.  15,  V.,  at  Cler-    mother,  who  was  visiting  her,  she  was 
mont,  in  France.     End  of  5th  or  be-    knocked  down  by  a  golden  eagle.  A 
ginning  of  6th  century.    She  had  many    few  days  afterwards  it  returned  with  a 
suitors,  but  as  she  had  a  vow  of  chas-    golden  throne  on  its  back.    Christ  came 


340 


ST.  GERASINE 


and  sat  on  the  throne,  and  with  Him 
came  His  mother  and  St.  John  the 
Evangelist.  This  and  many  other  visions 
are  detailed,  with  her  miracles,  etc.,  in 
her  Life  given  by  Fapebroch,  in  AA.SS., 
from  an  old  incomplete  MS.  in  the 
convent  of  San  Silvestro,  at  Pisa.  Her 
immemorial  worship  was  confirmed  by 
Pius  IX.  in  1857.  Civilta  Gattolica,  viii. 
2:J7,  Oct.  17,  1857. 

St.  Gerasine,  Feb.  12.  Queen  of 
Sicily,  honoured  at  Treves.  Sister  of 
St.  Daria,  mother  of  St.  Ursula. 
Gerasine  "made  of  her  husband  that 
was  a  cruel  tyrant,  a  meek  lamb."  She 
went  with  her  niece  on  her  pilgrimage, 
accompanied  by  her  four  daughters, 
Babylla,  Julia,  Victoria,  and  Aurea 
(6),  and  her  little  son  Adrian.  They 
were  all  murdered  by  the  Huns.  Golden 
Legend.  Leggendario. 

St.  Gerberg  (l),  or  Gkrburg,  July 
24.  +  883  or  884.  Second  abbess  of 
Gandersheim,  in  Saxony.  She  succeeded 
her  sister,  St.  Hadumada.  Leibnitz, 
Scriptores.    Bucelinus.  Guerin. 

St.  Gerberg  (2),  or  Gerbkrta,  Dec. 
1 9.  Mother  of  St.  Adelaide,  of  Willich. 
Latter  part  of  the  10th  century,  and 
perhaps  the  beginning  of  the  11th. 
Daughter  of  Godfrey,  duke  of  Gueldres. 
Wife  of  St.  Megengoz  (Deo.  19),  count 
of  Gueldres.  They  had  a  son,  Godfrey, 
who  was  killed  fighting  in  the  em- 
peror's wars  in  Bohemia.  His  body  was 
brought  home.  To  lay  his  ghost  and 
get  him  to  heaven,  his  pious  parents 
gave  all  his  inheritance  to  religious 
uses,  and  made  God  their  heir.  They 
built  a  church  and  double  monastery  at 
Willich,  near  Bonn.  St.  Adelaide  was 
the  first  abbess;  her  mother  became  a 
nun  under  her,  and  was  buried  at  Willich. 
Le  Mire,  Fasti. 

St.  Gerberta,  Gerberg  (2). 

St.  Geria,  Cyria,  of  Aquileia. 

St.  Germaine,  Germana. 

St.  Germana  (1),  April  27,  M.  at 
Nicomedia,  in  Bithynia. 

St.  Germana  (2),  Jan.  19,  M.  in 
Africa  with  more  than  six  hundred  others. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Germana  (3),  Grimonia. 
St.  Germana  (4).   (See  Sila.) 
St.  Germana  (5),  Oct.  l,  V.  -M. 


Probably  5  th  century.  Patron  of  Bar- 
sur-Aube,  where  she  was  living  piously 
at ,  the  time  when  that  part  of  France 
was  overrun  by  Vandals.  One  day  she 
went  to  draw  water  at  the  river  as  usual. 
It  happened  that  a  number  of  the  bar- 
barian soldiers  were  there.  They  seized 
her,  insulted  and  beat  her,  and  threw 
her  from  one  to  another  as  if  she  were 
a  ball  for  them  to  play  with.  At  last 
their  leader  offered  to  rescue  her  from 
their  hands,  place  her  over  all  the  women 
of  his  household,  and  give  her  plenty  of 
money  and  fine  clothes,  with  infamous 
conditions,  which  she  declined.  They 
then  cut  off  her  head.  She  took  it  up 
in  her  hands,  carried  it  to  the  church, 
and  sat  down  to  rest,  holding  it  in  her 
lap.  She  was  buried  in  the  church  of 
St.  Stephen,  and  there  she  worked  miracles. 
Castellanus  says  she  was  "Mactata  a 
Wandalis."  The  legend  says  the  soldiers 
would  have  eaten  her  alive  if  the  Lord 
had  not  been  dwelling  in  her.  AA.SS. 

St.  Germana  (6),  June  15,  Dec.  11, 
V.  1579-1601.  Patron  of  Toulouse 
and  Pibrac,  and  of  shepherds. 

Represented  pursued  by  her  step- 
mother with  uplifted  stick,  to  prevent 
her  "  wasting  "  by  giving  her  food  to  the 
poor ;  Germana,  turning,  shows  her  apron 
full  of  flowers. 

Germana,  or  Germaine  Cousin,  was 
born  of  poor  parents,  at  Pibrac,  near  Tou- 
louse. She  was  deformed  and  scrofulous, 
and  was  turned  out  of  her  home  by  her 
stepmother  on  account  of  her  disease 
and  deformity,  and  sent  to  keep  sheep 
on  the  mountains.  She  was  always  con- 
tented and  happy,  praying  continually, 
and  going  daily  to  church.  She  often 
brought  her  sheep,  which  remained  obe- 
diently at  the  door  while  she  stayed  for 
confession  and  communion.  She  taught 
children,  and  shared  her  food  with  the 
poor,  enduring  many  hardships  without 
a  murmur.  She  performed  many  miracles, 
and  became  famous  for  her  sanctity,  and 
especially  for  the  virtue  of  humility.  She 
died  young.  Forty-three  years  after  her 
death  her  body  was  dug  up  and  found 
fresh  and  flexible.  Her  beatification 
took  place  in  1854;  her  canonization  in 
1865.   B.M.  Ott,  Die  Legende.  Cahier. 

St.  Germania,  Germana. 


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St.  Germilina,  April  27  (Gembl- 
liana  (2),  Gemellina,  or  Gemilliana), 
M.  at  Nicomedia,  in  Bithynia.  AA.SS. 

B.  Geronima  (1),  or  Hieronyma, 
Dec.  12,  O.S.F.  +  1447.  Baptista  de 
Montefeltri,  wife  of  Galeazzo  Malatesta, 
prince  of  Fesaro,  founded,  in  1439,  the 
convent  of  Corpus  Christi,  at  Pesaro, 
where  B.  Felicia  do  Meda  was  abbess. 
After  her  husband's  death,  in  1444, 
Baptista  became  a  Franciscan  nun  at 
the  convent  of  St.  Lucy,  at  FoUgno,  and 
took  the  name  of  Geronima.  Franciscan 
Martyrology.  Gynecssum. 

St;  Geronima  (2)  of  the  Assumption 
(Girolama,  Hieronyma).  +  Oct.  22, 
1031.  Founder  and  first  abbess  of  the 
Convent  of  the  Conception,  of  the  bare- 
footed Order  of  St.  Clara,  in  the  town  of 
Manilla,  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  She 
was  born  at  Toledo,  and  was  the  daughter 
of  Pedro  Garcia,  an  esteemed  advocate, 
and  Catalina  de  la  Fuente. 

Geronima  was  pious  from  childhood. 
Her  marriage  was  arranged,  but  during 
a  dangerous  illness  she  had  a  vision  of 
St.  Francis,  who  bade  her  take  his  crown. 
She  took  the  veil  in  the  convent  of  St 
Isabel  la  Beale,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Clara, 
and  was  noted  for  her  extreme  holiness 
and  humility.  When  she  was  nearly 
thirty,  she  was  invited  to  found  a  new 
convent  of  Corpus  Christi  in  Toledo. 
The  older  nuns  were  offended,  and 
treated  her  very  badly.  She  bore  her 
trials  with  great  humility.  She  pre- 
tended to  be  mad,  but  this  her  confessor 
forbade.  She  mortified  her  natural  love  of 
cleanliness  by  performing  the  "service 
of  humility,"  doing  all  the  dirty  work 
of  the  house,  and  going  about  with  her 
clothes  and  hands  filthy.  She  would 
never  eat  her  dinner  until  she  had 
grubbed  in  the  ash-pit. 
/  Geronima  went  to  Manilla  in  1621, 
#  with  a  company  of  nuns,  to  found  a  con- 
vent. She  rendered  obedience  to  the 
abbess  of  every  convent  where  she  stayed ; 
but  when  she  heard  of  any  grand  pre- 
parations for  her  reception,  she  would 
not  go  on,  but  took,  if  possible,  another 
road.  She  was  also  accompanied  on  her 
journey  by  the  Franciscan  monk  Giu- 
seppe de  Sta.  Maria,  and  obeyed  all  his 
commands.    Ho  ordered  her  companion, 


Mother  Magdalen  of  Christ,  to  reprove 
her  on  every  possible  occasion.  Gero- 
nima inflicted  great  voluntary  suffering 
on  herself  from  heat  and  thirst,  drinking 
a  little  only  on  Sundays  and  Thursdays ; 
her  tongue  dried  up,  and  she  was  covered 
with  sores  and  vermin.  She  was  con- 
sidered so  holy  that  people  flocked  to 
see  her  and  to  pick  up  any  scrap  of  her 
clothes,  and  they  brought  her  bottles 
of  water  to  bless  for  sick  people.  At 
Seville  a  great  crowd  collected,  but,  in 
her  humility,  she  refused  to  show  herself, 
until  commanded  to  do  so  by  the  Father 
Provincial.  She  arrived  at  Manilla  in 
August,  1621,  and  there  she  died,  Oct. 
22,  1631. 

It  was  not  the  custom  to  show  the 
dead  bodies  of  nuns,  but  crowds  came  to 
see  the  remains  of  St.  Geronima.  All 
the  clergy  of  the  cathedral  and  other 
great  personages  assisted  at  the  cere- 
monies in  her  honour.  The  governor 
of  the  island  sent  an  artist  to  paint  a 
picture  of  the  dead  saint,  who  opened 
her  eyes,  as  he  wanted  to  see  them.  Her 
coffin  was  lined  with  silver  brocade, 
presented  by  a  devout  follower. 

The  Life  of  St.  Geronima,  printed  by 
the  Congregation  of  Sacred  Bites  in 
1734. 

St.  Gertrude  (l),  Oct.  18  (Guntru- 
di8,  Gontrude).  Perhaps  4th  century. 
Sister  of  SS.  Libaria,  Manna,  Oda,  and 
Susanna,  and  their  brothers,  SS.  Elphius 
and  Eucharius.  The  names,  number, 
and  date  of  this  group  vary  in  different 
accounts,  and  they  are  sometimes  con- 
founded with  another  family  of  saints. 
(See  Hoylda.)  Perhaps  this  Gertrude 
is  confounded  with  Gebetrude,  abbess 
of  Habend. 

St.  Gertrude  (2)  (Gegoberga). 
Second  abbess  of  Habend. 

St.  Gertrude  (3)  (Gebetrude). 
Third  abbess  of  Habend. 

St.  Gertrude  (4),  Dec.  6.  +  c.  655. 
Founder  and  first  abbess  of  Hamaye,  on 
the  Scarp,  near  Douai.  She  had  a 
daughter,  Gerberta,  who,  when  a  widow, 
lived  there  with  her  mother.  Gerberta 
was  the  mother  of  St.  Adalbald,  who 
married  St.  Rictrude.  Gertrude  adopted 
her  great-granddaughter,  St.  Eusebia, 
and  left  her  the  lands  and  monastery 


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ST.  GERTRUDE 


of  Hamaye.  Mabillon,  AA.SS.  O.S.B., 
Saec.  ii.  984,  ed.  1669.  AA.SS.,  May  12. 
Sandems,  Hag.  Flandrim.  Le  Mire,  Fasti 
Bouquet,  iii.  621. 

St.  Gertrude  (5),  or  Gertruy,  V. 
Abbess  of  Nivelle.  O.S.B.  +  c.  658 
or  664.  Patron  of  Nivelle,  Gertruyden- 
berg,  Landau,  Breda,  Bergen-on-Zoom ; 
of  pilgrims  and  travellers;  of  cats; 
against  rats,  mice,  and  particularly  field 
mice ;  against  fever ;  invoked  for  good 
quarters  on  a  journey.  With  St.  Joseph 
(March  19)  she  protects  seeds  that  are 
sown  on  her  day.  Fine  weather  on  her 
day  is  of  good  omen  for  the  gardens 
and  fields. 

Eepresented  as  an  abbess,  with  rats 
and  mice  running  up  her  pastoral  staff 
and  her  cloak,  or  at  her  feet.  These 
are  sometimes  to  be  seen  in  the  pictures 
of  another  Benedictine  abbess,  St.  Ger- 
trude (13)  the  Great  (13th  century), 
but  they  have  been  transferred,  by 
mistake,  to  her  from  St.  Gertrude,  of 
Nivelle,  whose  proper  attribute  they 
are. 

Pepin,  of  Landen,  the  first  of  the  three 
famous  Pepins,  was  mayor  of  the  palace 
to  three  kings  in  succession — Clothaire 
II.  (613)  and  Dagobert  I.  (628),  kings 
of  France ;  and  Sigebert  II.  (638),  king 
of  Austrasia  only.  Pepin  is  conspicuous 
among  the  men  of  his  time  for  his 
ability  and  integrity.  His  wife  was  St. 
Ida  (3),  a  lady  of  rank  and  virtue  equal 
to  his  own.  They  had  three  children — 
Grimoald,  afterwards  mayor  of  the 
palace,  St.  Begoa,  and  St.  Gertrude. 

Landen  was  in  Brabant,  in  the  kingdom 
of  Austrasia,  over  which  Pepin  ruled,  in 
the  king's  name.  Nivelle  was  part  of 
his  estate,  and  belonged,  after  his  death, 
to  his  widow  and  younger  daughter. 

Gertrude  was  a  child,  old  enough  to 
have  learnt  some  lessons  of  piety,  and 
young  enough  to  have  learnt  little  else, 
when  Pepin,  the  duke,  invited  Dagobert, 
the  king,  to  dine.  A  goodly  company 
assembled  to  feast  with  the  duke  and 
his  royal  guest,  and  among  them  two  of 
the  king's  courtiers,  father  and  son, 
whose  wealth  and  power  placed  them  on 
an  equality  with  the  lord  of  Landen. 
During  the  feast  the  elder  of  these  two 
asked  the  king  and  the  duke  to  give 


the  youngest  daughter  of  the  latter  in 
marriage  to  his  son.  Dagobert  thought 
it  a  good  match  in  a  worldly  aspect; 
and  willing  to  be  gracious,  ho  requested 
Pepin  to  send  for  the  young  lady  and 
her  mother.  Presently  the  duchess 
appeared  leading  her  little  daughter. 
The  king  took  upon  himself  to  make 
his  friend's  proposal  to  Gertrude.  Show- 
ing her  the  boy  who  aspired  to  her 
hand,  he  said,  "  Look  at  this  fine  fellow, 
dressed  m  silk  and  covered  with  gold: 
will  you  have  him  for  your  husband  ?  " 
The  child,  instead  of  being  pleased  or 
flattered,  appeared  to  be  filled  with  rage 
and  indignation,  and  declared  with  an 
oath  that  she  would  neither  marry  the 
youth  in  question  nor  any  other  mortal 
man,  but  that  her  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
should  be  her  only  Love  and  Master. 
The  young  man  was  much  discomfited, 
but  from  that  hour  her  parents  knew  by 
Whom  she  was  beloved  and  Who  had 
chosen  her. 

A  few  years  after  this  occurrence 
Pepin  died.  Ida  was  inconsolable.  Her 
son  and  elder  daughter  were  provided 
for,  but  she  knew  not  what  to  do  with 
herself  and  Gertrude,  who  was  now  a 
beautiful  girl  with  a  large  estate.  She 
consulted  St.  Amandus,  who  advised  her 
to  build  a  double  monastery  at  Nivelle, 
and  there  devote  herself,  her  daughter, 
and  her  worldly  goods  to  the  service  of 
God.  She  followed  his  advice.  Before 
the  monastery  was  quite  ready  for  their 
reception — haunted  by  the  fear  that  the 
world  and  its  votaries  wonld  take 
possession  of  Gertrude  in  spite  of  her 
care — she  took  a  knife  and  cut  off  ber 
beautiful  long  hair,  shaving  her  head 
after  the  pattern  of  a  crown.  Gertrude 
rejoiced  that  she  should  be  found  worthy 
to  wear  a  crown  for  her  Lord's  sake  on 
earth,  as  a  token  that  she  should  receive 
an  immortal  crown  from  Him  in  heaven. 
As  soon  as  all  was  duly  arranged,  Ida 
installed  her  daughter  as  first  abbess, 
she  herself  being  one  of  the  nuns,  and 
assisting  Gertrude  with  her  advice. 
Gertrude  delighted  to  entertain  pilgrims 
and  pious  travellers,  and  by  this  means 
often  received  sacred  books  or  relics 
from  Borne,  or  information  and  instruction 
in  religious  matters  from  those  who  were 


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ST.  GERTRUDE 


343 


able  to  give  it.  The  Irish  hagiographers 
say  that  she  had  Celtic  monks  to  teach 
her  community  to  sing  psalms.  Two 
Irish  monks — SS.  Foillan  and  Ultan 
(May  1) — visited  her  on  their  way  from 
Borne  to  Feronne,  where  their  brother, 
St.  Fursey  (Jan.  16),  was  buried.  Ger- 
trude and  Ida  gave  them  a  piece  of 
land  called  Fosse,  or  "St.  Mors  des 
Fossez,"  to  build  a  monastery  for  a  per- 
petual place  of  entertainment  for  pilgrims 
coming  from  or  going  to  distant  places. 
St.  Ultan  was  set  over  the  now  house, 
and  St.  Foillan  returned  to  Nivelle  to 
instruct  Gertrude's  nuns,  particularly  in 
singing  the  psalms  and  offices  of  the 
Church,  and  otherwise  make  himself 
useful  to  them.  One  day  Foillan  left 
home  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  brother,  taking 
three  of  Gertrude's  monks  with  him. 
On  the  way  they  were  all  murdered  by 
robbers,  and  no  one  was  left  to  bring 
the  sad  news;  but  St  Ultan  saw  in  a 
vision  a  dove  of  dazzling  whiteness  with 
stains  of  blood  on  its  wings.  He  thought 
it  was  his  brother's  soul,  but  knew  not 
what  had  befallen  him.  Meantime,  Ger- 
trude could  not  sleep;  she  felt  uneasy 
and  depressed,  and  when  the  time  had 
passed  that  Foillan  was  to  have  returned, 
she  sent  a  message  to  Ultan  to  know 
whether  all  was  well.  The  messenger 
came  back  in  haste  and  grief  to  tell  that 
the  four  monks  had  never  been  seen 
since  they  left  Nivelle,  and  that  Ultan 
had  seen,  in  a  dream,  a  snow-white  dove 
with  blood  on  its  wings.  Gertrude  next 
ordered  a  fast  of  three  days,  at  the  end 
of  which  an  angel  appeared  to  her,  and 
showed  her  the  place  in  the  forest  of 
Soignies  where  the  murder  had  been 
committed,  and  over  the  body  of  St. 
Foillan  was  a  pillar  of  fire  extending  up 
to  heaven.  She  described  the  place  to 
some  of  the  monks,  who  went  and  found 
the  four  bodies,  that  of  Foillan  with  the 
head  cut  off,  the  other  three  stabbed  in 
the  mouth.  They  brought  the  bodies  to 
Nivelle,  and  Gertrude  would  have  had 
her  friend  buried  in  her  own  church, 
but  his  brother  claimed  him,  and  many 
of  his  friends  and  brethren  testified  that 
it  had  been  his  own  wish  to  be  buried  at 
Fosse,  so  to  Fosse  they  took  him. 

About  ten  years  after  the  death  of 


Pepin,  Ida  died.  It  seems  to  have  been 
on  the  occasion  of  her  mother's  burial 
that  Gertrude  translated  her  father's 
body  from  Landen  to  Nivelle. 

After  her  mother's  death,  having  the 
whole  management  and  responsibility  on 
her  own  shoulders,  she  employed  the 
most  capable  and  trustworthy  of  the 
monks  to  attend  to  the  outer  affairs  of 
the  double  community,  and  appointed 
some  of  the  elder  nuns  to  the  manage- 
ment in  the  house,  that  so  she  might 
reserve  more  of  her  own  time  for  devotion 
and  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
which  she  already  knew  nearly  by  heart. 
A  few  years  later,  although  only  about 
thirty  years  old,  she  was  so  worn  out 
with  asceticism,  and  particularly  with  her 
incredible  abstinence  from  food  and 
sleep,  that  she  found  herself  unequal  to 
the  fatigue  of  her  office,  and  resigned  it 
to  her  niece  St.  Wulfetrudk,  who  was 
only  twenty,  but  who,  having  been 
brought  up  by  Gertrude,  was  in  all 
respects  worthy  to  succeed  her.  The 
holy  abbess  now  devoted  herself  ex- 
clusively to  preparation  for  death,  in- 
creasing her  austerities.  When  she 
found  herself  very  near  the  great  change, 
she  was  afraid  on  account  of  her  un- 
worthiness.  She  sent  one  of  her  monks 
to  Fosse  to  tell  St.  Ultan  of  her  fears, 
and  to  ask  whether  God  had  revealed  to 
him  the  time  of  her  death.  He  answered, 
"This  is  the  16th  of  March,  and  to- 
morrow during  the  saying  of  mass,  she 
will  die ;  but  tell  her  not  to  be  afraid 
but  to  go  boldly,  for  St.  Patrick  and 
many  saints  and  angels  with  great  glory 
are  waiting  to  receive  her  soul."  The 
monk  asked  whether  this  was  a  direct 
revelation  from  God  or  not,  and  St. 
Ultan  replied,  "  Go,  quick,  brother ;  do 
not  I  tell  you  her  death  is  to  be  to- 
morrow. You  have  no  time  to  lose  in 
asking  questions.  Make  haste  and  take 
her  my  message."  He  went,  and  when 
Gertrude  heard  the  message,  her  face 
was  lit  up  with  joy,  and  awaking  as  if 
from  sleep,  she  called  all  the  nuns  and 
made  them  pray  with  her  all  night ;  and 
next  day,  during  the  singiDg  of  the  niaBS, 
she  died,  being  about  thirty-three  years 
of  age. 

At  the  moment  of  her  death  she 


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ST.  GERTRUDE 


appeared  to  St.  Modesta,  abbess  of 
Treves.  She  was  buried,  by  her  own 
desire,  without  any  linen  or  woollen 
robes  or  sheets,  merely  in  the  cilicium 
she  had  long  worn,  her  head  wrapped  in 
a  shabby  old  veil  which  had  been  given 
her  by  a  nun  who  stayed  at  the  monastery 
for  a  short  time  on  a  journey. 

Many  years  afterwards,  when  St. 
Begga,  the  sister  of  Gertrude,  obtained 
from  Nivelle  a  few  nuns  well  qualified 
to  establish  the  new  community  at  Anden, 
in  the  holy  rule  and  practices  observed 
by  them,  she  received  also  the  present  of 
a  piece  of  the  saint's  bed,  which  was 
placed  in  the  new  church  as  a  holy  relic, 
and  resorted  to  for  miraculous  cures.  It 
was  soon  covered  with  gold  and  set  in  a 
baud  of  precious  stones  by  its  grateful 
votaries. 

According  to  Grattan,  History  of  the 
Netherlands,  the  monastery  was  trans- 
ferred, in  the  12th  century,  to  canonesses, 
and  was  occupied  in  the  18th  by  a  double 
chapter  of  canons  and  canonesses.  It 
was  so  rich  in  the  10th  century  as  to 
have  14,000  families  of  vassals. 

St.  Gertrude  was  hold  in  veneration 
from  very  early  times.  She  seems  to 
have  been  worshipped  immediately  after 
her  death,  and  a  church  was  dedicated 
in  her  name  by  a  woman  she  had  brought 
up,  namely,  Agnes,  the  third  abbess. 
St.  Gudula  is  said  to  have  been  her 
relation  and  pupil. 

In  histories  and  chronicles  where  her 
contemporaries  are  called  by  their 
worldly  titles  or  simply  by  their  names, 
Begga,  Pepin,  Itta,  Arnulf,  etc.,  Ger- 
trude is  never  mentioned  without  some 
epithet  of  respect,  such  as  saint,  servant 
of  God,  virgin  of  Christ,  most  blessed 
woman,  holy  abbess,  etc  Many 
churches  are  dedicated  in  her  name  in 
Brabant  and  Hainault.  Her  worship 
and  the  fame  of  her  sanctity  and  miracles 
were  early  spread  over  Germany.  Her 
name  is  in  the  true  Martyrology  of  Bede, 
and  also  in  the  metrical  one  attributed 
to  him,  and  in  that  of  Menard.  It  is 
not  in  the  Martyrology  of  Ado,  which  is 
the  Vetus  Bomanum,  but  it  is  in  the 
additamenta  to  Ado,  and  in  the  present 
Roman  Martyrology  on  March  17.  In 
an  Anglo-Saxon  Missal,  formerly  be- 


longing to  the  Abbey  of  Jumieges,  and 
now  in  the  public  library  of  Rouen,  her 
name  is  added  to  those  in  the  canon  of 
the  mass.  She  is  the  most  famous  of 
eleven  holy  women  of  the  same  name 
honoured  by  the  Benedictines  as  belong- 
ing to  their  order.  Her  contemporary 
biographer  relates  two  anecdotes  con- 
cerning her,  the  first  of  which  she  told 
him  herself.  One  day  when  she  was 
praying  before  the  altar  of  St.  Sixtus  in 
her  own  church,  a  globe  of  fire  appeared 
and  hung  over  her  head,  to  her  great 
consternation,  lighting  up  the  whole 
place  for  about  half  an  hour,  and  then 
returning  whence  it  came.  The  second 
anecdote  was  told  him  by  one  of  the 
persons  saved  by  her  miraculous  assist- 
ance. Some  monks  were  at  sea  on 
business  connected  with  the  affairs  of 
her  monastery;  when  their  lives  were 
endangered  by  a  sudden  storm,  and  still 
further  by  the  approach  of  an  enormous 
whale.  They  were  giving  themselves 
up  for  lost,  when  the  narrator  called  out 
three  times  in  an  agony  of  terror, 
"Gertrude,  help  us."  At  the  third 
mention  of  the  abbess'  name,  the  monster 
dived  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  leaving 
the  ship  safely  afloat,  and  the  travellers 
all  arrived  happily  in  port  the  same 
night. 

Baring-Gould,  in  his  Curious  Myths  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  tells  that  from  being 
the  patron  saint  of  travellers  on  earth, 
Gertrude  was  next  supposed  to  entertain 
departed  spirits  at  their  first  halt  on  their 
three  days'  journey  to  Paradise;  the 
second  resting-place  was  with  one  of  the 
archangels ;  and  the  third  day  brought 
them  to  the  gates.  As  patron  pf  souls, 
rats  and  mice  became  her  emblems  in 
German  imagery,  having  from  the  most 
ancient  times  been  regarded  as  typifying 
human  souls. 

All  the  stories  of  St.  Gertrude  are 
founded  on  the  Life  by  a  contemporary 
monk,  who  had  some  of  his  information 
from  herself,  and  the  rest  from  eye- 
witnesses of  the  events  he  records.  This 
life  is  given  in  full  by  Mabillon,  Sebc.  ii. 
464,  and  in  part  by  Bouquet,  iii.  dl7, 
Be  Dagoberto.  She  is  also  mentioned 
in  almost  all  the  biographies  and 
chronicles  of  her  time  and  country,  which 


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345 


appear  in  the  collections  of  Bouquet, 
Pertz,  Duchesne,  and  Bollandus,  par- 
ticularly in  the  Life  of  B.  Pepin,  the 
duke,  Bouquet,  ii.  603,  and  AA.SS., 
Feb.  21,  and  that  of  St.  Ultan,  May  1, 
AA.SS. 

Modern  authorities :  Baronius.  Pertz, 
Merovingischen  Hausmeyer.  Butler. 
Baillet.  Lanigan.  McLaughlin,  Irish 
Saints. 

St.  Gertrude  (6),  Monday  after 
Ascension  Day,  V.  M.  at  Vauxdiuellet, 
or  Belval,  in  Lorraine,  where  there  is  a 
legend  that  she  was  murdered  by  her 
brothers  on  account  of  her  opposition  to 
a  marriage  with  a  heathen  prince, 
arranged  for  her  by  her  family.  The 
Bollandists  consider  the  story  fabulous, 
and  think  the  saint  honoured  at  Belval 
is  a  niece  of  St.  Gertrude  of  Nivelle. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Gertrude  (7),  July  14.  Third 
abbess  of  Blangy,  succeeding  her  sister, 
St.  Deotila.  They  are  represented  as 
nuns,  standing  beside  their  mother,  St. 
Bertha  of  Blangy.  The  daughters  are 
drawn  on  a  very  small  scale,  looking  like 
babes  or  dolls  in  proportion  to  the  size 
of  the  mother,  to  indicate  their  sub- 
ordinate station.  They  were  worshipped 
as  saints  in  their  own  convent,  but  not 
throughout  Christendom.  AA.SS. 

St.  Gertrude  (8),  of  Neustadt,  built 
a  church  and  monastery  in  honour  of  St. 
Michael,  at  Neustadt,  in  Franconia,  and 
another  at  Carelburg,  or  Carlstadt,  three 
miles  from  Wurtzburg,  on  the  Main. 
Her  footsteps  were  to  be  seen  on  the 
road  between  the  two  places,  being 
always  green  when  the  rest  of  the  path 
was  burnt  up,  and  brown  when  the  sur- 
rounding ground  was  green.  The  mon- 
astery of  Neustadt  was  sacked  by  the 
mob  in  1525,  all  the  books  destroyed, 
the  altars  profaned,  and  relics  dispersed, 
so  that  the  story  of  this  saint  is  lost. 
The  legend  that  she  was  a  sister  of 
Charlemagne  is  judged  by  critics  and 
hagiographers  to  be  untrue,  and  they 
think  that  St.  Gertrude  of  Nivelle  is 
the  person  commemorated  at  Neustadt. 
She  is  confounded  with  St.  Hadelooa, 
abbess  of  Eitzingen,  who  was  great-aunt 
of  Charlemagne.  Her  cloak  is  still  kept 
there,  and  in  the  time  of  Henschenius  it 


was  credited  with  miraculous  qualities. 
Henschenius  and  Mabillon,  in  their  notes 
and  commentaries  on  the  Life  of  St. 
Gertrude  of  Nivelle.  She  is  mentioned 
in  the  Life  of  St  Burchard  of  Wiirtz- 
burg, Mabillon,  AA.SS.  O.S.B.,  Saec.  iii. 
pars.  I. 

Ven.  Gertrude  (9),  May  7.  O.S.B. 
+  1160.  Daughter  of  Boleslaus  Cri- 
vousti,  duke  of  the  Poles.  Nun  at 
Zwifalt,  and  commemorated  there. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter.   Bucelinns.  Mabillon. 

B.  Gertrude  (10),  March  17. 
+  1270.  Abbess  of  the  Cistercian 
monastery  of  Trebnitz,  in  Silesia, 
founded  in  1203  by  her  parents,  Henry 
Barbatus,  duke  of  Poland  and  Silesia, 
and  St.  Hedwig.  Gertrude  is  called 
"  Blessed  "  by  Henriquez,  Bucelinus,  and 
Ferrarius.  The  Bollandists  place  her 
among  the  Prsetermissi.  See  also 
Mabillon . 

B.  Gertrude  (11),  Aug.  13,  V.  O.S.A. 
+  1297.  Abbess  of  Altenberg,  or 
Aldenburg,  on  the  Lahn.  The  sculptor 
of  her  tomb  has  represented  her  with  a 
lion  under  her  feet,  which  may  be  in 
allusion  to  the  arms  of  Hesse,  or  Thur- 
ingia.  Tradition  explains  it  in  this  way. 
She  received  from  God  a  special  manner 
of  banishing  all  discord  from  her  con- 
vent ;  but  one  day,  when  she  could  not 
reconcile  two  nuns,  it  happened  that  a 
lion  belonging  to  the  landgrave  broke 
its  chain  and  escaped,  to  the  terror  of 
everybody.  Gertrude,  to  put  to  shame 
"  the  little  hearts  that  know  not  how  to 
forgive,"  called  the  terrible  beast,  and 
he,  obedient,  went  and  lay  down  at  her 
feet.  Cahier. 

B.  Gertrude,  of  Altenberg,  was 
daughter  of  Lewis,  margrave  of  Thur- 
ingia,  and  St.  Elizabeth,  of  Hungary, 
his  wife.  Gertrude  was  dedicated  to 
God  by  her  parents  before  her  birth,  and 
sent  very  young  to  be  educated  at  the 
Prromonstratensian  convent  of  Altenberg, 
in  the  diocese  of  Treves. 

At  the  moment  of  St.  Elizabeth's 
death,  in  1231,  she  appeared  to  her 
daughter.  At  twenty-one  Gertrude  was 
appointed  Abbess  of  Altenberg,  where 
she  governed  for  twenty-four  years. 
She  and  her  nuns  took  the  cross  of 
the  holy  war  —  that  is,  they  obliged 


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THE  TWO  SS.  GERTRUDE  OF  HELFTA 


themselves  to  promote,  by  their  prayers 
in  the  cloister,  the  object  for  which  the 
war  was  undertaken.  She  was  famous  for 
healing  discords  and  making  peace.  She 
collected,  in  the  vase  of  her  conscience, 
the  oil  of  divine  grace,  and  having  lit 
her  lamp  and  ornamented  it  with  good 
works,  she  went  to  meet  the  Bridegroom, 
Ang.  13,  and  lies  buried  at  Altenberg. 

Clement  VI.  ordered  her  festival  to  be 
kept,  promising  many  indulgences  to 
those  who  should  visit  her  relics,  pre- 
served in  her  monastery.  A.B.M.,  Mart, 
of  the  Canons  Regular  and  nuns  of  the 
same  order.  AA.SS.  Helyot.  Le 
Paige,  Bibliotheca  Prmmonstratensis  Or- 
dims.  Azevedo,  Pantheon  Sacro,  calls 
her  "  Saint." 

The  Two  SS.  Gertrude  of  Helfta 
(12,  13),  Nov.  17,  15.  Cistercian  abbess 
and  nun.    13th  century. 

It  appears  that  there  were  at  the  same 
time  in  the  monastery  of  Helfta  two 
Gertrudes  and  three  Matildas,  all  dis- 
tinguished for  extraordinary  intellectual 
and  spiritual  gifts.  One  of  these  Ger- 
trudes was  the  abbess,  and  one  of  the 
Matildas  was  her  sister.  The  two  SS. 
Gertrude  are  confounded  together,  and 
St.  Matilda,  the  sister  of  Gertrude, 
is  constantly  credited  either  with  the 
actions  of  another  St.  Matilda,  who 
lived  more  than  a  century  earlier,  or 
with  the  inspirations  and  revelations  of 
the  two  more  famous  contemporary 
Matildas,  who  were  inmates  of  the  same 
house. 

One  of  the  Gertrudes  was  the  author 
of  the  famous  book,  Liber  Lisinuationum 
divinee  pietatis.  She  is  called  "  the 
Great "  in  the  Cistercian  appendix  to 
the  Roman  Martyrology.  She  is  repre- 
sented (1)  in  the  dress  of  her  order, 
holding  a  heart  cut  open,  and  showing 
a  picture  of  the  Saviour  seated  on  a 
throne  ;  (2)  in  her  hand,  over  her  heart, 
a  heart  or  rays,  in  the  midst  of  which  is 
the  infant  Christ  holding  a  ribbon  that 
bears  the  inscription,  "In  corde  Ger- 
trudis  invenies  me."  B.  Ypres,  of  Tar- 
ragona, confessor  to  Philip  II.  of  Spain, 
was  so  delighted  with  her  book  of  In- 
sinuations, that  he  had  a  great  devotion 
to  her,  and  had  her  picture  copied  from 
one  in  the  royal  cabinet  at  Madrid,  re- 


presenting a  Cistercian  nun ;  and  to 
distinguish  this  great  saint  from  any 
other  Cistercian,  she  holds  the  above- 
mentioned  heart  in  her  left  hand,  and 
on  her  right  hand  she  wears  seven  rings. 
This  is  called  a  miraculous  picture, 
because  the  painter  never  could  get  the 
face  like  the  one  he  was  copying;  it 
was  always  more  beautiful  and  holy  than 
his  ideal,  so  that  it  was  believed  to  be, 
by  heavenly  intervention,  like  the  real 
Gertrude  (Life  and  Bevelations  of  St. 
Gertrude,  by  a  religious  of  the  Poor 
Clares).  Alban  Butler  says  that  next 
to  the  writings  of  St.  Theresa,  the  Liber 
Insinuationum  is  the  most  useful  book  for 
promoting  piety  in  a  contemplative  life 
with  which  any  woman  has  enriched  the 
Church.  The  writer  was  about  five  and 
twenty  when  the  simple  daily  round,  no 
longer  sufficed  to  fill  her  soul :  she 
became  deeply  sensible  of  her  unprofit- 
ableness, and  felt  unfit  to  be  a  nun  ;  for 
a  few  months  she  was  very  unhappy. 

Early  in  1281  she  stood  in  the  dor- 
mitory of  the  sisters  at  the  twilight 
hour.  As  the  mistress  went  by,  Gertrude 
bowed  her  head  according  to  the  custom. 
When  she  raised  it,  she  saw  with  the 
eyes  of  her  soul  Jesus,  in  the  form  of  a 
youth,  standing  before  her.  He  said, 
"  Thy  salvation  is  coming  soon.  Why 
dost  thou  fret?"  Her  senses  told  her 
she  was  in  the  dormitory,  yet  it  seemed 
to  her  that  she  was  in  the  choir  of  the 
church  where  she  usually  prayed,  and 
that  she  heard  there  the  words,  "  I  will 
make  thee  free  and  blessed.  Fear 
nothing."  The  Lord  then  laid  His  hand 
in  hers,  and  went  on, "  With  My  enemies 
hast  thou  licked  the  earth,  and  sought 
honey  among  thorns."  She  tried  to 
approach  nearer  to  the  Lord,  but  found 
a  hedge  of  thorns,  which  she  could 
neither  get  round  nor  break  through. 
She  understood  this  to  mean  her  sins. 
Suddenly  she  found  herself  standing  by 
Him,  and  as  she  looked  at  His  hand,  she 
saw  that  on  it  was  the  mark  of  the  nail. 

Her  religious  impressions  and  opinions 
were  of  the  sort  that  have  been  called 
in  modern  times  "evangelical."  She 
discovered  that  the  grace  of  God  had 
greater  power  than  the  indulgences  of 
the  Church.    She  thought  much  of  the 


B.  GERTRUDE 


347 


Saviour,  very  little  of  saints  and  relics. 
She  relied  instead  on  God's  grace,  and 
was  joyful  and  full  of  hope.  She  advises 
the  devout  soul  sometimes  to  set  apart  a 
day  to  be  devoted  without  interruption 
to  praise  and  thanksgiving,  lest  this 
duty  should  be  imperfectly  fulfilled  in 
the  daily  devotions;  she  says  that  in 
this  function  we  should  endeavour  to  be 
united  with  the  saints  and  angels.  She 
had  a  great  gift  of  grace  in  the  matter 
of  the  Holy  Communion.  She  says  in 
her  book  that  any  one  approaching  this 
great  sacrament  without  repentance,  or 
any  one  who  is  in  the  habit  of  indulging 
in  vain  or  scandalous  conversation,  re- 
ceives the  Lord  as  if  when  receiving 
some  distinguished  guest  he  were  to 
assail  him  on  the  threshold  with  stones 
or  strike  him  on  the  head  with  a  club. 
Yet,  although  so  impressed  with  the 
danger  of  unworthy  reception,  her  hu- 
mility made  her  regard  all  her  own 
piety  and  the  practices  by  which  people 
prepare  themselves  for  this  rite  as  so 
small  and  unimportant,  that  she  never 
abstained  from  Holy  Communion  'for 
want  of  them,  regarding  all  the  efforts 
of  piety  as  a  mere  drop  compared  to  the 
measureless  splendour  of  the  grace  given 
in  the  Lord's  Supper.  She  used  will- 
ingly to  tear  herself  away  from  con- 
templation on  every  opportunity,  for 
industry  and  for  benefiting  others,  and 
then  she  could  return  to  her  pious 
meditations  with  great  ease. 

St.  Gertrude,  abbess  of  Helfta,  and 
her  sister  St.  Matilda,  have  been 
called  Countesses  of  Hackeborn,  of 
Lachenborn,  of  Bodarsdorf,  or  Bodarda, 
of  Eisleben,  of  Mansfeld,  abbesses  of  all 
these  places,  of  Ettelstettin,  of  Heldelfs, 
of  Delft,  of  Helft,  of  Halberstadt.  Ac- 
cording to  Preger,  Oeschichte  der  deut- 
schen  Mystik  im  Mittelalter,  the  facts  are 
these — 

Count  Burkhard  von  Mansfield  and 
Elizabeth,  countess  of  Schwarzburg,  his 
wife,  founded  a  Cistercian  cloister  at 
Mansfeld  in  1229.  Burkhard  died  the 
same  year,  and  his  widow  removed  the 
community  to  Bodarsdorf,  near  Eisleben, 
and  there  she  spent  the  remainder  of 
her  life  among  the  nuns.  The  house  was 
soon  filled  with  the  daughters  of  the 


Thuringian  nobles.  In  1251,  Gertrude 
von  Hackeborn,  at  nineteen,  became  the 
second  abbess.  Her  family  owned  lands 
extending  from  Eisleben  to  the  Hartz, 
and  had  on  their  eastern  frontier  a  castle 
called  Helfta,  or  Helffde,  about  a  mile 
from  Eisleben.  As  the  house  at  Bodars- 
dorf suffered  from  want  of  water,  Ger- 
trude obtained  from  her  brothers  the 
gift  of  this  castle  with  its  surrounding 
lands,  and  thither,  in  1258,  she  took  her 
community.  The  annals  of  the  monastery 
record  many  grants  from  the  Lords  of 
Hackeborn,  with  the  explanation  that 
these  gifts  are  made  for  the  sake  of 
members  of  the  family  among  the 
nuns.  Gertrude  and  her  sister  Matilda 
had  already  received  a  good  education 
in  this  convent,  and  under  Gertrude's 
rule  the  house  of  Helfta  was  charac- 
terized by  a  joyous  activity  and  an 
intellectual  life  rather  in  advance  of  the 
age.  She  busied  her  community  with 
books,  herself  with  adding  to  their  store. 
She  bought  some,  she  made  the  nuns 
copy  others,  and  ornament  them  with 
drawings  and  paintings  inside  and  out ; 
they  studied  the  Bible  and  the  other 
books.  Her  house  very  soon  became  a 
famous  school.  The  gifted  Matilda  von 
Wippra  was  the  chief  teacher.  Gertrude 
ruled  for  forty  years,  and  died  about 
1292.  Helfta  continued  to  be  the  resi- 
dence of  this  community  for  half  a 
century  longer,  when  it  was  destroyed 
in  a  feud  between  the  Duke  of  Brunswick 
and  the  Count  of  Mansfeld.  The  nuns 
were  removed  to  a  suburb  of  Eisleben. 

St.  Gertrude  (13).  1256-c.  1311. 
Was  more  than  twenty  years  younger 
than  St.  Gertrude  the  abbess,  and  was 
under  her  care  and  influence  from  child- 
hood to  middle  age.  Preger  says  she  was 
born  in  1256,  in  Thuringia,  apparently 
of  poor  parents,  and  was  received  into 
the  convent  of  Helfta  in  her  fifth  year. 
She  was  very  clever,  and  had  an  un- 
bounded thirst  for  knowledge,  and  was 
soon  in  advance  of  all  the  other  scholars. 
He  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  Gertrude 
the  Great  was  the  nun  and  not  the 
abbess.  Butler,  Nov.  15,  ignores  the 
nun,  and  dates  the  birth  of  the  abbess 
ten  years  earlier  than  Preger  does. 

B.  Gertrude  (14)  van  Oosten,  Jan. 


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348 


B.  GERTRUDE 


G  (Gertitude,  Gheertrude),  +  1357 
or  1360,  was  born  of  peasant  parents  at 
Vorburg,  or  Voolburch,  between  Delft 
and  the  Hague.  She  was  a  servant  girl, 
and  had  two  devout  friends  of  her  own 
station — Diewer,  who  lived  in  the  Be- 
guinage,  and  Lielt.  The  three  girls 
used  to  sing  together  on  the  bridges  of 
Delft,  a  song  of  the  East,  beginning, 
"  Het  dagnet  in  den  Oosten"  ("  It  dawns 
in  the  East ").  It  was  from  this  circum- 
stance that  Gertrude  was  called  "van 
Oosten."  Numbers  of  people  used  to 
flock  to  the  town  on  the  great  festivals 
to  sing  in  the  choirs,  and  Gertrude 
waited  on  them.  In  after  years  she  used 
to  say  she  experienced  as  much  of  the 
sweetness  of  God  in  the  turmoil  of  her 
work  amid  the  crowd,  as  in  the  solitude 
of  her  later  days.  She  -was  betrothed 
and  deeply  attached  to  a  young  man, 
who  preferred  another  girl.  Gertrude 
remonstrated  with  her  rival,  and  adjured 
her  not  to  take  her  husband  from  her. 
The  girl  nevertheless  married  Gertrude's 
fiance.  Gertrude  was  much  distressed, 
but  soon  resolved  to  devote  herself  to 
One  who  would  never  break  faith  with 
her.  The  other  woman  had  children, 
but  suffered  great  agony  in  her  confine- 
ments, and  never  could  be  delivered 
until  Gertrude  came  and  assured  her  of 
her  forgiveness,  and  prayed  for  her. 
Gertrude  was,  for  a  time,  so  poor  that 
she  had  to  beg.  After  this  she  became  a 
Beguine,  and  had  visions  and  temptations. 
Her  friend  Lielt,  who  also  belonged  to 
that  order,  foretold  that  a  wonderful 
grace  of  God  would  be  granted  to  Ger- 
trude. Soon  after  this,  the  five  wounds 
of  Christ  appeared  on  her  body,  which 
caused  a  great  sensation  in  the  whole 
place  and  neighbourhood.  She  was 
much  afraid  of  being  deceived  by  the 
devil  or  tempted  to  pride,  so  she  prayed 
that  they  might  be  removed,  and,  in 
answer,  they  ceased  to  bleed,  although 
the  marks  remained.  She  lived  eighteen 
years  longer,  but  in  wretched  health; 
she  was  fat  and  heavy,  and  took  hardly 
any  food,  so  that  she  had  to  rest  several 
times  on  the  way  to  church.  Once  she 
had  a  great  longing  for  bread  and  cheese. 
A  peasant  brought  it,  not  knowing  who 
it  was  for,  further  than  that  it  was  wanted 


by  a  person  living  in  Delft.  She  sent 
Diewer  to  meet  him,  and  receive  it  from 
him.  Several  instances  of  her  knowledge 
of  future  or  distant  events  are  recorded 
in  her  Life.  AA.SS.  Sanctorale  Catho- 
licum.  Cahier.  She  is  thus  mentioned  by 
Adam  Walasser  in  his  German  Mart., 
"Das  selige  gedechtnisz  Gertrudis  von 
Oesten  Begin  zu  Delph  in  Holand  welche 
di  nagelmal  Christi  an  irem  leib  het 
und  trug." 

B.  Gertrude  (15),  Aug.  3,  31.  14th 
and  15th  century.  Thirteenth  Prioress 
of  Biloka. 

Gertrude  de  Pottelis  was  the  daughter 
of  a  gentleman  of  Ghent,  who  begged 
and  obtained  for  one  of  his  children  a 
place  in  the  Cistercian  nunnery  of 
B.  Mary  of  Biloka,  in  that  city.  Ger- 
trude was  sent  there  as  a  child,  and  was 
blessed  with  a  true  vocation  to  the 
religious  life.  With  ease  and  diligence 
she  learnt  Latin  and  everything  else 
that  was  taught  to  the  pupils  in  the 
monastery.  A  few  years  afterwards  it 
seemed  to  the  father  better  to  bring 
Gertrude  home  and  marry  her,  sending 
her  sister  to  be  brought  up  a  nun  in  her 
stead.  On  the  appointed  day  the  girl 
was  dressed  up  according  to  custom,  and 
taken  with  great  pomp  to  Biloka,  escorted 
by  numerous  friends.  She  wept  all  the 
way,  and  when  they  asked  her  why,  she 
said  she  was  being  sacrificed  like  Jeph- 
tha's  daughter,  and  had  no  wish  to  bury 
her  youth  in  a  monastery.  When  Ger- 
trude was  told  of  the  change  in  the 
family  arrangements,  she  also  wept,  and 
said  she  feared  she  would  lose  her  soul  if 
she  were  torn  away  from  the  holy  seclu- 
sion in  which  she  had  hoped  to  live  and 
die.  Her  father  saw  the  will  of  God  in 
the  marked  inclinations  of  the  two  sisters, 
and  yielded  to  their  wishes.  The  secular 
daughter  was  married  and  had  many 
children,  and  Gertrude  took  the  veil, 
and  was  soon  made  manager  of  the 
affairs  of  the  house.  This  office  she 
quickly  resigned,  saying  that  it  vexed 
her  to  have  so  much  to  do  with  secular 
persons,  so  many  visitors,  so  many  feasts 
to  prepare  for  them,  and  to  have  the 
nuns  going  out  visiting,  so  she  humbly 
prayed  to  have  no  particular  office,  but 
to  be  allowed  to  be  quiet  in  her  cell. 


B.  GILIA 


349 


In  1400  she  was  appointed  abbess. 
Thenceforth  the  monastery  grew  stricter 
and  holier.  She  restored  the  discipline, 
which  had  become  lax.  She  would  not 
suffer  the  nuns  to  go  out  visiting  nor  to 
receive  visits;  and  whereas  individual 
nuns  had  things  which  they  called  their 
own,  she  insisted  on  community  of  pro- 
perty. The  rule  of  abstinence  from 
flesh  meat  had  fallen  into  disuse,  and 
was  strictly  restored  by  her.  She  at- 
tended the  poor  in  the  hospital,  and  had 
strangers  and  pilgrims  entertained  in 
their  proper  place,  namely,  in  the  house 
of  the  Father  Confessor.  She  encoun- 
tered opposition  both  from  seculars  and 
ecclesiastics;  but  she  was  firm,  and  as 
the  rule  grew  stricter,  the  community 
grew  holier.  Pious  parents  were  happy 
if  they  could  get  a  daughter  into  her 
flock,  so  that  the  house  filled,  and  Ger- 
trude had  more  (spiritual)  children  than 
her  married  sister.  She  was  prudent  in 
the  worldly  affairs  of  the  convent.  She 
died  at  the  age  of  sixty,  and  was  buried 
in  the  choir  among  the  priests,  on  the 
ground  that  she  was  as  good  as  a  priest, 
because  all  the  sons  of  David  were  called 
priests  (II.  Paraleipomenon  Begum,  chap, 
viii.),  and  as  Christ  among  the  Apos- 
tles, so  she  among  her  predecessors, 
the  abbesses,  was  thirteenth  and  chief. 
She  was  worshipped  as  a  saint  at 
Biloka. 

Vita  B.  Gertrudis  de  Pottelis,  in 
Sanderus,  Flandria  Illustrata,  lib.  ix. 
Mabillon.    Bucelinus.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

B.  Gertrude  (16),  Nov.  27,  V. 
Began  at  nine  to  serve  God,  and  was  a 
Cistercian  nun  from  childhood  in  the 
monastery  of  Mont  S.  Sauveur,  in  the 
diocese  of  Liege.  Henriquez.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Gerveve.  St.  Genevieve,  of 
Paris,  is  so  called  in  Bouergue.  Chaste- 
lain. 

St.  Gerwis,  Feb.  6,  V.,  in  Silvolde. 
Mentioned  by  Greven,  and  in  MS. 
Floriario,  and  several  calendars;  but 
Bollandus  could  obtain  no  information 
concerning  her.  AA.SS. 

St.  Getulia,  June  1,  M.  with  St. 
Aucega.  AA.SS. 

St.  Geva  (1),  Jan.  25,  V.  M.  (See 
Elvira.) 

St.  Geva  (2),  Feb.  6.    9th  century. 


Wife  of  St.  Ewerwald.  Aunt  of  St. 
Thjadild.  .  AA.SS. 

St.  Ghani.  (See  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity.) 

B.  Gherardesca,  Gerardesca. 

St  Ghiselind,  with  Herwig  and 

JUTTA  (1). 

St.  Giacinta  Mariscotti,  Hya- 
cinth. 

St.  Gibitrude,  Dec.  7,  Oct.  26,  and 
Jan.  23.     +  c.  655.     She  was  very 
desirous  to  become  a  nun  at  Brie,  under 
St.  Fara,  to  whom  she  was  nearly 
related,  and  who  was  anxious  to  welcome 
her ;  but  her  parents  refused  their  con- 
sent, as  they  wanted  to  make  a  grand 
alliance.     They  even  forbade  her  to 
frequent  the  church  and  spend  so  much 
time  in  devotion.    In  her  distress,  Gibi- 
trude sought  the  help  of  the  abbess, 
saying  she  feared  that  her  parents  would 
extinguish  the  light  of  her  soul,  and 
thus  deprive  her  of  eternal  light.  Her 
father  was  struck  down  with  fever,  and 
begged  her  to  pray  for  his  recovery. 
Her  prayer  was  heard,  and  he  withdrew 
his  opposition  to  her  wish.    She  took 
the  veil  at  Brie,  and  lived  there  piously 
for  many  years.    St.  Fara  was  very  ill, 
and  appeared  to  be  dying,  but  Gibitrude 
prayed  that  her  own  life  might  be  taken 
instead  of  the  more  valuable  life  of  the 
holy  mother.     She  prayed  that  Fara 
might  survive  her  nuns,  which  was 
granted.    Gibitrude  was  taken  away 
first  by  a  fever,  but  on  presenting 
herself  with  a  troop  of  others  for 
admission  to  paradise,  the  Lord  re- 
proached her  with  having  borne  a  little 
grudge  against  three  of  her  companions. 
She  was  sent  back  to  her  mortal  life  to 
complete  her  repentance.    She  humbly 
confessed  her  fault  in  presence  of  all 
the  community,  and  asked  pardon  of  the 
sisters.    After  six  months  she  died  of 
fever,  evident  signs  of  sanctity  and 
divine  favour  attending  her  last  moments. 
She  is  worshipped,  on  Oct.  26,  in  the 
diocese  of  Meaux.    Cr6tien  Du  Plessis, 
Hist,  de  VEglise  de  Meaux  and  Calendrier 
propre  du  diocese  de  Meaux.   She  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Life  of  St.  Fara,  Dec.  7. 
Mabillon.      AA.SS.  OJS.B.  Butler. 
Bucelinus,  Jan.  23. 

B.  Gilia,  or  Egidia.    3rd  O.S.F. 


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350 


ST.  GINEVRA 


Disciple  of  St.  Maugaket,  of  Cortona. 
Jacobilli. 

St.  Ginevra,  M.    Sister  of  St.  Qui- 

TERIA. 

St.  Girolama,  Geronima. 

St.,  B.,  or  Ven.  Gisala,  Gisela. 

St.,  B.,  or  Ven,  Gisela  (1),  Feb.  l, 
May  7  (Gisala,  Gisila,  Gisla).  + 1095. 
Queen  of  Hungary.  Benedictine  abbess 
of  Fassau,  in  Bavaria.  Daughter  of 
Henry  II.,  or  Hezelo,  duke  of  Bavaria, 
and  sister  of  St.  Henry  II.  of  Germany, 
emperor.  She  and  her  brother  had  for 
tutor  B.  Wolffgang,  a  Benedictine,  who 
foresaw  their  destiny,  and  strove  to 
make  them  worthy  of  their  positions.  In 
996  Gisela  married  St.  Stephen,  first 
Christian  king  of  Hungary,  then  aged 
nineteen.  He  was  already  baptized,  and 
he  and  his  wife  had  a  holy  rivalry  in 
the  sanctity  of  their  lives.  They  had 
one  son,  St  Emeric,  who  died  before  his 
father.  Basil,  a  cousin,  was  heir  male 
to  the  throne  of  Hungary;  but  Gisela 
favoured  the  succession  of  Peter,  another 
nephew  of  St  Stephen,  and  son  of  the 
Doge  of  Venice.  By  Gisela's  orders 
Basil  was  blinded,  and  molten  lead 
poured  into  his  ears.  St.  Stephen  died 
in  1038.  Then  Gisela  returned  to  her 
own  country,  and  became  a  nun  under 
her  aunt  Helica,  in  the  monastery  of 
Fassau,  and  eventually  succeeded  her  as 
abbess,  and  lived  to  be  more  than  a 
hundred  years  old.  Her  tomb  at  Passau 
is  visited  with  veneration  by  the  Hun- 
garians. 

She  is  called  "Saint"  in  Ferrarius's 
Catalogue;  "Blessed"  by  Bucelinus, 
Menologium  Benedictinum ;  "Venerable" 
by  Menardus.  She  is  mentioned  with- 
out the  title  of  «  Saint "  by  the  Bollan- 
dists  in  their  Life  of  St.  Stephen,  Aug. 
20,  and  among  the  Prsttermissi,  May  7. 
See  also  Kader,  Bavaria  P« a,  and  Bot- 
tiger,  Weltge8chichte  in  Biographien. 

St.  Gisela  (2),  or  Gisla.  Sister  of 
Bictrudb  (2). 

Gisla,  Gisela,  or  Gislkberga,  Ida- 

BEKG. 

St.  Giulia,  Julia. 
St.  Giuliana,  Juliana. 
St.  Glandiosa,  Gaudiosa. 
St.  Glaphyra,  Jan.  13;  April  26 
(Greek  Church),  V.  of  Amasia,  in  Pontus. 


+  c.  324.  She  was  one  of  the  attendants 
of  Constantia  Augusta,  sister  of  Con- 
stantino, and  wife  of  Licinius,  who  shared 
the  empire  with  Constantino.  Licinius 
having  insulted  Glaphyra,  she  sought 
the  protection  of  Constantia,  who  sent 
her  away  disguised  as  a  man,  with  many 
presents,  attendants,  and  everything 
necessary.  She  went  to  Amasia,  where 
she  was  well  received  by  Basileus,  the 
bishop.  With  the  money  received  from 
Constantia,  Glaphyra  built  a  church. 
Constantia  then  sent  her  more.  Licinius, 
however,  heard  of  her  flight,  and  sent 
orders  to  the  Governor  of  Amasia  to 
send  her  and  the  bishop  in  chains  to 
him.  Glaphyra  died  before  the  order 
could  be  executed,  but  Basileus  was  put 
to  death,  according  to  Eusebius,  in  the 
year  324.  B.M.  AA.SS.  Baillet,"St. 
Basileus,"  April  16. 

St.  Glassuinta,  Galswintha. 

St.  Glaudiosa,  Gaudiosa. 

St.  Gliceria  (l),or  Glyceria,  May  13, 
V.  M.  c.  177.  Represented  with  stones 
falling  in  heaps  round  her.  She  lived 
in  the  reign  of  Antoninus  Pius,  and  was 
daughter  of  a  Roman  named  Martin, 
who  had  been  three  times  consul.  She 
and  her  father  were  living  at  Trajanapo- 
lis,  in  Greece,  at  the  time  that  the  per- 
secution of  the  Christians  raged  fiercely. 
Sabinus,  prefect  of  Greece,  by  the  em- 
peror's command,  ordered  a  universal 
sacrifice  to  Jupiter,  which  persons  of  all 
ages  and  ranks  were  to  attend,  each 
bearing  a  lighted  torch ;  instant  death 
to  be  the  penalty  of  disobedience.  Gli- 
ceria, who  had  secretly  become  a  Christian, 
harangued  and  encouraged  her  fellow- 
believers.  Soon  the  streets  of  Trajana- 
polis  were  full  of  crowds  hurrying  to 
the  sacrifice.  Gliceria  appeared  before 
the  tribunal  of  the  prefect  and  begged 
him  to  allow  her  to  begin  the  sacrifice. 
He  consented,  not  guessing  her  real 
intention.  When  asked  where  her  lamp 
was, u  I  have  a  lamp,"  replied  the  young 
saint,  "  engraven  on  my  forehead,  which 
shines  in  the  soul  and  lights  the  sacri- 
fices which  are  offered  by  us  to  the  true 
God."  "  Very  well,"  said  Sabinus ;  « take 
your  lamp  and  sacrifice  to  Jupiter." 
Gliceria  further  requested  that  all  the 
lamps  should  be  put  out.    By  Sabinus's 


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351 


order  this  'was  done.  Then  Gliceria 
turned  her  face  to  the  people,  and  they 
all  saw  the  holy  sign  of  the  cross  im- 
printed on  her  forehead.  She  prayed 
to  God  to  break  the  idols  to  which  the 
sacrifices  were  to  be  made.  Her  prayer 
was  miraculously  answered.  A  strange 
noise  was  heard,  and  the  marble  statue 
of  Jupiter  fell  to  the  ground,  shattered 
in  pieces.  Sabinus,  attributing  this  to 
magic,  ordered  Gliceria  to  be  stoned, 
but  the  people  who  ran  to  drag  her 
away  fell  down  and  over  each  other, 
thus  forming  a  wall  round  her.  She  was 
sent  to  a  miserable  prison,  where  she 
was  visited  and  comforted  by  a  Christian 
priest,  Filostratus.  She  was  hung  up 
by  the  hair  and  beaten,  then  cast  into  a 
furnace,  from  which  she  came  out  un- 
injured. She  was  scalped,  but  on  return- 
ing to  prison,  an  angel  healed  her  wounds. 
As  nothing  seemed  to  hurt  her,  Sabinus 
decided  to  keep  her  in  prison  until  the 
time  of  the  Games,  and  then  hand  her 
over  to  be  torn  by  wild  beasts.  While 
in  prison  she  converted  her  chief  gaoler, 
Laodicius.  When  the  time  came  for 
her  to  be  led  to  the  arena,  he  accompanied 
her,  declaring  his  willingness  to  die  with 
her  for  Christ's  sake.  This  so  enraged 
Sabinus,  that  he  had  Laodicius  killed  on 
the  spot.  The  first  lioness  that  was  let 
loose  against  Gliceria  lay  down  at  her 
feet  and  began  to  lick  them.  The  young 
saint,  weary  of  waiting,  prayed  to  God 
to  take  her  to  Himself.  Her  prayer  was 
granted.  The  second  lioness  gave  her 
one  little  bite  and  touched  her  no  more ; 
but  Gliceria  soon  died  of  that  slight 
wound,  and  went  straight  to  heaven. 
B.M.  AA.SS.,  from  Basil's  Martyrology, 
and  Arabico-Eyyptian  Mart.  Fiamma, 
Vite  dei  Amtt,  May  11. 

St.  Gliceria  (2),  or  Glyceria,  Oct.  22, 
M.  2nd  or  3rd  century.  Was  converted 
by  seeing  the  constancy  under  torture  of 
St.  Alexander,  bishop,  and  was  put  to 
death  immediately  after  him.  AA.SS, 
(See  Anna  (5).) 

St.  Gliteria,  July  8,  M.  at  Heraclea 
with  many  others.  Entered  this  day  in 
St.  Jerome's  Martyrology.  AA.SS. 

St.  Glodesind,  July  20,  July  25, 
Aug.  8  (CHLODSENiHs,  Clodeswide,  Clo- 
sind,  Closseinde,  Clothsbnd,  Clotsend, 


Glossine,  etc.),  V.  +  c.  608.  Patron 
of  Metz.  Abbess  and  founder  of  a  con- 
vent at  Metz.  Daughter  of  Winter  and 
Godila,  in  the  time  of  Childeric,  king  of 
France.  Married  a  young  nobleman 
named  Obeleno.  He  had  no  sooner  taken 
her  to  his  house  than  the  king  sent  for 
him  and  put  him  in  prison  for  a  year 
because  of  some  villainy  that  he  had 
committed,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time 
had  him  beheaded.  Her  father  wished 
her  to  marry  (again.  As  she  was  un- 
willing, he  intended  to  take  her  to  his 
sister,  Botelinda,  a  holy  woman  at  Treves, 
that  she  might  persuade  her  to  gratify 
him.  Glodesind,  however,  fled  to  Metz, 
and  took  refuge  there  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Stephen.  Afterwards  she  went  to 
her  pious  aunt  Botelinda  at  Treves, 
and  was  instructed  by  her  in  monastic 
observances.  Then  her  parents  gave 
her  means  to  build  a  convent  at  Metz, 
where  she  had  more  than  a  hundred 
nuns.  Migne,  Patrology,  vol.  cxxxvii. 
Bucelinus.  AA.SS.,  July  25.  F.M., 
July  20.    Baillet,  Aug.  8. 

St.  Gloriosa  (1),  May  10,  M.  at 
Tarsus,  in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Gloriosa  (2),  July  26,  M.  at 
Laodicea.  AA.SS. 

St.  Glossine,  Glodesind. 

St.  Gobdela,  or  Gudela,  Sept.  29, 
M.  in  Persia.  Perhaps  the  same  person, 
perhaps  two  sisters,  perhaps  Gobdela,  a 
magician  (man),  and  Gudelia,  a  woman. 
Gobdelaas  and  Dada  are  mentioned  as 
men  and  relations  of  Sapor  in  one  of  the 
accounts  of  this  persecution.  AA.SS. 
(See  Tabbula.) 

St.  Gobertrude,  Gebetbude. 

St.  Gobnata,  Feb.  10  or  11,  V. 
Abbess  of  BorDeach.  Contemporary  of 
St.  Abban,  who  was  one  of  the  chief 
Irish  saints  of  the  6th  century,  but  of 
whom  existing  accounts  are  contradictory 
and  confused.  His  days  are  March  1<> 
and  Oct.  27.  Gobnata  was  the  first 
abbess  of  a  monastery  founded  by  him 
at  Borneach,  now  called  Ballyvourney, 
co.  Cork.  She  is  said  to  have  been  a 
descendant  of  a  famous  king  of  Ireland 
of  the  name  of  Conar,  and  also,  without 
sufficient  ground,  a  daughter  of  O'Connor, 
of  Sligo.    Lanigan.  Colgan. 

St.  Gocla,  Oct.  8,  V.  Commemorated 


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352 


ST.  GODA 


with  St.  Reparata  of  Caasarea.  AA.SS., 
Prseter. 

St.  Goda,  Oct.  23.  Worshipped  in 
the  parish  of  Heron,  near  Liege,  as 
patron  against  tnmonrs  and  diseases 
of  that  sort.  AA.SS.,  Preeter.  Possibly 
Guda  (1). 

St.  Godditis,  Jan.  27,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Godeberta,  April  9,  April  n 

(GOTHEBEBTA,  GoTHOBERTa),  V.  O.S.B. 

+  670,  Bucelinns  (April  11)  says  640. 
Patron  of  Noyon  against  pestilence  and 
against  rain.  Represented  holding  a 
ring.  According  to  Baillet,  Godebert  is 
a  Gothic  name  signifying  fervour.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  chief 
officers  of  Clothaire  III.,  son  of  Clovis  II. 
"While  her  father  was  consulting  the 
king  on  the  subject  of  a  marriage  for 
his  daughter,  St.  Eloy  came  and  put  his 
ring  on  her  finger,  saying,  "I  betroth 
you  to  Jesus  Christ."  The  king,  under- 
standing that  she  was  thereby  dedicated 
to  the  service  of  God,  gave  up  his  palace, 
as  well  as  an  oratory  of  St.  George  at 
Noyon,  that  she  might  there  undertake 
the  care  and  direction  of  twelve  maidens, 
who  devoted  themselves  to  a  religious 
life.  Her  sanctity  was  shown  by  many 
miracles.  Some  years  afterwards,  when 
the  plague  was  raging  at  Noyon,  St. 
Godeberta  proposed  to  the  inhabitants 
to  observe  a  fast  of  three  days  in  sack- 
cloth and  ashes,  after  the  example  of 
the  Ninevites.  They  followed  her  advice, 
and  the  plague  disappeared  from  the 
town  and  neighbourhood.  She  died  of 
her  austerities,  670.  FM.,  April  9. 
Le  Glay,  Gaule  Belgique. 

St.  Godefas,  Sodepa. 

St.  Godelaine,  Godeleva. 

St.  Godeleva,  July  6  (Godelaine, 
Godelieve,  Godliep,  Godoleph,  Godo- 
leve,  Theophila),  V.  M.  c.  1070. 
Patron  of  Ghistelle,  and  against  sore 
throat  and  quinsey.  Addressed  in  her 
Litany  as  the  saint  of  marriage.  Some- 
times represented  with  throe  crowns, 
but  generally  being  held  between  two 
men  and  put  head  downwards  into  a 
pond.  She  was  born  at  the  village  of 
Lodefort,  between  Boulogne  and  Calais 
(  diocese  of  Therouenne).  Her  parents, 
Wifroy  and  Ogine,  or  Infrid  and  Ogeva, 


chose  as  the  richest  of  her  suitors,  and 
the  most  ardent  in    his  admiration, 
Bertold,  lord  of  Ghistelle,  a  village  near 
Bruges  and  Ostend.     He  was  a  bad 
man,  and  took  a  dislike  to  her  from  the 
time  he  brought  her  home.    His  mother 
reproached  him  for  bringing  her  a 
daughter-in-law  with  black  hair  and 
eyebrows.    "  Had  we  not  crows  enough 
at  home,"  said  she,  "without  going  so 
far  to  look  for  one?"   He  would  not 
even  be  present  at  the  feast  in  honour 
of  his  marriage.    His  mother  kept  up 
the  estrangement,  so  that  whereas  he  at 
first  only  neglected  his  wife,  he  soon 
began  to  persecute  her,  first  depriving 
her  of  all  authority  or  charge  of  the 
house,  and  then  putting  her  under  the 
care  of  a  servant,  who  was  only  to  give 
her  a  certain  quantity  of  bread  and 
water.     The  servant  added  insult  to 
cruelty.    Meantime  Godeleva's  conduct 
was  irreproachable.    Bertold  hoped  she 
would  die,  but  did  not  dare  to  kill  her. 
He  curtailed  even  her  scanty  allowance 
of  bread.    She  then  fled  to  her  father, 
who  complained  to  Baldwin  VI.,  count 
of  Flanders,  who  referred  the  complaint 
to  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  promising 
that  if  Bertold  did  not  obey  the  judg- 
ment of  the  bishop  of  Noyon,  he  would 
interfere  in  person.    Bertold,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  bishop,  took  Godeleva  back, 
and  treated  her  with  more  humanity, 
but  resolved  to  get  rid  of  her  altogether. 
She  regarded  him  as  an  instrument  in 
the  hands  of  God,  and  although  she 
perceived  his  design,  she  would  not 
irritate  him  by  a  second  flight.  Feign- 
ing a  reconciliation,  he  told  her  that 
their  misunderstandings  had  doubtless 
been  caused  by  a  jealous  demon,  and 
that  he  would  get  a  woman  to  dissolve 
the  spells  and  dissipate  the  aversion 
with  which  the  sight  of  Godeleva  in- 
spired him.    She  said  she  would  gladly 
be  reconciled,  but  declined  to  use  witch- 
craft for  the  purpose.    He  instructed 
two  of  his  servants  to  murder  her,  and 
went  away  to  Bruges  that  suspicion 
might  not  fall  on  him.    Lambert  and 
Hacca,  the  two  assassins,  came  into  her 
room  at  midnight,  and  dragged  her  out 
of  bed,  pretending  that  the  woman  of 
whom  Bertold  had  spoken  was  at  the 


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353 


door.  They  tied  a  rope  round  ber  neck, 
and  put  her  in  a  pond.  After  keeping 
her  there  long  enough  to  be  sure  she 
was  dead,  they  put  her  back  into  her 
bed,  and  arranged  things  so  that  it 
should  seem  that  she  had  died  a  natural 
death.  The  mark  of  the  cord,  however, 
was  livid,  and  bleeding,  and  no  one 
doubted  that  the  murder  had  been  done 
at  the  instigation  of  her  husband.  Ber- 
told  married  again,  and  had  a  daughter 
who  was  born  blind,  and  recovered  her 
sight  by  washing  her  eyes  in  the  pond 
where  Godeleva  had  been  drowned.  This 
miracle  led  to  the  conversion  of  Bertold 
and  his  mother,  for  which  Godeleva  had 
prayed  before  and  since  her  death. 
Bertold  became  a  monk  in  the  monastery 
of  St.  Winnock,  and  built  a  church  and 
convent  at  Ghistelle,  O.S.B.,  which  was 
dedicated  in  honour  of  St.  Godeleva. 
The  first  translation  of  her  body  was 
made  in  1088.  Rain  on  her  day  is 
specially  dreaded  in  Belgium. 

Her  contemporary  Life  was  written 
by  Drogo,  or  Dreux,  bishop  of  Therou- 
enne.  He  had  lived  at  Ghistelle,  and 
wrote  soon  after  her  death,  on  the 
authority  of  witnesses  of  her  actions. 
He  dedicated  his  work  to  Radbod  II., 
bishop  of  Noyon  and  Tournay,  who  had 
given  a  judicial  sentence  in  favour  of 
the  saint  against  her  husband.  B.M. 
AA.SS.    Baillet.  Eckenstein. 

St.  Godelifeve,  Godeleva. 

St.  Godelu,  Veronica  (1). 

B.  Godina,  Oct.  1.  10th  century. 
Abbess  of  the  Benedictine  convent  of 
St.  John  de  Vieira,  at  Basto,  in  Entre 
Minho  y  Douro,  in  Portugal,  diocese  of 
Braccaro.  She  brought  up  her  niece, 
St.  Senorina,  who  succeeded  her  as 
abbess,  and  died  982.  Tamayo  calls 
Godina  "  Blessed."  AA.SS.,  "  St.  Senor- 
ina," April  22. 

St.  Godlief,  Godeleva. 

St.  Godoleph,  Godeleva. 

St.  Gceda,  Guda. 

St.  Goele,  Gudxtla. 

St.  Gofen,  Copen. 

St.  Golenddyd,  daughter  of  Bry- 
chan.  (See  Almheda).  Perhaps  the 
same  as  Nefydd.  Rees. 

St.  Golinduca,  July  12  (Cholin- 
duchb,  Mary).     6th  century.    In  the 


time  of  Cosroes,  king  of  Persia,  there 
was  at  Hierapolis  a  woman  named 
Golinduca,  a  native  of  Babylon,  of  a 
family  of  Magi.  Her  father  was  one  of 
the  chief  receivers  of  taxes  and  of  the 
king's  revenues.  She  married  young. 
One  day,  while  sitting  at  dinner  with 
her  husband  and  others,  she  suddenly 
lost  all  strength  and  power  of  move- 
ment. When  she  recovered,  they  asked 
her  what  had  caused  this  seizure.  She 
said  she  had  seen  in  a  trance  the  horrible 
torments  prepared  for  the  wicked,  and 
the  delights  in  store  for  those  who  wor- 
ship the  God  of  the  Christians.  Her 
husband  at  first  treated  her  with  ridicule, 
afterwards  he  threatened  to  kill  her. 
She  had  another  vision.  On  the  death 
of  her  husband,  she  left  Babylon,  and 
went  to  Nisibis,  where  she  applied  to 
the  Christian  priests  for  instruction. 
The  Magi  heard  of  her  conversion,  and 
when  they  had  exhausted  arguments, 
bribes,  and  threats,  they  had  her  im- 
prisoned. Delivered  by  an  angel,  she 
escaped  to  Roman  territory,  visited 
Jerusalem,  and  returned  to  Hierapolis, 
where  she  predicted  to  Cosroes  many 
things  which  were  to  happen.  She  also 
foretold  to  the  Romans  that  Cosroes 
would  come  and  ask  their  help.  She 
set  a  holy  example  during  the  rest  of 
her  life.  Theophylacte  Simocatte,  Hist, 
de  VEmpereur  Maurice,  liv.  v.  chap,  xii., 
Cousin's  translation.  AA.SS.,  "St. 
Sira." 

St.  Golinia,  July  6,  V.  in  Ireland. 
Nothing  known  of  her;  supposed  cor- 
ruption of  some  other  name.  AA.SS., 
Prseter.    Possibly  Moninia,  i.e.  Mod- 

WENNA. 

St.  Gondeine,  Guddena.  (See  Gau- 

DENTIA  (1).) 

St.  Gonthilde,  Gontild,  Guntild. 

St.  Gontrude  (1\  Gertrude  (1). 

St.  Gontrude  (2),  Gebetrude. 

St.  Gorgone,  Sept.  9,  M.  at  Nico- 
media,  under  Diocletian.  Canisius. 

St.  Gorgonia  (1),  June  3,  M.  at 
Rome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Gorgonia  (2),  Dec.  9.  4th 
century.  Daughter  of  the  elder  St. 
Gregory,  bishop  of  Nazianzus,in  Cappa- 
docia,  and  of  St.  Nonna,  his  wife,  and 
sister  of  the  more  famous  St.  Gregory  of 

2  A 


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ST.  GORMANDA 


Nazianzus,  and  of  St.  Cesarius.  She 
married  a  man  of  some  importance  in 
Pisidia.  He  seems  to  have  been  a 
heathen,  and  is  sometimes  called  Vito- 
lian,  sometimes  Meletius.  She  had 
several  sons  and  three  daughters,  the 
eldest  of  whom,  Alypiana,  remained  un- 
married, and  consecrated  herself  to  God 
in  a  religions  life ;  the  two  others  in- 
tended to  do  the  same,  bnt  changed 
their  minds,  so  that  their  uncle  St. 
Gregory  withdrew  his  affection  from 
them  to  bestow  it  all  on  Alypiana.  They 
appear,  however,  to  have  done  very  fair 
credit  to  the  careful  training  of  their 
holy  mother.  »  Gorgonia  was  a  pattern 
of  a  married  saint.  Once  her  mules  ran 
away  and  upset  her  chariot,  and  she 
sustained  some  severe  injuries,  but  she 
would  have  no  doctor,  as  she  thought  it 
indecent.  Her  modesty  was  rewarded 
by  perfect  cure.  Another  time  she 
cured  herself  of  a  desperate  illness  by 
anointing  herself  with  the  sacred  ele- 
ments of  the  Eucharist  mixed  with  her 
own  tears,  which  were  shed  with  her 
head  on  the  altar,  amid  groans  and 
cries.  Baillet  says  this  must  have  been 
in  the  later  years  of  her  life,  because 
she  could  not  have  obtained  the  conse- 
crated elements  until  after  her  baptism. 
She  converted  her  husband,  and  was 
baptized  with  him  and  her  sons  and 
grandsons.  Her  father  and  mother  were 
alive  but  extremely  old  at  the  time  of 
her  death.  St.  Gregory  calls  her  "  The 
Paragon  of  Women,"  and  "  The  Diamond 
of  her  Sex."  B.M.  Baillet,  from  the 
•writings  of  her  brother,  St.  Gregory 
Nazianzen. 

St.  Gormanda.  The  church  of 
Koche,  in  Cornwall,  bears  this  saint's 
name.  Parker. 

St.   Gosia,  June  1,  M.  with  St. 

AUCEGA. 

St.  Gotha,  perhaps  Guda  (1). 

St.  Gotheberta,  Gothoberta,  Godb- 

BEKTA. 

St.  Gothia,  or  Cotia,  Oct.  1,  M.  at 
Tomi,  in  Lower  Moesia.  AA.SS. 
St.  Goule,  Gudula. 
St.  Govein,  Cofen. 
St.  Goveinwen,  Cofen. 
St.  Grace  (l),  Engratia. 
St.  Grace  (2),  Sept  27.    Date  un- 


certain. Patron,  with  St.  Probus,  of  a 
church  'in  Cornwall.  The  tradition  is 
that  St.  Probus  built  a  plain  church, 
but  as  he  had  not  money  to  add  a  tower, 
he  applied  to  a  rich  lady,  named  Grace, 
to  help  him.  She  built,  at  her  own 
expense,  the  most  beautiful  tower  that 
had  ever  been  seen  in  the  "West 
countrie;"  she  spared  neither  trouble 
nor  expense  to  have  the  very  best  work- 
men and  materials  that  could  be  procured. 
The  fair  in  the  parish  is  on  Sept.  17. 
Hunt,  Popular  Bomances  of  the  West  of 
England. 

St.  Graeciniana,  June  16,  V.  M. 
{See  Actinea.) 

St.  Grasse,  or  Engratia.  Patron  of 
an  abbey  in  the  diocese  of  Oleron. 
Cbastelain,  Voc.  Hag. 

St.  Grata  (1),  or  Agrata.  One  of 
the  martyrs  of  Lyons,  beheaded  (being 
a  Eoman  citizen)  instead  of  being  killed 
by  the  beasts  in  the  amphitheatre.  (Set' 
Blandina.) 

St.  Grata  (2),  Sept.  4.  Daughter  of 
St.  Lupo  and  St.  Adelaide  (1),  duke 
and  duchess  of  Bergamo.  Her  husband 
was  a  great  king  in  Germany.  When 
he  died  Grata  took  St.  Hesteria  for  a 
companion.  Grata  converted  her  father 
and  mother  to  Christianity,  and  per- 
suaded Lupo  to  build  the  Cathedral  of 
Bergamo.  St.  Alexander,  a  soldier  of 
the  Theban  legion,  was  beheaded  out- 
side the  gate,  and  she  buried  him 
honourably.  After  the  death  of  her 
parents,  she  .  governed  the  republic  of 
Bergamo  with  the  greatest  wisdom.  She 
built  three  churches  and  a  hospital  for 
the  poor  and  sick,  to  whom  she  ministered 
with  her  own  hands.  The  writer  of  her 
life  and  miracles  places  her  in  the  time 
of  Diocletian,  early  in  the  4th  century, 
but  it  seems  more  probable  that  she 
lived  in  the  9th  century.  AA.SS.  B.M. 
Mrs.  Jameson,  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art. 

St.  Gratia  (l),  Aug.  21.  Sister  of 
St.  Mary  of  Alizra.  They  are  patrons 
of  Algeziras.  AA.SS. 

B.  Gratia  (2)  Valentina,  V.  4- 
1606.  Nun  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis  of  Paula.  She  lived  to  the  age  of 
a  hundred  and  twelve.  Gu£nebault. 

St.  Gregoria  (1 ).  Companion  of  St. 
Ursula.    Brit.  Sancta. 


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St.  Gregoria  (2),  Jan.  23,  V.  6th 
century.  Her  contemporary,  St.  Gregory 
the  Great,  who  was  born  about  540, 
Pope  590-604,  gives  her  testimony  as 
his  authority  for  his  Life  of  St.  Isaac, 
abbot  of  Spoleto  ( 4-  c.  550),  which  is  in 
the  collections  of  Mabillon,  Bollandus, 
Surius,  etc.,  April  11.  In  her  youth, 
Gregoria  was  going  to  be  married,  but 
preferring  a  religious  life,  she  fled  to 
the  Church,  and  claimed  the  protection 
of  the  venerable  abbot.  She  was  after- 
wards a  nun  at  St.  Mary's  in  Home. 

St.  Gresinda.  Supposed  same  as 
Glossine.  Guerin. 

St.  Grimonia,  or  Germana,  Sept. 
7,  April  29,  V.  M.  of  chastity.  Ke- 
cluse  in  Picardy.  Irish.  Martyred  in 
her  own  defence.  A  chapel  having  been 
built  on  the  spot,  a  town  grew  up  round 
it,  called  from  its  origin,  "Chapelle." 
This  is  the  saint  worshipped  with  St. 
Proba  (3),  but  it  appears  uncertain 
whether  they  were  companions  in  life, 
or  only  their  relics  united  and  worshipped 
together.  Butler  calls  them  fellow- 
martyrs.    AA.SS.    Butler.  Stadler. 

Grita.  Margaret  is  so  called  in 
Dalecarlia. 

St.  Guda  (l),  Feb.  15  (Goda, 
Gotha,  Gytha,  Juta,  Jutta).  +  1055. 
Queen  of  Denmark.  Princess  of  S  weden. 
Wife  of  Svend,  or  Sueno  Estridson,  king 
of  Denmark,  1047-1076.  In  1057,  when 
King  Svend  had  three  kingdoms,  Den- 
mark, Norway,  and  England,  and  when 
everything  was  going  well  with  him,  he 
forgot  the  King  of  kings  and  married 
his  cousin-german  from  Sweden.  Mas 
Latrie  calls  her  Juta,  and  says  she  was 
the  stepdaughter  of  his  first  wife. 
Whether  that  was  the  relationship 
objected  to  by  the  clergy,  or  that  the 
king  and  queen  were  actually  cousins, 
Adalbert,  bishop  of  Bremen,  denounced 
the  marriage  as  unlawful,  and  ordered 
the  couple  to  separate.  At  first  Svend 
was  very  angry,  and  threatened  to  burn 
and  lay  waste  the  whole  town  and 
territory  of  Hamburg,  but  the  bishop 
remained  firm,  and  the  king  at  last 
consented  to  divorce  his  wife.  She 
spent  the  rest  of  her  life  in  penance  for 
the  sin  she  had  ignorantly  committed. 
She  built  a  monastery  in  Westrogothia, 


called  from  her  name,  Gudheim,  and 
there  she  lived  in  the  practise  of 
hospitality,  charity,  and  industry.  She 
and  her  nuns  worked  magnificent  em- 
broidery for  churches.  In  her  time  a 
mission  was  sent  from  Bremen  to 
christianize  Sweden.  The  missionaries 
were  very  badly  received,  persecuted,  and 
driven  out  of  the  country.  Guda  enter- 
tained them  in  her  monastery,  and  sent 
them  safely  back  to  Bremen.  Meantime 
Svend,  having  bowed  to  the  teaching  of 
the  Church  on  one  point,  immediately 
took  to  himself  a  great  many  concubines, 
one  of  whom,  named  Thora,  jealous  of 
the  great  veneration  in  which  Guda  was 
held,  had  her  poisoned.  Guda  was 
buried  in  her  own  monastery.  Svend 
sent  for  Magnus,  the  only  child  of  Thora, 
to  be  crowned,  but  he  died  on  the  way. 
Svend  had  ten  natural  children,  most  of 
whom  became  kings  and  queens.  Five 
of  his  sons  were  successively  kings  of 
Denmark.  Vastovius,  Vitis  Aquilonia. 
Langebek,  Scriptores  Danicarum.  Mas 
Latrie.  This  Guda  is  probably  the  same 
as  Goda. 

B.  Guda  (2),  or  Guta  de  Bonne- 
church,  Aug.  17.  12th  century.  Wife  of 
B.  Louis,  count  of  Arnestein.  Founder, 
in  1139,  and  first  abbess  of  a  nunnery 
of  the  Pramonstratensian  Order  not  far 
from  Coblentz.  Migne,  Die.  des  Abbayes. 
Le  Paige,  Bibliotheca  Prsemons.  Ord. 
Helyot,  Ordres  Monastiques,  ii.  2(>. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

B.  Guda  C 3),  or  Jutta,  March  19,  V. 
Companion  or  St.  Elizabeth  of  Thtjrin- 
gia.  +  1252,  with  many  proofs  of 
sanctity.  Her  worship  is  not  authorized, 
but  she  is  called  Sancta  Virgo  by 
Trithemius,  in  his  Chronico  Biraaugiensi  ; 
and  called  Beata  by  Monstier.  The 
Bollandists  will  have  more  to  say  about 
her  in  the  Life  of  St.  Elizabeth,  Nov.  19. 

St.  Guda  (4),  June  28.  Lay-sister 
at  Hobenes,  in  Germany.  Henriquez, 
Lilia. 

St.  Guddena,  or  Gondeine,  July  18, 
V.  M.  at  Carthage,  at  the  end  of  the 
2nd  century.  Probably  same  as  Gau- 
dentia  (1).  Tillemont  Mas  Latrie. 
Cahier. 

St.  Guddent,  June  27  (Guddens, 
Guddone).    St.  Augustine  preached  in 


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ST.  GUDDONE 


the  Church  of  the  Elders  at  Carthage  on 
her  festival.  Probably  same  as  Gau- 
dentia  (I).    Tillemont.    Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Guddone,  perhaps  Gaudentia 
(1). 

St.  Gudelia,  or  Gobdela,  Sept.  29. 
4th  century.  Converted  several  persons 
in  Persia,  in  the  reign  of  Sapor,  and 
refused  to  worship  the  sun  and  the  fire. 
She  was  kept  long  in  prison  suffering 
agonies  of  hunger;  then  had  the  skin 
torn  off  her  head,  and  was  tied  and  nailed 
to  a  stake,  where  she  died.  For  other 
martyrs  in  this  persecution,  see  Ja, 
Pherbutha.  Tillemont,  vol.  vii.  p.  89. 
BM. 

St.  Gudila,  Gudula. 

St.  Gudilana,  or  Gudilas,  Sept.  8. 
Honoured  at  Toledo.  Guerin.  Mas 
Latrie. 

St.  Gudula,  Jan.  8,  July  6,  Sept.  14, 
Nov.  15,  16  (Ergoule,  Gauld,  Goule, 
Gudila;  in  Flemish,  Sinte  E.  Goelkn, 
or  Sinte  E.  Goole),  V.  +  712. 
Patron  of  Brussels. 

In  art,  she  often  carries  a  lantern, 
sometimes  an  embroidery  frame,  some- 
times a  book  in  one  hand  and  a  long 
candle  in  the  other.  In  common  with 
St.  Genevieve,  of  Paris,  she  is  attended 
by  an  angel  and  a  devil,  the  latter 
blowing  out  her  torch  or  candle,  the 
angel  relighting  it  (Cahier). 

Gudula  was  the  youngest  daughter  of 
Count  Witger  and  St.  Amalberga,  niece 
of  Pepin,  of  Herstal,  mayor  of  the  palace. 
Gudula  was  sister  of  St.  Emebert,  bishop 
of  Cambrai,  and  of  SS.  Eeyneld  and 
Pharaildis,  and  related  to  Aldegund 
and  Waltrude.  She  was  brought  up 
at  Nivelle  by  her  great-great-aunt  and 
godmother,  St.  Gertrude,  after  whose 
death  she  returned  to  her  father's  house. 
She  made  a  vow  of  virginity,  and  led  an 
anstere  religious  life,  giving  all  her 
fortune  in  alms.  Early  every  morning 
she  used  to  walk  two  miles  to  church 
at  Morzelles,  accompanied  by  a  maid- 
servant carrying  a  lantern.  One  day 
the  light  was  blown  out,  but  the  saint 
took  it  in  her  hands,  and  it  was  miracu- 
lously lighted  again.  She  used  to  go 
into  church  barefooted,  but  her  humility 
led  her  to  conceal  this  act  of  mortifica- 
tion.   The  priest,  however,  perceiving 


that  she  had  no  shoes  on,  lent  her  his 
gloves  to  put  under  the  soles  of  her 
feet;  she  took  them  and  thanked  him, 
but  when  he  had  turned  his  back,  she 
threw  them  away,  and  they  remained 
hanging  in  the  air  for  an  hour.  She 
cured  miraculously  a  woman  in  an 
advanced  stage  of  leprosy. 

Gudulda  was  buried  on  Jan.  8, 
before  the  door  of  the  oratory  of  the 
village  of  Ham.  Next  day  a  poplar 
that  grew  close  to  her  grave  appeared 
in  full  leaf,  or,  according  to  another 
version  of  the  story,  it  sprang  up  in  one 
night. 

The  oldest  Life  of  St.  Gudula  is  by 
Hubert,  who  lived  350  years  after  her 
death.  It  is  preserved  in  Bouquet's 
Beceuil  de  Documents,  iii.  p.  628,  by 
Bollandus,  AA.SS.,  Jan.  8.  Duchesne. 
Some  of  the  legends  are  of  later  growth. 
She  also  appears  in  Surius,  Butler, 
Martin,  and  other  collections. 

St.  Guenfrewi,  Winifred. 

St.  Guenfrida,  Winifred. 

St.  Guenne,  Gwen,  Gwendeline. 

St.  Guenwera,  Winifred. 

St.  Gueodet,  Hauda. 

St.  Guibor,  according  to  Cahier, 
sometimes  means  Walburga.  Perhaps 
same  as  Viborada. 

St.  Guiborat,  Viborada. 
1  St.  Guinefroie,  Winifred. 

St.  Guiteria,  May  21,  V.  Famous 
for  miraculous  cures,  particularly  of  mad 
persons.  Commemorated  in  several 
convents  in  Aquitaine.  Papebroch  could 
discover  nothing  about  her,  and  sup- 
posed her  to  be  the  same  as  St.  Quiteria, 
V.  M.  in  Gascony,  May  22.  AA.SS.y 
Prseter. 

St.  Guivina,  Dec.  8,  V.,  Wivin. 

Guivr6e,  Viborada. 

St.  Gulalia,  Dec.  10,  V.  Occurs  in 
a  very  ancient  calendar,  which  bears  the 
name  of  Bede,  found  in  an  old  missal, 
probably  of  the  11th  century.  Migne, 
cxxxviii.  1301.  Perhaps  a  clerical  error 
for  Eulalia. 

Gulval,  Welvela. 

St.  Gundeburga.  7th  century. 
Queen  of  the  Lombards.  Represented 
wearing  a  crown  surmounted  by  a  saintly 
halo,  and  looking  from  the  window  of 
her  prison  at  two  armed  and  mounted 


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men  fighting  a  duel.  She  was  one  of 
three  daughters  of  St.  Theodolind,  to 
each  of  whom  St.  Gregory  sent  a  ring, 
and  sister  of  Adoald  the  young  king. 
Her  father  was  Theodolind's  second 
hnshand,  Agilulph,  duke  of  Turin,  and 
king  of  the  Lombards.  She  married, 
first  Arioald,  prince  of  Turin,  whom  the 
Lombards  chose  for  their  king  when 
they  drove  out  Adoald  and  his  mother. 
A  certain  Adalulf  tried  to  seduce  her. 
She  treated  him  with  such  opprobrium 
that  he,  to  be  revenged,  accused  her  to 
her  husband  of  intending  to  poison  him 
and  give  the  kingdom  to  Jason,  lord  of 
Etruria.  Arioald  bound  her  with  chains, 
and  shut  her  up  in  a  castle.  After 
some  time,  it  was  settled  that  the  case 
should  be  referred  to  the  "Judgment  of 
God."  A  champion  undertook  to  fight 
her  accuser,  and  killed  him,  which 
proved  the  innocence  of  Gundeburga, 
and  she  was  restored  to  her  place  until 
the  death  of  Arioald.  Secondly,  she 
married  Harod,  who  kept  her  in  prison 
for  five  years,  and  then,  for  fear  of  the 
Franks,  took  her  about  with  him,  making 
a  great  parade  of  the  honour  with  which 
he  treated  her.  She  built  a  church  at 
Pavia  in  honour  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 
Rader,5  Bavaria  Sancta.  Fredegarius, 
Chronicon.  St.  Gregory  L,  lib.  xiv. 
ep.  xii. 

St.  Gundelinda.  8th  century.  Ab- 
bess of  Nidermunster,  or  Bas  Hoh  en- 
burg,  in  Alsace.  Niece  of  Odilia  (3). 
Sister  of  Eugenia  (4).  Migne,  Die. 
Hag. 

St.  Gundenes,  July  18  (Guddenes, 

GUDDENS,  GUNDENA,  GoNDEINE\  V.  M. 

203,  at  Carthage,  under  Runnus,  pro- 
consul. Four  times  put  on  the  rack, 
torn  with  nails,  kept  in  prison,  slain 
with  a  sword.  Compare  with  Gauden- 
tia  (1).    B.M.    Azevedo,  Pantheon. 

St.  Gundrada,  or  Gondrade,  V. 
8th  and  9th  century.  Daughter  of  Ber- 
nard, son  of  Charles  Martel.  Sister  of 
Theodrada,  a  nun  at  Soissons,  also  of 
SS.  Adelard  and  Wala,  abbots  of  Corbie 
on  the  Somme,  and  founders  of  New 
Corbie,  or  Corvey,  in  the  diocese  of 
Paderborn.  St.  Ida  was  their  sister  or 
cousin.  After  the  death  of  their  cousin- 
german,  Charlemagne,  her  brothers  were 


suspected  of  plotting  to  place  on  the 
throne  his  grandson  Bernard,  who  had 
been  the  pupil  of  Adelard ;  and  lest 
their  sister  Gundrada  should  assist  them, 
she  was  imprisoned  in  the  monastery  of 
Ste.  Croix,  at  Poitiers,  where  in  course 
of  time  she  took  the  veil  and  became  a 
saint.  She  is  mentioned  in  the  Life  of 
St.  Adelard  by  St.  Pascasius  Radbert, 
one  of  his  monks,  and  in  the  Appendix 
to  Saussaye's  Mart.  Gallicanum.  Smith 
and  Wace,  Christian  Biography,  "  Adal- 
hard.'* 

St.  Gundred,  or  Gannett.  A  well 
at  Roach  Rock,  in  Cornwall,  is  called 
by  her  name,  and  stands  near  the  ruins 
of  a  chapel.  A  leper  once  lived  in  the 
hermitage,  apart  from  his  fellow-crea- 
tures, and  was  dutifully  attended  there 
every  day  by  his  daughter  Gunnett,  or 
Gundred.  Hunt,  Popular  Bomances  of 
the  West  of  England. 

St.  Gunnett,  Gundred. 

St.  Gunthildis,  Guntild. 

St.  Guntild  (1),  Oct.  6  or  Dec.  8  (Bil- 

HILD  (2),  CUNGILD,  CuNHILT,  ClJNICHILDIS, 

Chunhilt,  Gonthilde,  Suanchild,  per- 
haps KynegildY  8th  century.  Patron 
of  Eystadt.  Abbess  of  Strennesheim. 
She  and  her  daughter  St.  Bebathgit  were 
among  the  English  nuns  whom  St.  Boni- 
face, archbishop  of  Mayence  and  apostle 
of  Germany,  fetched  from  Wimborne  to 
be  mistresses  in  the  schools  he  estab- 
lished for  his  converts.  They  have 
been  venerated  as  saints  in  Thuringia 
from  time  immemorial.  Guntild  had  a 
nephew,  St.  Lullus,  who  succeeded  St 
Boniface  as  bishop  of  Mainz.  Thuringia 
Sacra  (Frankfort,  1737).  Lechner.  She 
is  probably  the  real  person  on  whom  is 
built  up  the  legend  of  Guntild  (2). 

St.  Guntild  (2),  or  Cungdld,  etc., 
Sept.  22.  The  "  cow-maid."  Patron  of 
Eyestadt,  and  specially  worshipped  in 
the  monastery  of  Plangkstetten,  or  Blan- 
kensteten,  and  in  the  villages  of  Piper- 
bach,  or  Biberbach,  on  the  Saltz,  and 
Schambach,  near  Arensperg.  In  these 
villages  she  is  patron  of  cattle,  and 
offerings  are  made  to  her  of  money, 
butter,  eggs,  meat,  candles.  Masses  are 
said  in  her  honour.  At  Biberbach  a 
church  is  dedicated  in  the  names  of  St. 
Guntild,  virgin,  St.  Sigismund,  king, 


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ST.  GUNTILD 


and  St.  Michael,  archangel.  In  this 
church  is  a  gilded  statue  of  St.  Guntild 
holding  a  jug  of  milk.  During  her  life 
the  contents  of  her  milk-jug  were  in- 
exhaustible. Local  tradition  says  she 
was  a  farm-servant,  and  she  is  repre- 
sented holding  a  sickle,  herding  cows, 
bringing  a  fountain  of  water  by  her 
prayers  out  of  a  willow  tree,  which 
fountain  afterwards  had  miraculous  heal- 
ing powers.  Once  she  gave  the  milk  to 
the  poor,  and  when  her  master  inter- 
fered and  grudged  the  gift,  all  the  milk 
in  his  jugs  and  tubs  turned  into  ashes. 

At  her  death,  her  body  was  drawn  on 
a  cart  by  unbroken  bullocks  to  a  hill  at 
Suffersheim,  where  a  chapel  was  built 
over  her  grave,  and  miracles  honoured 
the  shrine. 

Suysken  the  Bollandist,  in  AA.SS., 
says  that,  although  her  worship  is  of 
long  standing — being  mentioned  as  al- 
ready ancient  in  the  time  of  Gundekar, 
bishop  of  Eystadt,  in  1057 — there  is  no 
authority  for  her  story  but  the  tradition 
of  the  place.  He  says  that  possibly  the 
real  Guntild  was  none  other  than  the 
disciple  of  St.  Boniface. 

She  was  brought  repeatedly  by  St. 
Wunibald,  from  Thuringia,  into  the 
country  about  Eystadt,  when  the  schools 
and  convents  there  required  her  presence  ; 
and  thus  she  came  to  be  considered  one 
of  the  patron  saints  of  Eystadt,  so  that 
it  is  uncertain  whether  there  were  two,  or 
whether  the  legend  of  the  heilige  Vieh- 
Magd  is  entirely  fictitious. 

St.  Guntild  (3),  Feb.  21.  12th 
century.  V.,  O.S.B.  First  abbess  of 
Biblisheim,  founded  by  her  father,  the 
Count  of  Mompelgard,  or  Mombelgard, 
in  the  diocese  of  Strasburg.  Mentioned 
in  a  chronicle  dated  1131.  AA.SS., 
Prmter.  Menard,  Mart.  Ben.,  quoting 
Trithemius.  Chron.  Hirsaugiensis.  Buce- 
linus  only  calls  her  "  Venerable." 

St.  Guntrudis,  Gebetrude. 

St.  Gurdinella,  May  13.  Trans- 
lated to  Douai  with  St.  Onesimus,  bishop. 
Martin. 

St.  Guria,  M.  with  Samo. 

St,  Gwawrddydd.  Same  as  Gwend- 
dydd.    Worship  uncertain.    (See  Alm- 

HEDA .) 

St.  Gwen  (1),  Gwendeline  Bees. 


St.  Gwen  (2)  (in  French,  Guenne). 
Mother  of  St.  Guingalois.  Not  to  be 
confounded  with  St.  Guin,  a  man. 
Oahier.    Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Gwen  (3),  Wenn. 

SS.  Gwenafwy,  Peillan,  and 
Peithien.  First  half  of  6th  century. 
Daughters  of  St.  Caw.  No  churches 
dedicated  to  them  remain.  They  had 
two  sisters,  SS.  Cain  and  Cwtlloo,  and 
several  brothers,  saints.    Bees,  p.  230. 

St.  Gwenaseth.  Latter  part  of  5th 
century.  Daughter  of  Bhufon  ab 
Cunedda,  related  to  St.  David.  She 
married  either  St.  Pabo  Post  Prydain  or 
his  son  Sawyl,  the  supposed  founder  of 
Llanbabo,  in  Anglesey.    Bees,  p.  166. 

St.  Gwenddydd,  or  Gwawrddydd. 
Daughter  of  Brychan.  (See  Almheda.) 
Either  a  saint,  i.e.  probably  a  recluse,  at 
Tywyn,  in  Merionethshire,  or  mother  of 
Cyneen,  who  married  one  of  the  grand- 
daughters of  Brychan.  Bees.  She  is 
perhaps  the  same  who  is  called  St. 
Enodoc,  or  Wbnodoo.  Arnold-Forster. 

St.  Gwendeline,  otherwise  Gwen. 
Granddaughter  of  Brychan.  (See  Alm- 
heda.) Wife  of  Llyr  Merini.  She  was 
murdered  by  Saxons.  Bees. 

St.  Gwendoline,  Oct.  18.  6th 
century.  Abbess.  Worshipped  in 
Wales.  The  parish  of  Llanwyddelan, 
in  Montgomeryshire,  is  called  after  her, 
and  several  churches  are,  or  were,  dedi- 
cated in  her  name;  but  she  is  one  of 
many  Welsh  saints  of  whom  only  the 
names  survive.  AA.SS.  Perhaps  same 
as  Gwendeline. 

St.  Gwenfaen,  Nov.  5.  First  half  of 
6th  century.  Founder  of  Bhoscolyn,  in 
Anglesey.  Daughter  of  Pawl  Hen,  or 
Paulinus,  and  sister  of  two  holy  men 
who  built  churches,  in  Wales.  Bees, 
p.  237. 

St.  Gwenfrewi,  Winifred. 

St.  Gwenfyl.    (See  Callwen.) 

St.  Gwenn,  or  Ouenne.  Sister  of  St. 
Euriella,  of  Bretagne. 

St.  Gwenog,  Jan.  3,  V.  Patron  of 
Llanwenog,  in  Cardiganshire.  Must  not 
be  confounded  with  Gwynnog,  or 
Gwinocus,  a  man.    Bees,  pp.  258,  307. 

St  Gwenteirbron.  Early  in  6th 
century.  Mother  of  St.  Cadfan,  one  of 
many  Armorican  warriors  driven  out  by 


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HADUINADA 


350 


Franks,  under  Clovis  ;  afterwards  a  saint 
in  Wales,  Nov.  1.  He  founded  churches 
at  Tywyn  and  Llangadfan,  and  was  the 
first  abbot  of  a  monastery  in  the  island 
of  Bardsey,  off  Carmarthen,  founded  by 
him  in  conjunction  with  Einion  Frenhin. 
He  is  said  to  be  buried  there.  There 


are  no  churches  in  honour  of  Gwenteir- 
bron.    Bees,  p.  215. 

St  Gyth,  or  Gytha,  sometimes  means 
Edith. 

St.  Gytha,  Guda  (1).  Queen  of 
Denmark. 


St  Haberilla,  or  Habrilia,  Jan. 
30,  Dec.  1,  V.  7th  century.  Abbess. 
Patron  of  Bregentz,  on  Lake  Constance. 
Disciple  of  St.  Grail,  who  gave  her  the 
religious  veil,  and  on  account  of  her 
piety  and  asceticism,  chose  her  to  rule 
over  a  community  of  nuns  at  Bregentz. 
AA.SS.,  Jan.  30.    Bucelinus,  Dec.  1. 

St.  Hadassah,  Esther. 

B.  Haddewig,  Hedwig  (2). 

St.  Hadeloga,  Feb.  2  (Adaloja, 
Adeloja,  Adelheid,  Adelaide,  Hade- 

LAUGI8,    HALLOIE,    HrUADLAUGA,  BOTH- 

lauga,  etc.),  V.  8th  century.  Founder 
and  abbess  of  Kitzingen  (Cuocingum),  in 
Franconia,  in  the  diocese  of  Wurtzburg. 

Bollandus  inclines  to  the  opinion  that 
she  was  the  daughter  of  Pepin,  of 
Herstal,  who  was  mayor  of  the  palace, 
and  virtually,  though  not  actually,  king 
of  the  Franks.  In  that  case,  she  was 
great-niece  to  St.  Gertrude,  of  Nivelle. 
Some  historians  make  her  daughter  of 
Charles  Martel ;  others  of  Pepin  the 
Short,  father  of  Charlemagne. 

Hadeloga  was  born  and  brought  up  at 
Schwanberg,  the  residence  of  her  father, 
in  Franconia.  As  she  was  very  beau- 
tiful, and  renowned  for  her  piety,  amia- 
bility, and  wisdom,  she  had  many  suitors 
—kings,  sons  of  kings,  and  nobles  from 
England,  Hungary,  Greece,  and  other 
countries;  but  she  found  some  excuse 
for  refusing  every  one  of  them,  pre- 
ferring a  celibate  religious  life.  Her 
father  was  very  angry,  and  she  became 
more  popular  at  his  court  from  the 
meekness  and  cheerfulness  with  which 
she  bore  his  unkindness.  Then  the 
devil  put  it  into  the  king's  heart  to  put 
an  evil  construction  on  the  favour  with 
which  Hadeloga  treated  his  chaplain, 
and  he  sent  one  of  his  guards  to  tell  the 
priest  that  if  he  did  not  take  her  away, 


H 

he  would  turn  them  both  ignominiously 
out-of-doors  next  day.  So  they  went 
away,  and  coming  to  a  wood,  the  priest 
made  a  clearing,  and  there  they  built  a 
monastery,  where  they  were  joined  by  a 
few  religious  persons,  and  ied  a  holy 
life  under  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict  and 
St.  Scholastica.  The  king,  hearing  the 
fame  of  his  daughter's  sanctity,  repented 
of  his  harshness,  and  gave  extensive 
estates  to  the  institution  over  which  she 
presided.  The  chaplain,  in  the  mean 
time,  went  to  Jerusalem,  and  died  there ; 
and  some  time  afterwards  he  appeared  in 
a  dream  to  the  king,  warning  him  of  his 
approaching  death,  and  exhorting  him, 
as  he  wished  to  save  his  soul,  to  repent 
of  his  injurious  suspicions  against  St. 
Hadeloga  and  himself.  The  king  ac- 
cordingly visited  his  daughter,  and 
begged  her  forgiveness  and  her  prayers, 
endowing  the  convent  richly.  From 
that  time  it  increased  greatly  in  power 
and  in  fame  of  sanctity.  St.  Hadeloga 
built  a  stone  bridge  over  the  river  Main 
at  Kitzingen,  which  is  still  pointed  out, 
although  superseded  for  use  by  a  modern 
one.  St.  Hadeloga's  bridge  is  said  to 
have  been  thirty-two  years  in  building. 

Tritheim  supposes  her  to  be  the 
Abbess  Thecla  (19),  whom  Boniface 
brought  from  England.  AA.SS. 
Chastelain. 

B.  Hademunda,  Nov.  11.  Widow 
in  Palestine  about  1030.  Descended 
from  Carloman,  king  of  Bavaria  and 
Italy.  Daughter  of  Adalberon  I. 
Wife  of  Marguard,  regulus  of  Carinthia. 
He  died  young.  She  left  all  her  pos- 
sessions and  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
Holy  Land.  Qynecseum,  from  Bader's 
Bavaria  Sancta, 

St.  Hadmoda,  Hadumada. 
Haduinada  Hadumada. 


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ST.  HADUMADA 


St.  Hadumada,  Nov.  28  (Adumade, 
Hadmode,  Hathmuthe,  Hathumod, 
Hathumoth,  Haymode).  +  874.  First 
abbess  of  Gandersheim.  Granddaughter 
of  St.  Ida.  Her  parents  were  Ludolf, 
duke  of  the  Saxons,  son  of  Ecbert  and 
St.  Ida,  and  Oda,  daughter  of  Billung 
and  Eda.  They  went  as  pilgrims  to 
Rome,  and  brought  thence  the  relics  of 
the  holy  Popes  Innocent  and  Anastasins 
to  enrich  the  new  monastery  of  Gander- 
sheim, which  they  had  founded  852. 
They  had  twelve  children,  one  of  whom, 
Bruno,  is  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the 
house  of  Brunswick.  Another,  Otho 
the  Illustrious,  was  duke  of  Saxony 
and  father  of  the  Emperor  Henry  the 
Fowler.    (See  St.  Matilda  (2).) 

Ludolf  died  in  866.  Oda  lived 
through  the  whole  of  the  9th  century 
and  part  of  the  10th,  and  attained  to  the 
age  of  one  hundred  and  nine.  She  was 
bora  in  the  reign  of  Charlemagne,  and 
lived  until  after  the  birth  of  her  great- 
grandson,  Otho  the  Great.  Five  of  her 
daughters  were  veiled  nuns,  living  in 
her  house  at  Brunshausen  ;  but  as  they 
were  joined  by  others,  the  place  was 
soon  too  small  for  them,  and  Oda  re- 
moved them  all  to  Gandersheim.  Hadu- 
mada was  the  eldest  of  these  five.  Her 
contemporary  biographer  says  that  from 
her  infancy  she  never  cared  for  toys  or 
fine  clothes,  but  addicted  herself  to 
letters  which  others  were  compelled  with 
blows  to  learn,  and  was  soon  conspicuous 
for  her  acquaintance  with  the  Holy 
Scriptures  and  for  her  charity,  her  great 
kindness  and  obedience  to  her  mother, 
and  all  virtues.  She  was  for  several 
years  a  nun  at  Herford,  on  the  Werra, 
which  was  the  first  great  nunnery  on 
Saxon  ground,  and  was  called  "Dat 
Hillige  Hervede,"  being  very  rich  in 
bones  and  other  holy  relics.  It  was 
founded  by  King  Louis,  about  822,  on 
the  model  of  Notre  Dame  de  Soissons, 
where  Ludolf  s  grandmother,  St.  Theo- 
dbada,  was  abbess.  The  abbess  and  all 
the  nuns  of  Herford  were  very  sorry 
when  the  time  came  that  Hadumada, 
now  twelve  years  old,  must  leave  them 
and  take  the  post  of  abbess  of  Gander- 
sheim, six  leagues  from  Goslar.  It  was 
one  of  the  conditions  of  the  foundation 


and  endowment  that  the  abbess  should 
always  be  a  member  of  the  house  of  the 
founders  when  one  of  suitable  learning 
and  piety  could  be  found.  Accordingly, 
the  three  first  abbesses  were  daughters 
of  Ludolf  and  Oda.  It  was  one  of  the 
four  great  abbeys  where  none  but 
daughters  of  princes  were  received.  The 
abbess  was  ex  officio  a  princess  of  the 
empire,  and  sat  in  the  German  diet. 

Hadumada  died  in  her  thirty-fifth 
year,  and  was  succeeded  by  her  sister, 
B.  Gerberga,  and  she  by  another  sister, 
Christina, 

A  contemporary  Life  of  St.  Hadu- 
mada in  the  appendix  to  the  works  of 
Hroswitha  (Migne,  Curms  Completes, 
cxxxvii.),  is  chiefly  a  panegyric,  and  tells 
little  but  her  extraordinary  virtues. 
The  particulars  of  her  family  and  of  the 
two  abbeys  are  in  Clarus,  Die  Heiluje 
Mathilde ;  Migne,  Die.  des  Abbayes ; 
Giesebrecht,  Kaiserzeit.  Pertz  and 
Leibnitz  have  among  their  Monumenta 
several  chronicles  in  which  Gandersheim 
and  its  founders  and  inmates  are  men- 
tioned. The  chronicle  of  Henry  Bodo, 
for  instance,  contains  copies  of  sundry 
grants  of  land  and  other  privileges  given 
to  this  abbey  by  the  sovereigns  of  the 
9th  and  10th  centuries. 

St.  Haecaterina,  Catherine  (1). 

St.  Haemorrhoissa,  July  12.  The 
woman  cured  of  a  twelve  years'  illness 
by  touching  the  hem  of  Christ's  garment 
(St.  Mark  v.  25-34).  Her  name  is 
unknown;  she  is  sometimes  called 
Veronica,  Venica,  Venisa.  (See  Vero- 
nica.) 

St  Hagne.  Jan.  14,  M.  A  name  of 
St.  Agnes,  (2;  in  the  Greek  Church. 
AAJSS.9  Prmter. 

St.  Halas,or ALLA8,M.with  Anna  (7), 
the  Goth. 

St.  Halena,  Alena,  of  For6t. 

St.  Halloie,  Hadeloga.  Chastelain. 

St.  Hanna,  Anna  (1). 

St.  Harlind,  Oct.  12,  March  22. 
8th  century. 

St.  Harlind,  or  Herlind,  with  her 
sister,  St.  Relind  (1),  or  Renildis, 
abbesses  of  Maseych,  on  the  Meuse,  in 
the  county  of  Liege,  were  disciples  of 
SS.  Boniface  and  Willibrord,  apostles  of 
that  country.    They  were  the  daughters 


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ST.  HEDA 


361 


of  Adelard  and  Grinnara,  or  Gmmiara, 
and  were  brought  up  in  a  convent  at 
Valenciennes,  on  the  Scheldt.  They 
were  learned  in  all  religious  matters, 
and  in  reading,  writing,  singing,  paint- 
ing, spinning,  embroidery,  sewing,  and 
all  arts  feminine  as  well  as  clerkly.  When 
they  were  grown  up  they  returned  to  their 
parents,  who,  seeing  their  holy  disposi- 
tion, meditated  building  a  monastery  for 
them;  and  when  they  had  found  a  suitable 
place  and  taken  steps  for  beginning  the 
work,  the  sisters  went  out  early  every 
morning,  and  carried  sand  and  stones  for 
the  building.  The  old  German  story 
says  that  one  morning  Adelard  saw  his 
daughters  carrying  immense  stones.  He 
was  on  the  point  of  forbidding  them  to 
do  so  lest  they  should  hurt  themselves, 
when  the  stones  turned  into  roses.  The 
building  was  completed  with  wonderful 
rapidity,  and  called  Eike,  or  Heike,  which 
means  oak  in  the  Belgian  tongue.  Ade- 
lard and  his  wife  were  buried  in  it, 
and  left  it  as  an  inheritance  to  their  two 
daughters,  both  of  whom  were  conse- 
crated abbesses  by  SS.  Willibrord  and 
Boniface.  Several  other  young  women 
placed  themselves  under  their  guidance, 
and  were  instructed  by  them  in  all  the 
arts  they  so  well  understood.  They  had 
a  great  horror  of  idleness,  and  avoided 
it  like  a  pestilence.  They  embroidered 
&paUiola  with  gold  and  pearls  in  curious 
devices.  They  wrote  a  copy  of  the 
Gospels  and  the  Psalms,  and  other  parts 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  beautifully  orna- 
mented with  gold  and  silver  and  pearls. 
They  edified  their  nuns  by  precept  and 
example. 

While  the  sisters  were  still  young, 
Harlind  died,  Oct.  12.  Belind  survived 
her  many  years. 

Several  miracles  are  recorded  of  them ; 
the  most  known  is  that  of  changing 
water  into  wine,  which  was  on  this  wise : 
SS.  Willibrord  and  Boniface  used  to 
visit  them  alternately,  but  one  day  they 
both  happened  to  come,  and  the  hostesses 
were  in  great  trouble  because  they  had 
not  enough  wine  for  the  multitude  of 
their  followers  and  disciples  ;  but  at  the 
prayers  of  the  abbesses,  a  cask,  which 
was  nearly  empty,  became  fall,  and 
sufficed  for  all  the  company. 


Their  translation  is  commemorated 
March  22. 

AA.SS.,  March  22,  from  their  Life 
written  in  the  9th  century.  Baillet, 
Oct.  12.  Peter  Cratepol,  Be  Sanctis  Ger- 
manise, dates  the  death  of  Harlind  as  718. 

St.  Hathes,  Hati.   (See  Bahuta.) 

St.  Hathmoda,  Hadumada. 

St.  Hathumoth,  Hadumada. 

St.  Hati,  or  Hathes,  M.  with  St. 
Mamlacha.    (See  Bahuta.) 

St  Hauda,  Nov.  18  (Haude,  Heau- 
dez,  Eodet,  Gueodet).  +  545.  V.  of 
Armorica,  killed  by  her  brother,  near 
Brest,  on  account  of  the  calumnies  of 
her  step-mother.  Sister  of  St.  Tanneguy, 
abbot.    Mas  Latrie.  Cahier. 

B.  Havydis,  Oct.  7  (Havig,  Helen, 
Beatrice  (8)).  13th  century.  Cister- 
cian abbess  of  Olairfont,  in  Luxemberg. 
Sister  of  Theobald,  duke  or  prince  of 
Luxemburg.  Worship  uncertain.  AA.SS., 
Prseter.  Bucelinus. 

Hawstyl,  the  twenty-fifth  daughter 
of  Brychan,  is  perhaps  the  same  as  St. 
Austel.   Arnold  Forster. 

St.  Haymoda,  Hadumada. 

St.  Hazeka,  or  Haseka,  Jan.  26,  V. 
+  1261.  She  was  for  36  years  a  recluse 
at  Schermbek,  Westphalia.  She  had  a 
devoted  servant  named  Bertha.  Hazeka 
lived  in  a  cell  outside  the  church  in 
Schermbek,  which  was  near  the  monas- 
tery of  Sichem.  She  gave  her  labour  to 
the  community,  and  they  gave  her  her 
daily  food  and  necessary  clothing.  Once 
some  very  bad  butter  was  given  to  her 
for  herself  and  her  servant.  When  it 
had  stood  in  the  hut  a  few  days,  Bertha 
said  she  would  not  and  could  not  tolerate 
the  smell  of  it  any  longer,  and  was  going 
to  throw  it  away;  but  Hazeka  prayed 
over  it,  and  said  they  would  eat  it  in  the 
name  of  God,  and  if  He  chose,  He  could 
make  His  gift  good  for  them ;  so  they 
sat  down  at  their  little  table,  one  inside 
the  cell  and  the  other  outside,  and  lo, 
the  butter  was  quite  fresh  and  newly 
churned.  Miracles  attended  her  burial. 
AA.SS. 

Heaburg,  Edbubga  (5). 

St.  Heanflet,  Eanfleda. 

St.  H^audez,  Hauda.  Cahier. 

St.  Heda,  disciple  of  St.  Helen, 
empress. 


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362 


ST.  H  ED  WIG 


St.  Hedwig  (1),  May  2  (Ad visa, 
A vi a,  Avis,  Edvige,  etc.).  Year  un- 
known. Honoured  in  Bretagne  and  at 
Paris.  Chastelain. 

B.  Hedwig  (2)  d*  Arc,  April  14,  24 
( Avia,  Edwio,  Haddewig,  etc.).  +  1 1 89. 
Prioress.  Daughter  of  B.  Hildkgund. 
Le  Paige,  Bib.  Prsem.  Chastelain. 

St.  Hedwig  (3),  Oct.  17  (Avis, 
Hadwig,  Hedwigis;  in  French,  Avoie, 
Edvige  ;  in  Polish,  Jadwicz).  +  1243. 
Duchess  of  Silesia  and  Poland.  Patron 
of  those  countries  and  of  Frankfort  on 
the  Oder.  Born  in  1174,  of  an  ancient 
German  princely  house,  distinguished  no 
less  for  its  piety  and  magnificent  founda- 
tions than  for  its  worldly  wealth  and 
importance;  no  less  for  its  saints  and 
missionaries  than  for  its  warriors  and  its 
queens.  Hedwig  was  the  daughter  of 
Berthold,  of  Andechs,  lord  of  Carinthia, 
Istria,  Meran,  and  Tyrol,  and  of  Agnes, 
of  Kochlitz,  a  near  relation  of  the  house 
of  Austria.  The  castle  of  Andechs,  which 
was  probably  the  birthplace  of  St.  Hed- 
wig, was  afterwards  called  the  Holy 
Mountain  on  account  of  the  number  of 
saints  buried  there.  On  another  hill 
near  it  stood  the  famous  Augustinian 
monastery  of  Diessen,  built  by  an  ances- 
tor of  Hedwig,  and  a  church  of  St. 
George,  built  by  a  sainted  member  of 
the  same  family  as  early  as  850. 

St.  Otho,  of  Bamberg,  apostle  of  Pome- 
rania,  and  his  sister,  St.  Matilda,  of 
Diessen,  were  great-uncle  and  aunt  of 
Hedwig,  and  were  still  alive  at  the  time 
of  her  marriage.  Other  saints  illustrated 
the  family  both  before  and  after  the 
time  of  which  we  are  speaking,  particu- 
larly St.  Elizabeth,  landgravine  of 
Thuringia,  who  was  born,  married,  died, 
and  was  canonized  during  the  life  of 
her  aunt  Hedwig,  and  whose  mother, 
Gertrude,  queen  of  Hungary,  was  Hod- 
wig's  sister. 

St.  Hedwig  was  educated  in  the 
monastery  of  Kitzingen,  and  there  trained 
in  great  admiration  of  asceticism  and 
great  fear  of  the  snares  of  the  world  and 
the  wiles  of  the  devil.  About  the  year 
1 186,  at  the  early  age  of  twelve,  she  was 
taken  from  her  convent  school  to  be 
married  to  Henry,  son  of  Boleslaus  I., 
duke  of  Silesia.    In  1201,  Boleslaus 


died,  and  Henry  succeeded  to  his 
dominions. 

Hedwig,  in  common  with  many  of  her 
contemporaries,  good  and  bad,  regarded 
cloister  life  as  the  most  pleasing  to  God, 
and  the  most  profitable  to  the  human 
soul,  and  considered  worldly  affairs, 
ducal  state,  married  life,  as  so  many 
traps  set  by  the  enemy  of  souls.  She 
acknowledged  the  duty  of  princes  to 
have  heirs,  but  her  standard  of  virtue 
demanded  celibacy,  so  she  trimmed  her 
life  ingeniously  for  the  attainment  of 
both  objects ;  and  after  providing  three 
sons  for  the  state  and  three#  daughters 
for  the  cloister,  the  young  couple,  by 
mutual  consent,  made  a  vow  of  celibacy. 
After  this  they  never  met,  except  for 
the  planning  of  works  of  piety  or  charity, 
or  to  discuss  the  founding  or  endowment 
of  the  churches  and  religious  houses 
they  built  in  various  parts  of  their 
dominions,  and  subjects  affecting  the 
public  good  ;  and  even  these  conversa- 
tions were  always  held  in  presence  of 
friends  or  attendants. 

From  this  time  Henry  never  shaved, 
and  is  therefore  distinguished  from 
other  Henries  as  "Henry  with  the 
beard,"  nor  did  he  wear  gold  and  silver 
ornaments,  nor  robes  of  purple,  such  as 
were  used  by  other  persons  of  his  rank. 
Hedwig  wore  the  plainest  and  coarsest 
clothes,  and  often  went  barefooted. 

They  continued  to  live  peaceably  and 
happily  together,  acting  in  concert  on 
many  recorded  occasions.  Henry  was 
influenced  by  her  in  many  ways,  and 
showed  his  appreciation  of  her  piety 
and  charity  by  having  prisoners  released 
at  every  place  she  visited,  and  by  tem- 
pering his  justice  with  mercy.  Duke 
Henry  continued  to  enlarge  his  do- 
minions both  by  war  and  by  diplo- 
macy. Under  him  Silesia  attained  to 
her  greatest  extent,  and  continued  to 
advance  in  the  prosperity  and  civiliza- 
tion his  father  had  laboured  to  promote. 
He  put  down  robbery  and  rapacity,  and 
established  safety  and  justice  through- 
out the  land.  He  was  beloved  by  his 
subjects,  and  esteemed  by  his  neigh- 
bours. 

Hedwig  brought  up  numbers  of 
orphan  girls  according  to  their  rank, 


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with  tho  greatest  solicitude,  especially 
for  their  spiritual  welfare.  Her  be- 
haviour in  church,  her  tears  during 
mass,  her  many  prostrations,  edified  all 
beholders.  She  prayed  for  hours  with 
neither  carpet  nor  kirtle  between  her 
knees  and  the  stones ;  she  made  light  of 
chilblains  and  swellings  earned  in  her 
austerities.  She  had  pictures  of  the 
saints  taken  with  her  wherever  she  went, 
and  carried  reverently  before  her  on  her 
way  to  church.  In  church,  a  heap  of 
pence  was  laid  beside  her,  which  she 
distributed  to  the  poor.  She  taught 
many  prayers  and  portions  of  holy  writ 
to  her  maids  and  to  her  husband. 

In  1203,  two  years  after  their  ac- 
cession to  the  dukedom,  Henry  and 
Hedwig  founded  the  great  Cistercian 
nunnery  of  Trebnicz,  which  was  finished 
and  its  church  consecrated  in  1219. 

The  origin  of  this  pious  work  is  thus 
related  by  contemporary  historians — 

Some  years  before  it  was  begun, 
Henry,  who,  like  all  the  doughty  war- 
riors of  his  time,  was  also  a  mighty 
hunter,  was  one  day  out  with  several  of 
his  friends  and  servants  hunting  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Breslau,  his  capital. 
,  He  suddenly  found  himself  in  a  morass, 
his  horse  sinking  into  the  ground.  In 
his  desperation  he  vowed  that  if  Ood 
would  save  his  life,  he  would  build  on 
that  spot  a  house  for  nuns.  He  com- 
mended himself  to  God,  and  threw  him- 
self from  his  horse.  He  sank  up  to  his 
knees  in  the  marsh;  but,  oh  joy!  he 
felt  hard  ground  under  his  feet;  and 
soon,  with  slow  and  careful  steps,  he 
reached  the  solid  ground. 

Back  to  life,  with  its  struggles,  its 
pleasures,  its  rivalries,  his  vow  is  well- 
nigh  forgotten;  but  Hedwig,  to  whom 
he  told  it  at  the  time  of  his  narrow 
escape,  remembers  and  reminds.  Money 
is  wanted.  Hedwig  gives  her  own 
dowry  for  the  expenses  and  the  endow- 
ment, and  the  workmen  are  provided 
in  a  strange  fashion.  All  the  male- 
factors condemned  to  different  punish- 
ments have  their  penalties  commuted  to 
working  for  certain  periods  as  labourers 
at  the  building  of  the  new  monastery. 
Hedwig,  who  had  always  felt  a  special 
pity  for  prisoners,  found  a  double  happi- 


ness in  mitigating  their  sentences  and 
accomplishing  her  husband's  vow. 

Some  nuns  of  approved  capability  and 
experience  were  brought  from  Magde- 
burg to  establish  the  Cistercian  rule  in 
the  new  monastery.  It  was  intended  to 
be  a  home  and  a  place  of  education  for 
the  daughters  of  the  nobles;  some  of 
the  girls  brought  up  there  were  to  re- 
ceive dowries  from  the  foundation,  and 
be  married  according  to  their  rank, 
while  others  were  to  become  nuns.  The 
town  of  Trebnicz  was  given  to  the  house 
for  revenue.  The  buildings  were  cal- 
culated for  the  accommodation  of  a 
thousand  persons,  with  ample  provision 
for  hospitality.  Of  the  thousand,  only 
a  hundred  were  nuns.  Before  long  this 
monastery  received  many  daughters  of 
the  family  that  had  created  it. 

Here,  in  1208,  while  the  house  was 
building,  St.  Hedwig  received  into  her 
care  a  little  girl,  who  was  to  become  a 
great  saint — Princess  Agnes  (21)  of 
Bohemia.  She  came  as  the  destined 
bride  of  Boleslaus,  eldest  son  of  the 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  Silesia.  Hedwig 
is  credited  with  instilling  the  religious 
principles  and  aspirations  afterwards  so 
conspicuous  in  this  saint.  Boleslaus 
died,  and  the  bride  was  sent  back  to  her 
parents;  and  some  years  later,  about 
1216,  his  brother  Henry  married  the 
Blessed  Anna  (19)  of  Bohemia,  sister  of 
St.  Agnes  (21). 

The  duke  and  duchess  had  lived  until 
now  in  perfect  amity,  and  had  happily 
arrived  at  middle  age;  but  their  tran- 
quillity was  sadly  broken  and  some 
degree  of  estrangement  occasioned  by 
the  jealousy  and  ill  feeling  between  their 
two  only  surviving  sons,  which,  in  1213, 
broke  into  open  war.  Hedwig  preferred 
her  eldest  son,  Henry,  and  took  his  part, 
while  the  duke  favoured  his  second  son, 
Conrad.  In  vain  they  tried  to  make 
peace,  until,  finding  themselves  unable  to 
prevent  a  battle,  they  retired,  the  duke 
to  Glogau,  the  duchess  to  Neptz,  leaving 
their  sons  to  fight  for  the  mastery. 
The  brothers  fought  at  Studnica,  near 
Liegnitz,  and  there  Henry  gained  a 
complete,  victory.  Conrad  fled  to  his 
father  at  Glogau,  where  he  was  soon 
afterwards  killed  in  hunting.    He  was 


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364 


ST.  HEDWIG 


carried  to  Trebnicz,  where  his  sister 
Agnes  was  already  abbess,  although  the 
building  was  not  finished.  She  had 
been  very  fond  of  him  in  his  life,  and 
she  buried  him  in  the  chapter. 

They  feared  to  tell  Hedwig  of  her 
son's  death,  so  they  first  announced  his 
accident,  and  asked  her  to  come  and 
see  him;  but  she  divined  the  truth  at 
once,  and  went  with  her  usual  com- 
posure to  see  him  buried. 

While  Silesia  was  extending  her 
borders  and  improving  her  internal 
condition,  the  rest  of  Poland  was  in  a 
very  unsettled  state.  Several  kings 
abdicated  and  were  restored,  every 
change  giving  opportunities  of  plunder 
to  the  enemies  of  the  public  peace. 
Lesko  V.,  the  White,  had  succeeded,  for 
the  second  time,  to  the  throne  of  Poland 
in  1206.  He  fell  a  victim  to  the  malice 
and  ambition  of  one  of  the  twenty-four 
crowned  vassals,  who  paid  him  a  doubt- 
ful allegiance,  and  arranged  a  conspiracy 
to  massacre  the  king  and  all  the  party 
of  order  assembled  in  council.  Lesko 
was  murdered,  and  Henry,  duke  of 
Silesia,  was  severely  wounded,  and  only 
escaped  death  through  the  devotion  of 
his  servant,  who  threw  himself  over  his 
fallen  master,  and  received  the  mortal 
stab  intended  for  him. 

Lesko  the  White  was  succeeded  by 
his  infant  son,  Boleslaus  V.,  the  Chaste, 
who  afterwards  married  St.  Cuneound(4). 
He,  his  mother,  Orzymislawa,  and  his 
sister,  St.  Salome,  afterwards  queen  of 
Gaiicia,  fell  at  once  into  captivity  to 
Conrad,  duke  of  Masovia,  brother  of  the 
late  king.  Grzymislawa  appealed  for 
protection  for  herself,  her  children,  and 
their  inheritance  to  Henry,  duke  of 
Silesia.  The  saintly  Duchess  Hedwig 
responded  to  the  confidence  and  sym- 
pathy of  the  young  queen,  and  Henry 
wanted  little  persuasion  to  fulfil  the 
chivalrous  duty  of  befriending  the 
widow  and  orphans  of  his  kinsman  and 
suzerain — a  duty  of  which  he  was  not 
insensible  to  the  worldly  advantages. 
The  struggle  between  the  two  dukes  for 
the  care  of  Boleslaus  and  his  kingdom 
lasted  as  long  as  Henry  lived.  He 
quickly  took  Cracow,  and  thenceforth 
called  himself  Duke  of  Cracow.  He 


twice  beat  Conrad  in  open  battle,  but 
was  soon  afterwards,  1228,  taken  prisoner 
while  hearing  mass  in  the  church  of 
Spytkowicz,  and  carried  captive  to  Plock, 
or  Czyrsko. 

His  son,  Henry  the  Pious,  prepared  to 
rescue  him  with  an  armed  force;  but 
Hedwig  resolved  that  there  should  be 
no  more  bloodshed  if  she  could  help  it, 
so  she  went  in  person  to  Conrad  to 
negotiate  her  husband's  liberation.  Con- 
rad was  charmed  with  his  visitor  and 
with  her  appeal  to  him.  He  said  be 
could  refuse  nothing  to  an  angel.  A 
ransom  was  given,  and  the  captive  duke 
was  delivered  up  to  his  wife. 

In  1233,  or  soon  afterwards,  the  people 
of  Cracow  and  Sandomir  revolted  against 
the  tyranny  of  Conrad  of  Masovia,  and 
their  young  duke,  Boleslaus  V.,  incited 
by  his  mother  and  the  clergy  and  nobles 
of  Cracow,  appealed  again  to  Henry  to 
interfere.  Conrad  imprisoned  Grzymis- 
lawa and  her  children  in  the  monastery 
of  Sieciechow.  They  bribed  the  abbot 
to  favour  their  escape,  fled  to  Breslau, 
and  threw  themselves  on  the  protection 
of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Silesia. 

In  1237,  to  the  joy  of  the  Cracovians, 
Henry  took  possession  of  the  city  and 
province  of  Cracow,  and  held  it  until 
his  death.  He  was  virtually  king  of 
Poland.  He  styled  himself  Duke  of 
Poland  and  Cracow,  and  is  called  by 
Dlugosz  prince  and  monarch  of  Poland. 

In  the  same  year,  Hedwig  and  her 
family  derived  new  lustre  from  the 
canonization  of  her  niece,  St.  Elizabeth 
of  Hungary. 

Poland  had  a  short  interval  of  peace 
and  prosperity  under  Henry's  rule. 
Among  other  efforts  at  progress,  he 
established  a  colony  of  Germans  at 
Cracow,  and  their  descendants  are  there 
to  this  day. 

In  1238,  Henry  fell  ill  at  Krosno,  on 
the  borders  of  Bohemia,  and  sent  mes- 
sengers in  haste  to  his  wife,  who  was 
living  in  her  favourite  monastery  of 
Trebnicz.  She  would  not  come  lest  any 
human  affection  should  revive  in  her 
heart  at  the  sight  of  his  sufferings.  No 
syllable  of  blame  is  bestowed  upon  her 
by  her  historians.  When  he  was  carried 
a  corpse  to  Trebnicz,  she  alone  did  not 


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ST.  HEDWIG 


3«5 


go  out  to  meet  the  funeral  procession  in 
honour  of  the  deceased  sovereign  ;  and, 
moreover,  when  a  great  weeping  and 
lamentation  was  made  for  him,  she  re- 
buked some  of  the  nuns  for  murmuring 
against  the  will  of  God.  From  that  time 
she  wore  the  habit  of  a  Cistercian  nun, 
but  she  never  took  the  vows.  She  never 
would  sit  down  to  eat  until  she  had  fed 
twelve  poor  persons  in  memory  of  the 
twelve  apostles.  She  tended  the  sick, 
dressing  and  kissing  their  sores. 

Two  years  after  the  death  of  Henry  I., 
the  Bearded,  in  the  reign  of  his  son, 
Henry  II.,  the  Pious,  Poland  and  Silesia, 
already  frequently  desolated  by  famine, 
pestilence,  and  civil  war,  and  only  be- 
ginning to  profit  by  peace  and  grow  in 
civilization,  were  overrun  by  a  countless 
horde  of  Tartars.  Their  ferocity,  their 
ugliness,  their  illimitable  swarms,  re- 
mind us  of  the  Huns,  who  overran  the 
ancient  civilization  of  the  Romans. 
Henry  II.  was  the  leader  and  virtual 
monarch  of  Poland;  for  Boleslaus,  though 
now  nearly  arrived  at  man's  estate,  seems 
to  have  been  afraid  to  venture  out  of 
his  fortress  of  Skata.  Henry  sent  for 
assistance  to  his  neighbours.  Austria 
and  Hungary  were  engaged  in  other 
wars,  so  that  no  steady  united  resistance 
was  at  hand  to  quell  the  inroad  in  the 
beginning.  Wenzel,  king  of  Bohemia, 
brother  of  Henry's  wife,  the  Duchess 
Anna,  was  on  the  way  to  his  aid,  but 
Poland  could  not  wait.  She  called  in 
vain  to  her  king;  she  looked  to  her 
dukes.  The  flood  of  Tartars  swept  on 
over  the  land ;  the  new  villages,  churches, 
and  fields  lay  before  them,  ashes  and 
corpses  were  all  they  left  behind. 

Henry  sent  his  mother,  wife,  and 
children,  with  many  other  persons,  for 
safety  to  Krossen,  or  Crosna ;  he  gathered 
his  forces  together  at  Legnicz,  and  joy- 
fully resolved  to  fight  the  unequal  battle, 
which  all  looked  upon  as  a  crusade  and 
a  martyrdom.  As  he  rode  out  of  the 
gate  of  Legnicz  to  meet  the  enemy  on 
the  plain  of  Wahlstadt,  a  stone  fell  from 
the  building  above  his  head,  struck  the 
crest  off  his  helmet,  and  narrowly  missed 
breaking  his  skull.  This  was  regarded 
as  a  bad  omen.  All  had  received  the 
Holy  Sacrament,  and  went  gallantly  forth 


to  victory  or  death  in  a  sacred,  although 
almost  hopeless,  cause. 

Henry,  with  the  best  and  noblest  of 
the  Poles,  was  killed ;  but  the  Tartars 
received  a  severe  check  :  the  many  lives 
so  gallantly  laid  down  were  not  sacrified 
in  vain.  The  number  of  Tartar  dead 
far  exceeded  that  of  the  whole  Christian 
host.  Soon  afterwards,  they  heard  of 
the  death  of  their  khan,  and  hurried 
home;  and,  with  the  exception  of  an 
occasional  raid,  they  came  no  more  into 
Poland.    There  was  no  second  invasion. 

Search  was  made  for  the  body  of  the 
Duke  of  Silesia;  but  the  hacked  and 
disfigured  trunk,  despoiled  of  its  dress, 
as  well  as  of  its  head,  would  never  have 
been  recognized  among  the  ghastly  heaps 
of  slain  had  not  Anna  bid  the  seekers 
know  him  by  the  peculiarity  of  a  sixth 
toe  on  his  left  foot.  He  was  buried 
temporarily,  with  many  others,  in  a 
neighbouring  church,  and  eventually  re- 
moved to  the  Franciscan  convent,  which 
he  had  founded  at  Breslau,  and  which 
his  widow  completed  the  following  year  ; 
and  there  they  buried  him  like  a  great 
duke,  with  a  nation's  lamentation. 

A  church  was  built  on  the  battle- 
field in  memory  of  those  who  fell  there, 
and  many  of  them  were  buried  in  it. 

Although  the  news  did  not  arrive 
until  three  days  after  the  battle,  Hed- 
wig,  at  Crossen,  knew  her  son's  fate, 
and  told  it  to  the  venerable  Adelaide, 
one  of  the  nuns  of  Trebnicz,  who  was 
with  her.  When  the  disastrous  event 
was  announced,  Hedwig  took  it  with  the 
same  unnatural  or  supernatural  coolness 
which  she  had  exhibited  on  the  occasion 
of  her  husband's  death.  Anna  was  over- 
come with  grief  and  dismay,  the  nuns 
and  attendants  were  loud  in  their  lamen- 
tations. Hedwig  alone  shed  no  tear, 
but  thanked  God  that  He  had  made  her 
the  mother  of  a  son  who  had  never 
vexed  her  by  an  undutiful  act,  and  who 
had  met  his  death  so  bravely  and  piously 
against  the  enemies  of  Christ. 

Henry  IL  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Boleslaus,  called  the  Bald  and  the 
Furious.  His  mother  and  grandmother 
had  often  in  his  childhood  deplored  his 
violent  temper,  base  inclinations,  and  un- 
reasonable disposition,  which  bordered 


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ST.  HEDWIG 


on  insanity;  they  foresaw  that  if  he 
should  ever  succeed  to  the  dukedom, 
he  could  not  be  a  good  ruler. 

Hedwig  lived  among  the  nuns  at 
Trebnicz,  where  her  daughter  Gertrude 
was  abbess,  practising  wonderful  aus- 
terities, and  paying  extraordinary  rever- 
ence to  all  religious  objects  and  persons. 
Among  the  proofs  of  her  sanctity,  it  is 
recorded  that  one  day,  when  she  had 
stood  for  a  long  time  barefooted  in  con- 
templation before  a  crucifix,  her  maid, 
who  was  better  clothed,  complained  that 
she  could  no  longer  endure  the  cold, 
and  begged  that  her  highness  would 
bring  her  devotions  to  an  end  for  this 
time.  Hedwig  moved  a  little  aside,  and 
bade  the  woman  stand  where  she  had 
stood.  She  did  so,  and  felt  a  glow  of 
comfortable  warmth  in  her  freezing  feet 
and  through  all  her  frame. 

Besides  Trebnicz,  Henry  and  Hedwig 
founded  or  completed  many  other  re- 
ligious houses  and  churches. 

It  is  told  of  St.  Hedwig,  and  also  of 
her  grand-niece,  St.  Kinga,  or  Cune- 
gund  (4),  to  whom,  I  think,  the  story 
more  truly  belongs — that  she  habitually 
went  barefooted,  her  feet  a  mass  of 
chilblains,  frightful  to  behold.  Her 
friends  begged  in  vain  that  she  would 
wear  shoes  :  her  confessor  at  length  en- 
joined it.  She  obeyed  him,  and  continued 
to  go  barefooted  nevertheless,  for  she 
wore  her  shoes  hanging  from  her  girdle. 

Hedwig  died  at  Trebnicz,  1243,  and 
was  canonized  by  Clement  IV.  in  1266. 

Through  her  grandson,  Conrad,  second 
son  of  Henry  IL  and  B.  Anna,  of 
Bohemia,  Hedwig  is  the  ancestress  of 
our  most  gracious  King,  and  of  the 
representatives  of  most  of  the  illustrious 
families  of  Europe,  including  the  Czar 
of  Russia  and  the  Bourbons.  Tables 
showing  these  descents  are  to  be  seen 
in  her  Life  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum  of  the 
Bollandists. 

Dlugosz,  Hist.  Polon.,  lib.  vi.,  vii. 
Stenzel,  Oeschichte  Schlesiens.  Butler. 
Some  old  annals  and  chronicles  pre- 
served in  Pertz's  Monumenta.  A  full 
and  interesting  account  of  the  Tartar 
invasion  is  given  in  Palacky's  Geschichte 
von  Bohrnen. 

St.  Hedwig  (4),  July  12,  17,  Feb. 


29,  queen  of  Poland,  called  by  the  Poles 
Jadwiga.  c.  +  1371-1399.  Youngest 
daughter  of  Louis  the  Great,  king  of 
Hungary  and  Poland,  by  his  second 
wife,  Elizabeth  of  Bosnia.  Louis  was  a 
scion  of  the  house  of  Anjou,  and  heir, 
through  his  mother,  to  the  famous  Polish 
dynasty  of  the  Piasts.  He  had  no  son, 
but  he  was  careful  to  arrange  brilliant 
marriages  for  his  three  daughters.  The 
eldest  was  to  be  married  to  the  Dauphin, 
but  she  died  in  childhood;  Mary,  the 
second  daughter,  became  "King"  of 
Hungary,  and  married  Sigismund,  after* 
wards  emperor;  Hedwig,  the  youngest, 
was  married,  in  1377,  at  the  age  of  six, 
to  William,  who  was  about  two  years 
her  senior;  he  was  a  son  of  Leopold, 
duke  of  Austria.  The  children  were 
brought  up  together,  sometimes  at 
Vienna,  sometimes  at  Budapest.  The 
intellectual  King  Louis  educated  his 
daughters  with  great  care.  They  were 
instructed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and 
the  homilies  of  the  Fathers.  They  knew 
several  languages,  and  excelled  in  all 
the  arts  and  accomplishments  taught  to 
women  of  their  rank  in  those  days.  The 
king  died  in  1382 ;  and  the  Poles,  tired 
of  being  subservient  to  Hungary,  declared 
they  would  have  for  their  queen  which- 
ever of  his  daughters  would  bring  her 
husband  and  settle  amongst  them.  Eliza- 
beth promised  to  send  the  Princess 
Hedwig,  but  delayed  so  long  that  other 
pretenders  to  the  throne  asserted  their 
claims,  and  the  Poles  threatened  to  make 
a  new  election  if  their  young  queen 
were  not  sent  to  them  immediately. 
She  arrived  in  June,  1384,  and  was 
crowned  in  October  of  the  following 
year.  Three  at  least  of  the  rival 
claimants  to  the  crown  aspired  to  the 
hand  of  the  queen.  The  most  powerful 
of  these  was  Jagiello,  duke  of  Lithuania. 
He  ruled  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Black 
Sea ;  part  of  Russia,  and  many  wandering 
tribes  of  Tartars,  paid  him  tribute.  He 
promised,  if  accepted,  to  make  good  all 
Poland's  claims  in  neighbourin  g  countries, 
to  fill  her  empty  exchequer,  and,  above 
all,  to  be  converted  and  baptized  with  all 
his  people.  In  case  of  refusal,  he  would, 
he  said,  invade  Poland,  take  the  crown 
by  force,  and  make  his  own  terms.  Most 


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ST.  HEDWIG 


3(57 


of  the  Poles  favoured  his  claim,  and  the 
prospect  of  winning  over  this,  the  last 
heathen  nation  in  Europe,  went  far  to 
reconcile  the  clergy  to  the  breaking  of 
a  marriage  contracted  in  childhood. 
Hedwig's  heart  said  "  No/'    She  wished 
to  keep  her  faith  with  the  husband  her 
father  had  given  her.    He  arrived  in 
Cracow,  but  Dobrozlav,  the  governor  of 
the  castle,  would  not  admit  him.  The 
queen  could  only  see  him  by  going 
daily  with  her  ladies  to  the  Franciscan 
convent,  where  he  was  staying.  Plans 
were  made  for  his  entrance  into  the 
castle.  According  to  half  the  historians, 
he  came  and  remained  there  in  conceal- 
ment for  some  time,  but  was  discovered 
before  long,  and  Hedwig  only  saved  him 
from  assassination  by  letting  him  down 
from  her  window  by  a  rope.  According 
to  others,  the  stratagem  was  betrayed 
before  it  could  be  put  into  execution, 
and  William  found  the   gates  barred 
against  him.    Contemporary  writers,  and 
even  those  about  the  person  of  the 
queen,  never  seemed  to  know  the  rights 
of  the  story.    When  she  found  that  her 
husband  would  never  be  suffered  to  reign 
with  her  in  Poland,  she  resolved  to  fly 
with  him ;  and  finding  the  doors  locked 
and  guarded,  she  seized  an  axe  from  the 
hand  of  the  sentinel,  and  attempted  to 
break  open  the  door.    But  this  forlorn 
hope  was  frustrated,  and  William,  after 
hiding  in  chimneys  and  undergoing  all 
sorts  of  hardships  and  vexations  in  the 
desperate  attempt  to    see  her  again, 
escaped  from  Cracow,  leaving  his  money 
and  jewels,  which  were  speedily  appro- 
priated by  Gnievosz,  the  chamberlain, 
in  whose  house  he  lodged.   Hedwig  now 
renounced  her  love  and  her  hopes  of 
happiness,  and  determined  to  live  only 
for  God  and  for  her  people.    The  rest 
of  her  life  justified  the  assertion  of  con- 
temporary historians  that  no  meaner 
motive  directed  her  actions.    She  con- 
sented to  the  marriage  with  Jagiello. 
In  February,  1386,  he  arrived  in  Cracow, 
was  baptized  by  the   Archbishop  of 
Gnesen,  married  to  the  queen,  and 
crowned  King  of  the  Poles  as  Ladislaus 
V.  Ambassadors  were  at  once  despatched 
to  the  Pope  to  procure  his  blessing  on 
the  union. 


It  has  been  said  of  Jagiello  that  there 
never  was  an  elected  king  more  faithful 
to  his  pledges  than  he  was.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  the  stipulated  conversion 
of  Lithuanians;  he  had  his  soldiers 
summarily  baptized,  he  and  Hedwig  being 
godfather  and  godmother  to  many  of  them, 
and  helping  to  teach  them  the  faith  they 
were  commanded  to  adopt.  Jagiello 
translated  some  simple  prayers  into  the 
language  of  his  people,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  some  of  the  Polish  nobles 
and  clergy,  established  the  Christian 
religion  amongst  them  almost  within  a 
year  from  the  time  of  his  marriage. 

King  Ladislaus  and  Queen  Jadwiga 
soon  became  very  popular  throughout 
their  dominions.    Ladislaus  was  none 
the  less  appreciated  that  he  was  prompt 
in  his  decisions  and   somewhat  high- 
handed in  carrying  them  out.    At  the 
same  time  Jadwiga  was  enthusiastically 
beloved  because  she  tempered  his  severity 
with  her  angelic  kindness.    The  Canons 
of  Gnesen  offended  him,  and  he,  to 
punish  them,  laid  waste  their  lands  to 
the  injury  of  their  innocent  vassals. 
The  poor  peasants  came  in  great  distress 
to  the  queen,  who  warmly  took  up  their 
defence.     The  king,  at  her  request, 
ordered  their  cattle  and  possessions  to 
be  restored  to  them ;  and  the  sympathetic 
woman  said,  "Yes,  you  can  give  them 
back  their  cattle,  but  who  will  give 
them  back  their  tears?"    Jagiello  was 
always  much  attached  to  her,  notwith- 
standing some  quarrels  and  jealousies. 
Once  on  his  return  from  a  visit  to 
Lithuania,  Gnievosz,  the  chamberlain, 
who  had  enriched  himself  with  William 
of  Austria's  treasure,  and  who  dreaded 
that    the    upright    and  open-banded 
Ladislaus  might  order  him  to  restore 
it,  insinuated  that,  during  the  king's 
absence,  Jadwiga  had  received  visits 
from  the  Austrian  prince.    The  queen 
soon  discovered  that  her  husband  was 
displeased  and  jealous.    She  demanded 
a  minute  inquiry  into  her  life.  She 
insisted  on  being  cleared  of  all  suspicion. 
According  to  the  custom  of  the  time, 
the  cause  was  to  be  referred  to  the 
"  Judgment  of  God,"  by  a  combat  between 
twelve  knights  on  either  side.  Then 
was  all  Poland  as  one  man  ready  to 


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368 


ST.  HEDWIG 


fight  for  the  honour  of  the  queen.  Not 
a  man  but  would  have  fought  his  brother 
to  the  death  that  the  survivor  might  be 
the  champion  of  the  adored  lady.  At 
last  twelve  were  chosen  and  received  her 
oath  of  innocence ;  but  the  battle  never 
took  place,  for  the  traducer  confessed 
that  he  had  lied,  and  was  condemned  to 
the  ridiculous  punishment  of  crawling 
on  all  fours  under  a  bench,  barking  like 
a  dog,  and  confessing  his  meanness. 

From  this  time  William  of  Austria 
■comes  no  more  into  the  life  of  Jadwiga. 
He  remained  unmarried  as  long  as  she 
lived,  and  always  declared  she  was  his 
wife.  After  her  death  he  married  a  very 
different  woman,  who  became  Queen  of 
Naples  as  Joanna  II.    He  died  in  1406. 

Once,  Queen  Jadwiga,  at  duty's  call, 
put  herself  at  the  head  of  an  army.  It 
was  when,  in  1390,  in  her  husband's 
absence,  an  expedition  against  the 
Russians  became  necessary.  So  much 
was  she  loved,  and  so  great  was  the 
general  confidence  in  her  judgment,  and 
in  the  blessing  of  God  on  all  her  under- 
takings, that  the  Poles  obeyed  her  as 
they  had  never  obeyed  mortal  before, 
and  at  her  bidding,  even  acted  in  con- 
cert— a  thing  Poles  never  did  before  or 
since,  so  that  the  campaign  was  quickly 
brought  to  a  happy  end. 

Sienkiewicz  says  that  in  her  life  it 
was  universally  believed  that  she  could 
perform  miracles  :  it  was  said  that  she 
could  cure  the  sick  with  a  touch  of  her 
hand.  In  the  provinces  of  Poland  it 
was  firmly  believed  that  anything  the 
saintly  lady  asked  of  God  would  be 
granted.  Some  affirmed  that  they  had 
heard  Christ  speak  to  her  from  the  altar. 
Foreign  monarchs  worshipped  her. 
Minstrels  sang  of  her  in  every  court. 
Knights  from  the  remotest  countries 
came  to  Cracow  to  see  her.  Nobles  in 
castles  on  the  frontiers,  who  had  become 
robbers  or  waged  war  among  them- 
selves, sheathed  their  swords  at  the 
command  of  the  queen,  released  their 
prisoners,  restored  the  herds  they  had 
stolen,  and  clasped  hands  in  friendship. 

For  thirteen  years  of  her  married  life 
Jadwiga  had  the  sorrow  of  childlessness, 
which  in  those  days  was  considered  a 
manifestation  of  the  Divine  displeasure. 


Notwithstanding  the  purity  and  self- 
immolation  of  her  conduct  aud  motives, 
there  was  a  doubt  in  some  minds,  and  not 
improbably  in  her  own,  whether,  after 
all,  she  had  done  right. 

The  contemporary  chronicler  of  Sagan 
speculates  curiously  which  of  the  two 
princes  is  really  her  husband.  He  tes- 
tifies that,  "however  this  may  be,  she  lives 
like  a  saint,  caring  not  for  royal  splen- 
douror  feminine  vanities ;  seeking  neither 
pleasure  nor  profit  for  herself;  living 
only  for  God  and  her  people.  She  en- 
courages learned  and  pious  men  to  settle 
in  her  dominions,  and  is  the  friend  of 
all  the  good,  the  mother  of  the  poor 
and  the  oppressed, — but  childless." 

At  last,  to  the  universal  joy,  it  was 
announced  that  the  queen  expected  to 
become  a  mother.  The  king  was  beside 
himself  with  delight.  He  invited  the 
Pope,  among  other  sovereigns  and  mag- 
nates, to  be  godfather,  "in  order  to 
propitiate  God"  in  the  interests  of  his 
son.  Boniface  IX.  replied  by  a  con- 
gratulatory letter,  and  appointed  a  high 
dignitary  of  the  Church  to  be  his  proxy 
at  the  christening  of  the  royal  child. 
Ladislaus  ordered  his  wife's  rooms  to  be 
sumptuously  decorated  with  the  most 
costly  materials ;  silk  and  gold  were  to 
be  freely  used  for  the  accommodation 
and  service  of  the  heir.  Jadwiga  was 
less  exultant.  She  had  long  renounced 
all  luxury  and  splendour  for  herself,  and, 
at  her  request,  the  gold  and  jewels  he 
gave  her  were  used  to  build  a  college, 
and  to  send  newly  converted  Lithuanian 
youths  to  foreign  universities.  She 
consented,  however,  to  lay  aside  her 
nunlike  dress  and  veil,  and  said  she 
would  humbly  await  what  God  might 
send,  be  it  life  or  death.  Her  physician 
was  Wysz,  bishop  of  Cracow,  already 
famous  in  other  lands. 

On  June  21,  1399,  she  prematurely 
gave  birth  to  a  daughter,  and  the  chris- 
tening for  which  such  magnificent  pre- 
parations had  been  made  was  hastily 
performed  during  the  night.  The  con- 
dition of  mother  and  child  continued  to 
be  critical.  Prayers,  processions,  votive 
offerings,  were  made  by  all  sorts  of  people 
of  every  age  and  rank.  They  encouraged 
each  other  to  believe  that  a  life  so 


ST.  HELEN 


360 


necessary  to  the  kingdom  and  the  world 
would  not  be  cnt  off  in  its  prime.  The 
infant,  Elizabeth  Bonifacia,  died  July 
13  ;  the  mother  was  still  in  danger,  and 
received  the  Holy  Communion  daily. 
On  each  occasion  her  room  was  filled 
with  celestial  light.  This  was  seen  from 
without,  but  although  it  heightened  the 
veneration  in  which  the  queen  was  held, 
people  feared  that  her  heavenly  life  had 
already  begun. 

She  died  on  July  17.  All  confi- 
dently expected  that  miracles  would  be 
performed  at  her  tomb,  and  that  imme- 
diately after  her  burial  she  would  be 
canonized.  As  she  lay  on  a  bier  in  the 
cathedral,  calm  and  smiling,  the  sick,  the 
paralyzed,  the  deformed,  were  brought 
to  her  to  be  cured ;  and  as  the  fame  of 
her  miracles  spread,  persons  in  distant 
places  besought  her  intercession,  each 
for  his  special  difficulty  or  distress,  and 
vowed  to  acknowledge  her  favour  by 
making  a  pilgrimage  to  Cracow  to  offer 
a  gift  at  her  tomb. 

She  was  never  canonized,  but  she  con- 
tinued to  be  adored  by  the  Poles.  They 
were  convinced  that  one  so  sympathetic 
in  her  life  would  not  disregard  in 
Paradise  the  prayers  and  the  sorrows  of 
those  who  appealed  to  her.  Among  the 
relics  shown  in  the  cathedral  is  some 
beautiful  embroidery  worked  by  her. 

The  chief  authorities  for  this  narrative 
are  the  histories  of  Poland  by  Dlugosch 
and  Cromer;  the  annals  and  chronicles 
collected  by  Pez,  Stenzel,  Ekkart,  etc. ; 
Bottiger,  Weltgeschichte  in  Biographien ; 
and  for  the  state  of  feeling  and  the  esti- 
mation in  which  this  saint  was  held  in 
life  and  death,  Sienkiewicz,  Knights  of 
the  Cross,  chap.  iv. 

St.  Hegatrax,  Egatracia. 

St.  Heina,  Heiu. 

St  Heira,  Ihene  (9). 

St.  Heiu,  March  12  (Heina,  Heju, 
Heya,  Heyna),V.  7th  century.  The  first 
woman  who  took  the  vow  and  habit  of  a 
nun  in  the  province  of  the  Northum- 
brians. She  was  consecrated  by  St. 
Aidan,  the  bishop.  She  founded  a 
monastery  at  Hereteu  (Hartlepool),  but 
soon  left  it,  being  succeeded  there  by 
St.  Hilda,  and  went  to  Tadcaster.  The 
village  of  Healaugh,  three  miles  from 


Tadcaster,  is  supposed  to  be  on  the  site 
of  her  second  foundation  ;  the  name  was 
perhaps  originally  Heiulreg,  Heiu's  ter- 
ritory. Bede,  iv.  23,  and  a  note  to  tho 
passage  in  Gidley's  translation,  quoting 
from  Murray's  Yorkshire.  Bucelinus 
gives  her  day  as  March  12.  Suysken, 
Montalembert,  and  several  other  writers 
identify  her  with  Begu,  but  Bede  men- 
tions them  in  the  same  page  as  distinct 
persons,  and  says  nothing  to  imply  that 
they  were  one. 

St.  Helan,  Helen  (6).  Sister  or 
brother  of  St.  Tressan. 

St.  Helca,  Helia. 

St.  Helen  (l),  May  2(3,  20,  24,  V. 
M.  Sister  of  St.  Aborcius,  who  was 
stung  to  death  by  bees.  Helen  was 
stoned.  They  are  worshipped  in  the 
Greek  Church,  and  are  mentioned  in  an 
ancient  German  Martyrology.  AA.SS. 

St.  Helen  (2),  Aug.  13.  Patron  of 
Burgos.  M.  with  St.  Centolla  in  one 
of  the  early  persecutions.  Their  history, 
taken  from  the  records  of  the  church  at 
Burgos,  is  briefly  this — 

Centolla,  having  professed  Chris- 
tianity, was  put  to  the  torture.  A  crowd 
of  women  came  round,  and  besought  her 
to  abjure  the  Christian  faith  and  suffer 
no  more.  Helen,  however,  a  noble  virgin, 
approached  Centolla,  praised  her  con- 
stancy, and  exhorted  her  to  endure  to 
the  end.  Centolla  answered  that  she 
gladly  suffered,  and  added,  "  See  that 
thou  fail  not ;  thou  wilt  suffer  with  mo 
for  Christ."  The  governor,  fearing  lest 
the  heresy  should  spread,  ordered  both 
to  be  beheaded.  Sierro  on  the  Ebro, 
Cantabria,  and  the  neighbourhood  of 
Burgos,  are  mentioned  as  the  scene  of 
their  martyrdom.  Their  bodies  were 
brought  to  Burgos  in  the  13th  or  14th 
century.    B.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Helen  (3),  empress,  Aug.  18, 
May  21,  248-326  or  328.  Mother  of 
Constantino.  Kopresented  wearing  a 
crown,  and  holding  a  large  cross,  some- 
times also  a  nail. 

Flavia  Julia  Helena  Augusta,  also 
called  Helena  Stabularia,  Elena, 
Ellen,  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  native 
of  Britain,  and  tradition  makes  her  the 
daughter  of  King  Coal,  or  Coilus,  who 
gave  his  name  to  Colchester,  which  he 

2  D 


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ST.  HELEN 


fortified  and  enlarged.  Drepanum,  in 
Bithynia,  also  claims  the  honour  of 
being  her  birthplace.  She  has  been 
called  a  Jewess  of  Palestine,  and  it  has 
been  conjectured  that  her  parents  were 
Christians.  Some  say  she  was  the 
daughter  of  an  innkeeper  or  stable-keeper, 
and  the  mistress  rather  than  the  wife  of 
Constantius,  and  that  her  famous  son 
Constantino  was  illegitimate.  On  the 
whole  the  evidence  is  in  favour  of  her 
having  been  "a  woman  well  reputed," 
and  born  in  England,  either  at  York  or 
Colchester. 

As  for  the  rank  of  her  father,  there 
were  probably  in  the  3rd  century  more 
kings  than  innkeepers  in  Britain.  She 
may  have  been  the  daughter  of  some 
officer  whose  duties  related  to  the  horses 
and  stables  of  the  Bomans.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  said  that  the  surname  of 
Stabularia  was  given  to  her  long  after- 
wards by  the  clergy  in  compliment  to 
her  eagerness  to  visit  the  place  of  our 
Saviour's  birth,  and  discover  the  very 
manger  where  He  was  laid. 

Flavins  Valerius  Constantius,  sur- 
named,  from  his  paleness,  Chlorus,  the 
husband  of  Helen,  is  much  praised  by 
contemporary  writers,  both  heathen  and 
Christian.  He  believed  in  one  God,  and 
protected  the  Christians,  placing  some 
of  them  in  offices  of  trust  under  him. 
In  292,  Diocletian  raised  him  to  the  rank 
of  Ceesar,  and  gave  him  for  his  province 
Gaul,  Spain,  and  Britain,  on  condition 
that  he  should  repudiate  his  wife,  and 
marry  Flavia  Maximiana  Theodora,  the 
step-daughter  of  Maximian  Hercules. 

Constantius  died  in  306,  and  his  son 
Constantino  assumed  the  purple.  He 
was  one  of  five  claimants  for  the  imperial 
throne,  and  seventeen  years  elapsed 
before  he  became  sole  emperor. 

His  conversion  to  Christianity  occurred 
about  312.  We  do  not  know  with  cer- 
tainty when  St.  Helen  became  a  Christian, 
nor  where  or  how  she  spent  the  years 
between  her  divorce  and  her  son's  ac- 
cession, although  it  is  supposed  that  she 
lived  at  Tricassium  (Troyes,  in  Cham- 
pagne). One  of  Constantino's  first  acts 
of  power  was  to  declare  her  Augusta,  to 
recall  her  to  court,  and  to  have  medals 
struck  in  honour  of  her ;  some  of 


these  still  exist.  Her  portrait  bears  a 
strong  resemblance  to  that  of  her  son. 
She  is  called  on  these  medals  Flavia 
Julia  Helena.  He  gave  her  estates  in 
various  parts  of  the  empire,  and  revenues 
befitting  her  station  and  bounty. 

She  was  now  openly  declared  a  Christian. 
A  strong  affection  existed  between  the 
mother  and  son.  It  is  supposed  to  have 
been  in  some  measure  owing  to  Helen's 
capable  and  tactful  management  that 
Constantino's  half-brothers  never  were 
in  a  position  to  dispute  the  empire  with 
him ;  and  to  her  grief  and  anger  is  attri- 
buted the  repentance  of  Constantino  and 
the  punishment  of  Faustina  for  the 
judicial  murder  of  his  promising  son 
Crispus — a  tragedy  which  can  be  read  in 
all  the  histories  of  the  period. 

In  325,  Constantino  convoked  the  first 
general  council  of  the  Christian  Church, 
at  Nice,  in  Bithynia.  The  following 
year,  the  twentieth  of  his  reign,  was 
celebrated  with  great  rejoicing  through- 
out the  empire,  and  he  resolved  to 
sanctify  and  commemorate  the  occasion 
by  building  a  church  at  Jerusalem  on 
the  site  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  Helen 
eagerly  interested  herself  in  the  projeot, 
and,  though  now  nearly  eighty,  set  out 
on  a  journey  to  Palestine  to  share  in  the 
pious  undertaking  and  visit  the  scene  of 
the  Saviour's  life  and  death. 

She  travelled  with  great  state  and 
magnificence,  as  became  the  emperor's 
mother,  but  her  charity  and  liberality 
far  outshone  her  royal  splendour.  In 
passing  through  the  provinces  of  the 
Eastern  Empire,  she  took  care  to  ascer- 
tain the  condition  and  wants  of  the 
people,  and  made  them  known  to  the 
emperor.  She  showed  special  kindness 
to  soldiers  for  the  sake  of  her  husband 
and  son.  She  freed  many  slaves  and 
debtors,  and  relieved  numberless  cases 
of  distress. 

Jerusalem  had  been  utterly  destroyed 
by  Titus  in  70,  and  half  a  century  after- 
wards, the  city  of  jElia  Capitolina  had 
been  built  in  its  stead,  and  as  the  church 
of  Jerusalem  had  been  dispersed  and 
driven  away,  it  was  difficult  to  ascertain 
the  exact  site  of  the  garden  and  cave 
where  the  Lord  had  lain.  It  was  under- 
stood that  a  temple  of  Venus,  since 


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371 


fallen  to  ruin,  had  been  built  on  the 
spot,  partly  to  desecrate  it.  The  re- 
mains of  the  temple  were  discovered 
and  cleared  away,  and  then  the  diggers 
came  upon  the  rock. 

St.  Helen  and  her  companions  satisfied 
themselves  and  Constantino  that  this 
was  the  right  place,  and  a  church  was 
built  there,  although  it  was  not  finished 
and  dedicated  till  336,  after  the  death  of 
Helen,  and  there  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  stands  to  this  day. 

The  empress  visited  all  the  churches 
in  and  around  Jerusalem,  not  in  royal 
robes  or  sitting  in  a  place  of  state,  but 
in  the  simplest  attire,  kneeling  humbly 
amongst  the  other  women. 

The  great  ecclesiastical  event  with 
which  her  name  is  connected  is  the 
discovery  of  the  Cross  of  Christ.  Being 
at  Jerusalem,  and  much  interested  in 
the  identification  of  the  holy  places,  she 
conceived  a  great  desire  to  find  the  very 
cross  on  which  the  {Lord  was  "lifted 
up."  There  was  no  tradition  regarding 
it,  but  she  was  informed  that  it  would 
probably  be  found  near  the  sepulchre, 
as  it  had  been  usual  among  the  Jews  to 
bury  near  the  grave  of  a  criminal  the 
instruments  of  his  punishment  as  un- 
clean things ;  therefore,  when  they  had 
discovered  the  site  of  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre, they  dug  to  a  great  depth,  and 
found  three  crosses  buried  in  one  hole. 
This  discovery  filled  the  good  empress 
with  pious  exultation,  but  it  seemed 
impossible  to  distinguish  the  cross  of 
the  Saviour  from  those  of  the  two  thieves, 
until  St.  Macarius,  tho  bishop  of  Jeru- 
solem,  ascertained  that  one  of  the  crosses 
would  perform  miraculous  cures  and  the 
others  would  not. 

The  aged  saint  then  provided  a  costly 
shrine  for  part  of  the  cross,  and  placed 
it  in  the  new  church  in  April  or  May, 
326 ;  she  took  another  part  to  Constan- 
tinople, and  presented  it  to  her  son,  who 
received  it  with  great  veneration;  and 
the  rest  she  carried  with  her  to  Home  in 
the  course  of  the  same  year,  and  gave  it 
to  be  placed  in  her  new  church  of  the 
Holy  Cross  of  Jerusalem,  where  it 
remains  to  this  day.  The  nails,  the 
crown  of  thorns,  the  title,  the  sponge, 
the  lance,  each  has  its  history.    It  is 


said  that  three  nails  were  brought  home 
by  the  empress,  and  in  after  times 
minute  pieces  of  these  were  enclosed  in 
new  nails  made  in  imitation  of  them, 
other  copies  being  merely  touched  with 
one  of  the  true  nails,  and  in  some  cases 
a  church  having  one  of  these  secondary 
nails  boasted  of  the  possession  of  one  of 
the  original  three. 1 

St.  Paulinus,  in  his  twelfth  epistle  to 
Severus,  relates  that,  although  small 
pieces  of  the  wood  of  the  cross  were  cut 
off  daily,  and  given  to  devout  persons, 
the  sacred  wood  suffered  no  diminution. 

Many  of  the  most  trusted  historians 
mention  the  finding  of  the  sepulchre. 
The  strongest  doubt  that  is  thrown  upon 
the  finding  of  the  cross  arises  from 
Eusebius's  silence  concerning  it.  He 
mentions  the  building  of  the  church, 
but  does  not  desoribo  the  discovery  and 
identification  of  the  cross. 

One  great  church,  or  rather  two  joined 
together,  bore  the  name  of  the  Basilica 
of  the  Holy  Cross.  Part  of  it  was  on 
the  site  of  the  Crucifixion,  and  the  other 
part,  called  the  Church  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion, was  on  the  site  of  the  sepulchre. 
The  piece  of  the  cross  kept  in  the 
church  was  annually  shown  to  the  people 
at  Easter  with  great  solemnity. 

The  "Invention  of  the  Cross"  is 
celebrated  on  May  3.  This  day  is  called, 
in  Adam  King's  Calendar,  "The  halie 
rude  Day  or  finding  of  ye  halie  croce  at 
Jerusalem  be  Helene  Mother  to  Con- 
stantino ye  greit."  It  is  called  in  some 
parts  of  England  "St.  Helen's  day  in 
Spring,"  and  was  the  appointed  day  for 
certain  rural  and  agricultural  proceed- 
ings. (This  festival  has  been  observed 
in  the  Latin  Church  since  the  5th  or 
6th  century.) 

Adam  King  has,  on  May  7,  "The 
apparitione  of  ye  starnes  in  forme  of  ye 
croce  at  ierusalem  vnder  Constantine." 
And  on  May  21,  "S.  Helene  mother  to 
constantine  ye  greit  quha  fand  ye  halie 
rude  vnder  hir  sone." 

Sept.  14  is  the  anniversary  of  the 
Exaltation  of  the  Cross,  the  day  on 
which  the  piece  of  the  cross  was  put  in 
its  place  in  the  newly  dedicated  church, 
ten  years  after  the  foundation  of  the  one 
and  discovery  of  the  other. 


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ST.  HELEN 


According  to  Mant's  Prayer-book,  this 
festival  began  to  be  kept  about  615,  on 
this  wise :  Cosroes,  king  of  Persia,  hav- 
ing plundered  Jerusalem,  took  away  a 
great  piece  of  the  cross  which  St.  Helen 
had  left  there,  and  in  times  of  mirth 
made  sport  with  it.  The  Emperor  He- 
raclius  fought  and  defeated  him,  and 
recovered  the  holy  relic.  He  brought 
it  back  in  triumph  to  Jerusalem,  but 
found  himself  unable  to  enter  the  gate. 
He  then  acknowledged  that  it  did  not 
become  him,  a  sinner,  to  enter  the  holy 
city  on  horseback  and  in  pride  and  state, 
where  the  King  of  kings  had  entered 
meek  and  lowly,  and  riding  on  an  ass. 
He  wept  for  his  sins,  and  entered  the 
city  barefooted  and  carrying  the  holy 
wood  reverently  in  his  hands;  after 
which,  the  anniversary  of  the  Exaltation, 
also  called  Holy  Rood  Day,  was  observed 
as  a  holy  day. 

Besides  a  nunnery  ,  in  Jerusalem,  a 
church  at  Bethlehem,  one  on  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  and  several  in  Europe,  St. 
Helen  is  said  by  immemorial  tradition, 
and  with  every  appearance  of  truth,  to 
be  the  founder  of  certain  extremely 
ancient  and  curious  Coptic  monasteries 
(still  to  be  seen  in  Egypt),  notably  the 
Dair  al  Bakarah  or  Convent  of  the 
Pulley,  and  the  Dair  el  Abiad  or  White 
Monastery  at  the  foot  of  the  Libyan 
Hills  (Butler,  Coptic  Churches). 

Helen  died  on  Aug.  18,  326,  either 
almost  immediately  after  her  return  from 
Palestine  or  nearly  two  years  later.  She 
is  generally  said  to  have  died  at  Rome ; 
but  it  is  also  said  that  she  died  at  Nico- 
media  or  Constantinople,  and  was  carried 
to  Rome.  She  was  laid  in  a  porphyry 
urn — one  of  the  largest  and  handsomest 
in  the  world — and  placed  in  a  great 
mausoleum,  the  ruins  of  which  are  now 
called  Torre  Pignattara,  near  the  road 
from  Rome  to  Palestrina. 

Constantino  had  a  statue  of  her  and 
one  of  himself  placed  on  either  side  of  a 
large  cross  in  the  principal  square  of 
his  beautiful  new  city,  Constantinople. 
He  outlived  his  mother  about  ten  years, 
and  was  baptized  a  few  days  before  his 
death. 

Next  to  the  B.  V.  Mary,  St.  Helen 
has  more  dedications  in  England  than 


any  other  saint.  B.M.  AA.SS.  Tille- 
mont.    Geoffrey  of  Monmouth. 

Robert  of  Gloucester  gives  some 
curious  particulars  of  her  supposed 
father,  King  Cole,  and  the  history  of 
Britain  in  his  time,  full  of  amusing 
anachronisms. 

Elene,  or  the  Finding  of  the  Cross,  is 
the  subject  of  one  of  the  poems  of  Cyne- 
wulf,  a  minstrel  at  the  court  of  the 
Northumbrian  kings  in  the  8th  century. 

St.  Helen  (4).  Daughter  of  Kilian. 
(See  Bridged  (1).) 

St.  Helen  (5)  of  Auxerre,  May  22. 
5th  century.  A  holy  V.  famous  for  her 
virtues  and  miracles.  One  of  many 
persons  who,  being  in  the  church  of 
Auxerre,  May  1,  418,  when  the  Bishop 
St.  Amator  died  on  his  pontifical  throne, 
saw  his  soul,  in  the  form  of  a  dove,  borne 
to  heaven  by  a  choir  of  saints  singing 
hymns.  Henschenius  in  AA.SS.  Her 
name  is  in  the  B.M.,  and  in  the  ancient 
calendar  of  Reichenau,  which  is  repro- 
duced in  AA.SS.,  Prsefationes,  vol.  iii. 

St.  Helen  (6),  or  Helan,  Oct.  7. 
5th  or  7th  century.  One  of  the  brothers 
or  sisters  of  St.  Tressan  (Feb.  7)  and 
St.  Gibrian  (May  8).  Tressan  was  an 
illiterate  but  very  good  and  religious 
man.  He  resolved  to  lead  the  life  of  a 
pilgrim,  and  taking  with  him  his  six 
brothers  and  three  or  four  sisters,  they 
came  to  Rheims  during  the  episcopate 
of  St.  Romigius  (in  the  5th  century),  who 
ordained  Tressan  priest,  after  he  had 
acquired  the  necessary  amount  of  learn- 
ing. Tressan  spent  the  rest  of  his  life 
in  that  country,  and  was  buried  at  Avenay, 
in  Champagne.  Some  say  they  lived  in 
the  7th  century.  Fracla,  Promptia, 
and  Posenna  are  given  as  the  names  of 
the  sistors.  Compare  with  Helen  (7), 
of  Troyes,  who  is  perhaps  the  same. 

St.  Helen  (7),  May  4.  V.  of  Troyes, 
in  Champagne.  After  the  capture  of 
Constantinople  by  the  Latins,  in  1204, 
the  body  of  Helen  was  brought  from 
Corinth  to  Troyes  in  a  perfect  state  of 
preservation.  Ferrarius  makes  her  a 
martyr,  but  who  she  really  was,  when  or 
where  she  lived,  history  does  not  inform 
us;  and  although  there  is  an  account  of 
her  given  in  an  old  breviary  of  the 
church  at  Troyes,  it  is  styled  in  the  Acta, 


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"plane  fabulosa."  In  the  13th  centnry 
the  inhabitants  of  Troyes  thought  they 
possessed  the  remains  of  the  Empress 
Helen,  but  they  by-and-by  ceased  to 
hold  this  belief.  The  relics  may  have 
been  those  of  a  certain  St.  Helenns,  or 
Helynus,  of  Arcis-sur-Aube,  who  per- 
formed prodigies  of  fasting.  AA.SS. 
Compare  with  Helen  (6),  who  is  perhaps 
the  same. 

St.  Helen  (8).  One  of  the  saints  who 
went  to  Cornwall  with  Ia  and  Bbeaca. 

B.  Helen  (9).  One  of  the  sisters  of 
St.  Ralnfrede. 

St.  Helen  (10),  Aug.  24,  the  name 
taken  in  baptism  by  Olga. 

St.  Helen  (11)  of  Skofde,  July  31. 
First  half  of  the  12  th  century.  Patron 
of  Westrogothia.  She  was  a  young  widow 
of  an  illustrious  family  in  Westro- 
gothia, in  Sweden,  and  instead  of  con- 
templating a  second  marriage,  devoted 
herself  to  works  of  charity  and  piety, 
keeping  her  gates  open  to  the  poor,  and 
clothing  them  with  the  wool  of  her 
sheep.  She  built  the  greater  part  of  the 
church  of  Skedevig  (pronounced  Shady- 
wig,  now  Skofde)  at  her  own  expense, 
and  it  was  called  by  her  name  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  While  she  was  building 
a  portico  between  the  church  and  the 
tower,  people  asked  her  why  she  left 
that  space  there,  and  she  said,  "  God 
will  give  us  some  saint  whose  body  and 
relics  can  be  suitably  placed  there."  In 
that  spot  her  own  body  was  by-and-by 
laid. 

One  day,  being  in  the  villa  of  Gotene, 
she  dreamt  that  the  church  of  Gotene, 
and  she  in  it,  flew  away  to  Skofde.  She 
understood  this  to  foretell  that  she  should 
die  at  Gotene  and  be  buried  at  Skofde, 
which  eventually  happened. 

Her  beautiful  daughter  was  married 
to  a  man  who  ill  treated  her.  He  was 
murdered  by  his  servants;  and  when  his 
relations  seized  them  and  were  going  to 
avenge  his  death  by  killing  them,  they 
admitted  the  crime,  but  said  Helen  had 
incited  them.  The  relations  then  became 
enemies  and  persecutors  of  Helen.  She 
made  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem.  After 
her  return,  she  was  going  one  day  for 
indulgences  to  the  consecration  of  the 
church  of  Gotene.    One  of  her  enemies 


stabbed  her,  inflicting  dreadful  wounds. 
She  immediately  began  to  work  miracles. 
On  that  very  day,  after  sunset,  a  blind 
man  passing  by  came  near  the  place  of 
the  murder.  A  boy  who  was  directing 
his  steps  saw  a  light  like  a  burning 
candle  in  the  bushes.  He  told  the  blind 
man  of  this  strange  appearance.  The 
man  ran  to  search,  and  he  found  Helen's 
finger  wearing  a  ring  which  she  had 
brought  from  the  Holy  Land.  The  blind 
man  touched  the  finger,  and  with  the 
blood  touched  his  eyes,  and  immediately 
his  blindness  vanished. 

When  her  body  was  being  carried  to 
Skofde,  the  bearers  rested  at  a  place 
where  there  immediately  sprang  up  a 
fountain,  called  to  this  day  Lene  KUd, 
"St.  Helen's  Fountain."  When  her  sacred 
body  was  brought  to  Skofde,  it  was  washed 
on  a  great  stone  in  the  cemetery.  The 
stone  was  afterwards  cut  in  two  parts; 
that  part  on  which  the  blood  had  run 
out  of  her  wounds  was  set  up,  and  the 
other  half  laid  on  the  ground,  in  order 
that  human  feet  should  not  tread  on  her 
blood.  The  same  stone  stood  there  for 
many  years,  and  many  miracles  were 
wrought  there  that  the  place  might  be 
had  in  veneration. 

This  story  is  given  at  greater  length, 
as  the  Legenda  S.  Helense  Schedviensin, 
in  Annerstedt's  Scriptores  Berum  Sued- 
carum.  The  notes  to  the  legend  explain 
that  whereas  all  modern  writers  identify 
her  with  Helen,  daughter  of  Guttorm, 
jarl,  who  married,  first,  Esbern  Snare, 
and  secondly,  Waldemar  II,  the  an- 
notator  says  that  Vastovius,  Vitia  Aqui- 
lonia,  is  the  first  to  call  her  Guttorm's 
daughter,  and  that  St.  Helen  must  have 
been  older  than  Guttorm,  who  only 
became  jarl  in  the  year  that  Helen  was 
canonized,  and  he  believes  her  to  be  the 
wife  of  Ingo  the  Elder,  the  Good  (1090- 
1112). 

Stephen,  archbishop  of  TJpsala,  re- 
ported her  miracles  and  prophecies  to 
Pope  Alexander  III.,  who  ordered  that 
she  should  receive  the  honours  due  to  a 
a  saint,  which  was  done  in  1160  or  1164. 

Compare  with  St.  Helen  (12). 

St.  Helen  (12),  July  31,  Aug.  1. 
At  Tiisvilde,  in  the  parish  of  Tibirke, 
in  the  island  of  Zealand,  in  Denmark,  is 


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374 


B.  HELEN 


the  tomb  and  well  of  St.  Helen,  or  Lene. 
Pilgrimages  are  made  to  the  place  every 
summer,  and  cripples  and  blind  or  sick 
persons  come  there  to  be  cnred.  They 
remain  all  night  at  the  grave,  and  take 
away  with  them  little  bags  of  earth  from 
nnder  the  tombstone,  and  when  they  go, 
they  make  offerings  in  gratitude  for  their 
cures.  Those  who  have  come  on  crutches 
and  have  been  cured,  plant  the  crutches 
in  the  earth,  and  crosses  are  seen  stuck 
about  and  hung  with  articles  of  clothing 
in  memory  of  benefits  received  by  the 
intercession  of  the  saint. 

Three  distinct  legends  are  told  to 
account  for  her  cure-working  well  and 
tomb  there.  The  first  says  she  is  St. 
Helen  of  Skofde,  and  that  when  she 
was  killed  in  Sweden,  she  floated  on  a 
great  stone  to  the  opposite  coast  of 
Zealand.  The  cliffs  were  so  6teep  that 
the  stone  and  the  corpse  could  not  have 
come  ashore  had  not  the  rocks  split  to 
allow  the  holy  burden  to  pass.  The 
body  was  carried  towards  Tiisvilde.  On 
the  spot  where  she  was  first  laid  down, 
a  spring  of  water  gushed  from  the  ground, 
and  the  saint  became  so  heavy  that 
horses  could  not  draw  her  any  farther ; 
so  she  was  buried  there.  Close  to  the 
shore  lies  the  stone  on  which  she  floated, 
and  on  it  may  be  seen  the  marks  of  her 
hair,  hands,  and  feet,  and  the  rift  in  the 
rock  is  plainly  Visible. 

The  second  legend  is,  that  St.  Helen  was 
a  princess  of  Skania,  in  Sweden,  famed  for 
her  beauty  and  modesty.  A  king  fell 
in  love  with  her,  and  as  his  attentions 
were  not  altogether  respectful,  she  fled 
across  the  country  until  she  came  to 
cliffs  high  over  the  sea.  As  he  was 
nearly  overtaking  her,  she  threw  herself 
into  the  sea,  whereupon  a  large  stone 
arose  from  the  deep  and  received  her, 
and  on  this  she  sailed  to  Skaelland 
(Zealand),  and  where  she  first  set  foot  a 
fountain  sprang  up.  She  lived  long  in 
that  country,  and  was  revered  as  a  saint. 
The  fountain  is  called  by  her  name  to 
this  day,  "Helen's  Kild."  Thiele  says 
that  Helen  possibly  means  Helle  Lene, 
"The  Holy  Lena." 

The  third  legend  is  this.  Three  holy 
sisters  went  to  sea  together.  Their  boat 
upset,  and  they  were  drowned.    The  sea 


carried  them  to  different  places:  Helen 
to  Tiisvilde,  in  Zealand;  Karen,  i.e. 
Catherine,  to  St.  Karen's  spring;  and 
the  third  to  another  place ;  and  where 
each  landed,  a  fountain  arose  from  the 
earth.  J.  M.  Thiele,  Danske  Folksagn. 
Compare  with  St.  Helen  (11). 

B.  Helen  (13),  or  Elena  of  Padua, 
Nov.  4.  +  1230  or  1242.  O.S.F.  She 
was  of  the  noble  family  of  the  Enselmini. 
At  the  age  of  twelve  she  took  the  veil  in 
the  Clarissan  convent  of  Sta.  Maria  di 
Arcella,  outside  the  walls  of  Padua. 
She  bore  with  exemplary  patience  a 
long  illness  which  deprived  her  of  the 
power  of  speech  and  the  use  of  her 
limbs  and  eyes.  Her  sufferings  were 
increased  by  the  efforts  of  her  friends 
to  cure  her.  She  could  hear  and  could 
make  herself  understood  by  those  who 
attended  her.  The  superiors  commanded 
her  to  tell  these  sisters  her  bodily  and 
spiritual  experiences,  and  had  it  all 
written  down.  She  was  canonized  by 
Innocent  XII.  in  1605.  She  is  spoken 
of  as  "Blessed"  by  Lambertini  (after- 
wards Benedict  XIV.),  in  his  book  on 
canonization.  A.B. if.,  "Romano-Seraphic 
Mart."  Biographies  of  her  were  written 
by  her  countrymen,  Scordoneo  and  Porti- 
nario.  Chron.  Seraphica,  ii.  fol.  97,  col. 
1.  Francis  van  Ortroy,  in  AA.SS.,  gives 
an  account  of  her  life  and  visions,  with 
notes. 

B.  Helen  (14),  of  Hungary,  O.S.D., 
Nov.  8,  Aug.  18,  March  16.  13th 
century.  Governess  of  B.  Margaret  of 
Hungary. 

^Represented  with  a  crucifix  in  her 
right  hand  and  in  the  left  a  city. 

She  encouraged  Margaret  to  wear  a 
hair  shirt  occasionally  at  the  age  of  five 
that  she  might  get  used  to  penance,  and 
that  it  might  keep  her  from  self-in- 
dulgence. She  had  a  great  devotion  to 
the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  He  rewarded 
her  with  the  stigmata.  Once,  on  the 
festival  of  St.  Francis,  while  she  prayed, 
God  wounded  her  with  His  wounds  in 
the  right  hand,  she  opposing  it,  and 
crying  out,  "Lord,  do  not  do  this." 
She  received  the  wound  in  the  left  hand 
at  midday  on  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul's  day. 
The  wounds  did  not  bleed,  but  the 
marks  and  the  pain  were  there,  and  the 


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B.  HELEN 


375 


left  hand  showed  a  thread  of  gold  and  a. 
little  effigy  of  a  lily.  She  never  could 
read,  bat  knew  the  office  of  the  Virgin 
and  the  Psalter  by  heart  When  she 
was  praying,  several  times  crosses  or 
images  came  from  the  altar  and  placed 
themselves  in  her  hand,  and  could  not 
be  removed  until  her  ecstasy  of  some 
hours  was  over.  She  is  worshipped  in 
her  own  order  and  diocese,  on  account 
of  her  sanctity-  and  miracles.  Her  story 
is  given  by  Eazzi  and  by  Pio  in  their 
histories  of  Dominican  saints.  Castillo, 
Hist,  gen.  de  Sancto  Domingo,  Part  I., 
bk.  iii.  ch.  7,  p.  45(5. 

St.  Helen  (15),  Havydis,  of  Clair- 
font 

B.  Helen  (16),  duchess  of  Galicia, 
Yoland  (3). 

BB.  Helen  (17)  and  Flora  (4),  of 
Todi,  March  3.  +  c.  1 310.  Two  famous 
courtesans  of  Todi,  converted  about  the 
year  1285,  by  St.  Philip  Benizi,  general 
of  the  Servites,  and  shut  up  by  him  iu  a 
place  near  the  convent  of  his  order,  at 
Porcaria,  between  Narni  and  Todi.  They 
observed  the  rule  of  the  Servites,  and 
attained,  through  penitence,  to  such  a 
degree  of  sanctity  as  to  deserve  the  vene- 
ration of  the  faithful  after  their  death, 
which  happened  about  the  year  1310,  in 
the  said  convent.  This  is  the  earliest  con- 
vent of  Servite  nuns  known  with  any 
certainty,  although  sisters  of  that  order 
are  mentioned  during  the  life  of  the 
seven  founders.  AA.SS.,Prseter.  Helyot. 

B.  Helen  (18),  April  23,  of  the  Third 
Order  of  Hermits  6f  St.  Augustine, 
+  1458. 

Helen  Yalentini  was  born  at  TJdine, 
in  the  province  of  Friuli,  and  married  at 
fifteen  to  Antonio  Cavalcanti,  a  noble 
knight  at  Florence,  with  whom  she  lived 
very  happily  for  twenty-seven  years. 
They  had  many  children.  When  An- 
tonio died,  she  cut  off  her  hair,  which 
was  very  beautiful,  and  buried  it  with 
him.  She  spent  her  widowhood  in 
sorrow  and  devotion  in  her  own  house 
until  she  heard  a  sermon  from  a  certain 
monk  of  the  Hermits  of  St.  Augustine 
setting  forth  the  advantages  of  that 
order  and  the  indulgences  to  be  obtained 
in  it.  She  took  the  habit,  gave  all 
her  money  to  the  poor,  and  her  jewels 


and  fine  clothes  to  the  Church  of  St. 
Lucy  of  the  same  order.  She  became 
a  mirror  of  penance,  wore  a  hair  shirt, 
and  a  crown  with  iron  spikes  to  remind 
her  of  the  crown  of  thorns;  she  drank 
vinegar  mingled  with  gall;  she  com- 
pelled her  maids  to  tie  her  hands  behind 
her,  and  lead  her  about  by  a  dirty  rope 
tied  to  her  neck.  She  wore  thirty-three 
pebbles  in  her  shoes  as  penance  for 
having  danced  in  her  youth  and  in 
memory  of  the  thirty-three  years  of 
Christ's  weary  walking  about  on  the 
earth  for  our  advantage.  When  the 
festival  of  the  order  was  held,  she  went 
with  several  other  women  of  the  same 
rule  to  the  Provincial,  who,  having  heard 
of  her  great  piety,  desired  her  to  ask 
what  she  would  of  the  order,  and  it 
should  not  be  refused  her.  She  answered 
that  she  required  nothing  but  a  command 
of  perpetual  silence,  so  that  it  should 
not  be  allowed  her  to  speak  to  any  one 
except  by  express  command  of  her  con- 
fessor. Notwithstanding  her  silence  and 
almost  perpetual  solitude,  the  devil 
molested  her,  by  making  a  frightful 
noise  in  her  room  while  she  was  at 
prayer.  He  afterwards  used  to  appear  in 
a  bodily  form,  chasing  her  round  her 
room,  and  beating  her  until  she  fell  ex- 
hausted with  terror  and  fatigue.  Several 
visions  and  miracles  are  recorded  in  her 
Life.  At  her  death,  the  brothers  of  the 
order  obtained  authority  to  have  all  the 
bells  in  the  town  rung ;  but  when  they 
attempted  to  ring  the  one  which  was 
usually  tolled  for  the  death  of  a  criminal, 
its  tongue  fell  out.  The  other  bells 
were  all  rung,  and  an  immense  concourse 
assembled  at  her  house  and  accompanied 
her  body  to  the  Church  of  St.  Lucy, 
where  it  lay  for  two  days.  The  second 
night,  being  the  eve  of  her  burial,  as 
two  friars  were  watching  the  body,  she 
said  to  them,  "  Do  not  bury  me  near  the 
high  altar;  if  you  do,  I  will  not  stay 
there;  bury  me  in  my  own  oratory  in 
the  corner  of  the  church,  and  do  not 
keep  me  longer  above  ground,  but  restore 
earth  to  earth."  AA.SS.,  from  her  Life 
by  Simone  Bomano. 

B.  Helen  (19),  Sept.  23,  called  also 
Lena  dall'  Oolio  (in  Latin,  ab  Oleo), 
1462-1520.    Helen  was  the  daughter  of 


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370 


ST.  HELENA  STABULARIA 


Silvorio  Duglioli,  a  notary  in  Bologna,  in 
Italy ;  her  mother's  name  was  Penthesila 
Boccaferri.  She  married  at  seventeen, 
Benedict  dall*  Oglio,  aged  forty.  They 
lived  very  happily  for  thirty  years. 

The  legend  concerning  her  is  that  she 
was  the  daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  the 
Turks,  by  a  Christian  mother  of  the 
family  of  Paleologus,  and  was  related  to 
the  Marquis  of  Montferrat,  to  St. 
Catherine  of  Alexandria,  St.  Petronius, 
bishop  of  Bologna,  and  the  Virgin  Mary; 
that  she  was  miraculously  transported  on 
the  day  of  her  birth  to  the  house  of  her 
reputed  parents  at  Bologna,  while  their 
child  was  taken  to  Constantinople,  and 
placed  in  the  cradle  vacated  by  the 
infant  saint.  This  fable  is  supposed  to 
have  arisen  from  her  parabolic  way  of 
saying,  "I'm  not  an  inhabitant  but  a 
pilgrim.  This  is  not  my  country.  These 
are  not  my  relations." 

She  was  worshipped  from  the  day  of 
her  death.  She  was  buried  in  the  chapel 
of  St.  Cecilia,  said  to  be  built  by  her, 
in  the  church  of  the  Lateran  canons, 
called  San  Giovanni  in  Monte ;  it  after- 
wards belonged  to  the  lords  of  Bentivogli. 
Peter  Lucensis,  one  of  these  canons, 
wrote  hor  Life  from  a  contemporary 
anonymous  one.  Her  worship  and 
miracles  are  described  by  Prospero  Lam- 
bertini,  afterwards  Benedict  XIV.  Stilt- 
ing, in  AA.SS. 

St.  Helena  Stabularia,  Helen  (3). 

St.  Helendrude,  or  Helentrude, 
Helimdrude. 

St.  Helia,  June  20  (^Elya,  Elie, 
Helca).  +  750.  Fourth  abbess  of  the 
convent  of  Horres,  at  Treves.  Bncelinus, 
June  19.  AA.SS.,  Prseter.,  June  20.  St. 
Helyade,  whose  arm  was  kept  with 
veneration  by  the  grey  sisters  at  Abbe- 
ville, is  believed  to  be  the  same. 
Gynecseum. 

St.  Heliana  (1),  Aug.  18,  M.  at 
Pontus.  AA.SS. 

St.  Heliana  (2),  or  Helius,  June  8, 
M.  at  Cresarea,  in  Cappadocia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Helico,  or  Heliconis,  May  28, 
V.  M.  at  Corinth  in  244.  After  many 
frightful  tortures,  through  which  she  was 
miraculously  defended,  she  was  put  to 
death  with  a  sword.  AA.SS.,  from  Basil's 
Menohxjy. 


St.  Heliena,  April  20,  V.,  was  born 
of  humble  parents  at  Lauriano,  near 
Psestum,  and  was  so  pious  that  she  was 
considered  mad  by  her  friends  and 
neighbours.  Guided  by  an  angel,  she 
went  and  lived  in  a  cave,  where  she  had 
nothing  to  eat  but  raw  vegetables. 
When  it  became  known  to  the  monks  in 
the  neighbouring  monastery  of  Rofrano, 
they  offered  to  send  her  her  daily  food, 
which  she  accepted  on  condition  of  being 
allowed  to  work  for  the  Church.  She 
made  gowns  and  cowls  for  the  monks, 
and  garments  of  different  coloured 
pieces  for  the  shepherds.  After  a  time, 
the  fame  of  her  sanctity  spread  abroad ; 
sick  people  came  to  her  from  the  sur- 
rounding country.  She  laid  her  hands 
on  them  and  they  recovered.  When 
she  died,  the  bells  of  the  monastery 
began  to  ring  without  being  touched  by 
mortal  hand.  The  monks  wanted  to 
bury  her  in  their  own  church,  but  the 
angel  who  had  first  led  her  there  would 
not  allow  it,  but  quickly  appeared  in  a 
vision  to  the  Bishop  of  Paestum,  and  told 
him  to  send  pious  and  trustworthy  men 
to  bring  the  body  of  the  saint  and  bury 
it  at  Pcestum.  The  bishop  awoko  in  a 
fright,  and  sent  immediately  to  the  place 
described  by  the  angel,  brought  the 
body  to  his  church,  and  buried  it  there 
with  all  possible  honour. 

The  oity  of  Paestum  is  believed  to 
have  been  destroyed  by  the  Saracens, 
consequently  these  events  must  have 
happened  before  their  time.  Under 
the  Norman  rule  the  bishop  no  longer 
took  his  title  from  Prostum,  but  from 
Capaccio  Nuovo.  The  first  document 
referring  to  a  Bishop  of  Capaccio  Nuovo 
(Caputaqu©)  is  dated  1126. 

AA.SS.,  from  the  lessons  for  her  festi- 
val in  the  church  of  Capaccio  Nuovo. 

St.  Helimdrude,  May  31  (Helen- 
drude, Helmetrudb,  Helmtbuth,  per- 
haps Hiltrude).  11th  century.  A  recluse 
at  Iborg,  in  the  diocese  of  Osnabruck, 
and  honoured  at  Horse,  or  Heerse,  in  the 
dioces8  of  Paderborn,  in  Westphalia. 
She  is  perhaps  the  same  as  Hiltrude 
(2),  to  whom  St.  Cordula  appeared  and 
told  her  story.  If  so,  she  probably  lived 
in  the  12th  century.  AA.SS..  Prseter. 
Migne,  Die.  Hag.  Qyneceeum,  Oct.  31. 


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ST.  HEMMA 


377 


St.  Helis.  (See  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity.) 

St.  Hellen,  Jolenta. 

St.  Helmetrude,  Helimdrude. 

St.  Helmtruth,  Helimdrudb.  Per- 
haps HlLTRUDE  (2). 

St.  Help  of  the  Hulfensberg  at 
Eichsfelde,  Wilgefortis. 

St.  Helpidia  at  Alexandria,  May  2. 
Mart.  Rhinmiense. 

St.  Helpis,  or  Elpe,  or  Ammia.  One 
of  the  martyrs  of  Lyons,  beheaded, 
being  a  Roman  citizen.  (See  Blandina.) 

B.  Helsvind,  May  22.  Abbess  of  a 
Cistercian  convent  near  Aix-la-Chapelle. 
When  she  was  scarcely  nine  years  old 
she  took  the  religions  habit  at  St. 
Saviour's  convent,  contrary  to  the  wishes 
of  her  family.  Her  father  and  brothers 
broke  open  the  doors  and  carried  her  off, 
but  after  a  time  the  Bishop  of  Liege 
compelled  them  by  a  threat  of  excom- 
munication to  send  her  back.  She 
wrought  miracles.  There  is  no  authority 
for  her  worship,  but  she  is  called 
"  Blessed  "  by  several  writers.  Bucelinus. 
AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

B.  Helvisa,  Feb.  11.  +  1034,  a 
recluse  near  the  Benedictine  monastery 
of  Coulombs,  in  Normandy,  to  which 
she  gave  a  considerable  amount  of  land, 
etc.  Called  "Saint"  by  some  writers. 
AA.SS.  O.S.B.,  vol.  viii. 

St.  Helyade,  Heua. 

St.  Hemelaydis,  May  23,  Herme- 
lend,  sister  of  Gudula,  is  so  called  in 
Gynecseum. 

B.  Hemelina,  or  Emkline,  Oct.  27. 
+  1178.  Lay-sister  at  the  Cistercian 
abbey  of  Boulancourt,  once  standing 
where  now  is  the  parish  of  Valentigny, 
dep.  de  TAube.  The  Cistercians  had 
lay-brothers  and  lay-sisters  who  did 
not  live  in  the  cloister  but  devoted 
themselves,  for  the  good  of  the  others, 
to  the  care  of  their  corn,  cattle,  etc.  B. 
Hemelina  appears  to  have  lived  at  a 
grange.  She  used  to  spin  very  indus- 
triously, meditating  ail  the  while  on  the 
Psalms.  She  carried  her  self-denial  and 
poverty  even  beyond  that  prescribed  for 
nuns  of  the  order.  She  wore  an  iron  chain 
so  tight  round  her  body  that  the  flesh  grew 
over  it  and  hid  it.  Many  persons  sent 
her  offerings  of  food,  but  she  nover  would 


taste  it.  She  ordered  the  crows  and 
ravens  to  depart  from  the  neighbouring 
wood  because  they  disturbed  her;  and 
they  obeyed.  Her  Life  was  written  by 
B.  Goswin,  a  contemporary  Cistercian 
monk  of  Clairval.  AA.S8. 

St.  Hemma.  The  name  of  Hemma 
was  common  in  Germany  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  several  ladies  bearing  it  appear 
in  the  records  of  the  times.  This  has 
given  rise  to  some  confusion  in  the 
accounts  of  those  who  became  famous. 
We  have  perhaps  four  Saints  Hemma, 
but  it  seems  possible  that  some  of  them 
have  borrowed  honours  that  belong  to 
one  or  other  of  their  namesakes :  (1) 
there  is  a  queen  of  Bavaria  in  the  9th 
century ;  (2)  a  landgravine  of  Carinthia ; 

(3)  a  sister  of  Meinwerk,  of  Paderborn  ; 

(4)  an  abbess  buried  at  Eatisbon. 
Hemma  (1),  queen  of  Bavaria,  June 

28.  9th  century.  Represented  teaching 
her  three  children  to  pray.  At  their 
feet  lie  the  three  crowns — Germany, 
Italy,  and  France — which  eventually 
came  severally  to  her  three  sons.  She 
was  the  wife  of  Louis,  king  of  Bavaria. 
She  died  before  him,  and  was  buried  at 
Ratisbon.  She  was  mother  of  Charles 
the  Fat,  who  reigned  881-887.  Gu6ne- 
bault,  Die.  Incon.,  gives  as  his  authority 
Rader's  Bavaria  Pia,  where  the  illus- 
tration iB  as  he  describes,  but  she  is  not 
there  called  "  Saint,"  although  described 
as  a  holy  queen. 

St.  Hemma  (2),  or  Emma,  April  19. 
+  c.  1040,  sister  of  Meinwerk,  bishop 
of  Paderborn,  and  for  forty  years  the 
widow  of  Count  Liudger.  She  gave 
the  whole  of  her  enormous  wealth  to  the 
poor  and  to  the  Church.  Her  body  rests 
in  the  church  of  Bremen  in  Saxony.  Mein- 
werk was  a  relation  as  well  as  a  school- 
fellow and  friend  of  the  Emperor  Henry 
II.,  and  was  a  good,  although  not  very 
learned,  bishop  and  ruler,  and  a  fearless 
reprover  of  wrong,  as  appears  from  many 
amusing  anecdotes  in  German  history  of 
that  period.  It  was  perhaps  this  Hemma, 
and  not  the  founder  of  Gurk,  who  was 
spoken  of  as  a  kinswoman  of  the  emperor, 
and  brought  up  at  his  court;  but  this 
supposition  does  not  reconcile  all  the 
contradictions.  AA.SS. 

St.  Hemma  (a;,  June  29.  +  1045. 


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ST.  HEMMA 


Countess  and  Landgravine  of  Carinthia, 
etc.  Founder  of  the  double  monastery 
of  Gurk,  in  Carinthia,  which  seems  to 
have  been  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augustine. 
She  is  said,  in  the  Life  given  in  the 
AA.SS.,  to  have  been  a  near  relation  of 
the  Emperor  St.  Henry  L,  but  that  Life 
is  far  from  contemporary,  and  Papebroch 
regards  it  as  by  no  means  certain  that 
Hemma,  the  founder  of  Gurk,  and 
Hemma,  the  niece  of  the  emperor,  are 
the  same.  Her  father  was  Count  of 
Murtzall  and  Lord  of  Eppenstein.  When 
she  was  grown  up,  she  was  sent  to  the 
court  of  St.  Cunigund,  the  empress ; 
and  on  her  marriage  with  the  Landgrave 
William,  lord  of  Friesach  and  Celt- 
schach,  in  Carinthia  and  Styria,  SS. 
Henry  and  Cunigund  gave  her  several 
towns  and  castles  as  a  dowry.  She  had 
two  sons,  William  and  Hartwick,  who 
were  murdered  in  one  day,  in  revenge 
for  the  severity  with  which  they,  ruling 
in  their  father's  name,  strove  to  put 
down  lawlessness  and  immorality  in  his 
dominions.  The  Landgrave  William, 
instead  of  taking  a  cruel  vengeance  on 
all  who  were  concerned  in  the  outrage, 
only  condemned  the  chief  conspirator 
to  death,  and  pardoned  the  others.  Then, 
with  the  consent  of  his  wife,  although 
far  advanced  in  life,  he  made  a  pilgrim- 
age on  foot  and  unattended,  to  Rome,  to 
visit  the  scene  of  the  martyrdom  of  St. 
Paul.  On  his  way  home,  he  died  at 
Lavanthal ;  and  Hemma  took  the  veil  at 
Gurk,  in  the  monastery  she  had  built 
for  twenty  monks  and  seventy-two  nuns. 
In  1120  the  nunnery  was  suppressed  and 
the  monastery  given  to  canons  regular 
to  serve  the  cathedral  at  Gurk.  William 
and  Hemma  were  both  honoured  as 
saints  in  Carinthia.  AASS.  Butler. 

St.  Hemma  (4),  June  29,  widow.  An 
abbess  near  Ratisbon,  who,  in  1067,  hos- 
pitably entertained  the  learned  Irish 
monk  Marianus,  with  other  pilgrims,  on 
their  way  to  Rome.  He,  however,  in 
obedience  to  a  vision,  remained  at  Ratis- 
bon while  the  others  continued  their 
journey  ;  whereupon  Hemma  made  over 
to  him  the  church  of  St.  Peter.  The 
Emperor  Henry  IV.  confirmed  the  grant, 
and  Marianus  built  a  monastery  there. 
Butler.  Lanigan. 


B.  Henedina,  May  14,  V.  M.  with 
Justa  and  Justina  in  Sardinia.  {See 
Just  a.)  B.M. 

St.  Heraclea,  or  Araclea,  Sept.  29. 
Place  or  person.  First  of  a  list  of  names 
of  MM.  in  Thrace.  AAJ3S.  Called  in 
the  Martyrology  of  Salisbury,  "  The  Holy 
Woman  St.  Ercley." 

St.  Heraclia  (1),  Sept.  12;  Sept.  13 
in  the  Coptic  Church.  M.  in  Asia. 
AA.SS. 

St  Heraclia  (2),  June  1,  M.  at  Rome. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Herais  (l),  Rhais  (l). 

St.  Herais  (2)  March  4  (^Erais, 
Hero!d,  Herois),  M.  Commemorated  as 
put  to  the  sword  with  150  others 
in  an  old  Greek  Calendar  (Synaxary) 
of  Crypta  Ferrata  and  in  some  other 
Martyrologies.  AA.SS.  Perhaps  the 
same  as  Irais. 

St.  Herais  (3),  Irais. 

St.  Hercantrudis,  May  14,  Dec.  7. 
+  655.  A  girl,  of  noble  birth,  who 
entered  the  monastery  of  Brie  as  a  lay- 
sister,  under^  St.  Fara,  at  a  very  early 
age,  and  was  so  carefully  brought  up  by 
the  nuns  that  she  never  knew  there  were 
two  sexes.  She  was  grievously  tried 
with  bodily  pain,  and  was  covered  with 
sores  like  Job,  but  bore  her  sufferings 
with  his  patience.  When  she  was  at  the 
point  of  death,  she  told  the  nuns  to  make 
hasto  and  expel  from  amongst  them  one 
who  was  dead,  and  did  not  deserve  to 
live  with  them.  They  were  all  puzzled 
and  anxious,  and  one,  struck  with  terror, 
threw  herself  on  the  ground  and  con- 
fessed that  she  was  the  dead  one,  as  her 
heart  was  in  the  outer  world  and  she 
desired  to  return  to  it ;  she  promised  to 
amend  herself.  It  was  now  night,  and 
the  dying  saint  lay  in  her  dark  cell. 
She  requested  them  to  put  the  light  out. 
They  said,  "  What  light  ?  "  She  declared 
her  cell  was  lighted  up  with  a  brightness 
she  could  not  look  upon.  AA.SS.  O.SJZ. 
Bucelinus. 

St.  Heredina,  or  Herectina.  (See 
St.  Victoria  (2).) 

St.  Herembertha,  Bertanna. 

St.  Heremita,  March  13,  M.  The 
name  of  a  saint  whose  relics  were  shown 
to  the  Bollandist  fathers  at  the  Monastery 
of  St.  Anthony,  in  the  diocese  of  Yienne, 


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ST.  HERLUKA 


379 


in  France,  March  13,  1602,  when  they 
were  travelling  in  search  of  information 
concerning  the  saints.  The  bones  were 
all  believed  to  be  those  of  early  martyrs, 
some  of  whom  were  put  to  death  in 
Rome,  some  in  Sardinia,  but  of  whom 
nothing  is  known  with  certainty.  Ig- 
natius and  Heremita,  possibly  a  husband 
and  wife,  are  mentioned  together,  both 
on  this  day  and  Feb.  20.  AA.SS. 

Other  women  in  the  same  list  are 
SS.  Laurentia,  Speciosa,  and  Romana. 

St.  Heremnone,HERMioNE,  daughter 
of  St.  Philip  the  apostle,  is  so  called  in 
the  Grsscd-Slavonian  Calendar. 

St.  Herena  (1)  or  Erina,  sometimes 
written  for  Irene. 

St  Herena  (2),  Feb.  25  (Erena, 
Hirena,  Hirek£Us),  M.,  c.  252  with  more 
than  fifty  others  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 
Baronius,  Annates. 

SS.  Herenia,  March  8  (jErenia, 
JEremia,  Arsenia,  Erema,  Heronima), 
with  Felicitas  and  Beat  a  (Baroma, 
Bera,  Beroma,  Birona,  Borema),  MM. 
with  others  in  Africa.  They  are  men- 
tioned in  the  Roman  Martyrology  and  in 
someMSS.  AA.SS. 

St.  Hereswitha,  Sept.  23,  Dec.  l 
(Eresvytha,  Hjeresvid,  Heresuid,  Her- 
wide,  Herkswyde),  c.  615-647  or  650, 
Princess  of  North  Deira,  Queen  of  East 
Anglia.  She  was  one  of  the  sainted 
daughters  of  Hereric,  nephew  of  St. 
Edwin,  king  of  Deira.  Her  mother  was 
Breguswida  or  Beorswitha.  Her  sister 
was  St.  Hilda.  When  King  Edwin  was 
christened  at  York,  in  627  (see  St. 
Ethelburga,  queen  of  Northumberland), 
by  St.  Faulinus,  the  holy  rite  was  ad- 
ministered at  the  same  time  to  a  great 
number  of  his  relations,  among  whom  was 
probably  his  nephew  Hereric,  with  his 
wife  and  daughters,Hilclaand  Hereswitha. 
These  young  princesses,  being  at  an  im- 
pressionable age,  could  not  fail  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  the  beauty  and  charm  of  their 
great-aunt,  St.  Ethelburga,  about  ten 
years  their  senior,  who  had  brought  with 
her  from  Kent,  and  from  her  semi- 
Frankish  birth  and  semi-Roman  teaching, 
a  degree  of  refinement  and  culture  some- 
what in  advance  of  the  rough  north- 
country  usages. 

Most  of  the  later  mediaeval  writers 


say  that  Hereswitha  was  married  twice. 
Her  second  husband  was  St  Anna,  king 
of  the  East  Angles.  According  to  this 
theory,  she  was  the  mother,  by  her  first 
marriage,  of  St.  Sedrido  or  S^thryth, 
second  abbess  of  Brie;  and  by  her  second 
marriage,  with  Anna,  she  had  a  large 
family,  all  of  them  saints,  namely, 
St.  Ethelburga,  St.  Sexburga,  St. 
Ethelreda,  St.  Withburga,  St  Jurmi- 
nus,  who  was  killed  fighting  against  the 
heathen  Mercians,  and  therefore  honoured 
as  a  martyr,  and  St.  Adulf,  king  of  East 
Anglia.  The  Rev.  Charles  Hole,  resting 
on  older  authorities,  describes  her  as  the 
wife  of  Ethelhere,  brother  and  successor 
of  Anna,  mother  of  Aldulf  and  Alf wold, 
kings  of  the  East  Angles,  and  says  it  is 
uncertain  whether  she  was  mother  of 
J  urminus. 

There  were  already  many  nunneries  in 
France,  but  in  England  the  first  had 
only  been  founded  in  633,  a  few  years 
before  the  time  when  Hereswitha  desired 
to  take  the  veil.  She  had  heard  much 
of  the  holiness  of  women  devoted  to  the 
service  of  God  in  other  countries,  whereas 
in  England  the  system  had  hardly  taken 
root.  Three  French  houses  in  particular 
were  much  resorted  to  by  English  ladies 
who  had  the  vocation.  These  were  Brie, 
still  under  its  first  abbess,  St.  Fara  ; 
Chelles  and  Andelys,  founded  by  St. 
Clotilda.  Hereswitha  took  the  veil  at 
Chelles,  near  Paris,  then  a  small  build- 
ing and  community,  but  soon  after,  and 
probably  during  the  residence  there  of 
Hereswitha,  magnificently  refounded  and 
endowed  by  St.  Bathilde,  queen  of 
France. 

Bede,  iv.  23.  Watson,  English  Mart. 
Bucelinus.  Lappenberg,  Hist,  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons.  Montalembert.  Broughton, 
Monast.  Brit.    Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Herlenda  or  Herlinda,  Har- 

LIND. 

St.  Herluka,  April  8  (Herluca, 
Herlue,  Herulca),  V.  +  c.  1142. 
Represented  in  a  chapel  with  a  book 
in  her  hand  and  others  lying  about,  a 
sainted  bishop  appearing  to  her.  When 
she  was  young  she  would  have  given  her- 
self up  to  worldly  pleasure,  but  she  fell 
into  bad  health,  and  became  more  serious. 
On  her  recovery,  the  love  of  the  world 


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380 


ST.  HERMELENDE 


revived  in  her ;  she  then  became  blind, 
and  understood  that  God  would  have  her 
heart  for  Himself.  She  recovered  the 
sight  of  one  eye  by  praying  to  St. 
Ciriacus.  She  is  chiefly  known  by  her 
revelations  concerning  St.  Wicterpus, 
bishop,  of  whom  nothing  was  known 
but  his  name  until  he  appeared  in 
visions  to  St.  Herluka.  Henschenius, 
in  AA.SS.,  from  her  Life  by  Paul  Bern- 
ried,  a  German  priest,  who  knew  her 
personally.  GuSnebault. 

St.  Hermelende,  Oct.  25,  V.  Sister 
of  St.  Gudula.  Honoured  at  Meldar, 
now  Meldert,  in  Brabant.  Martin. 

St.  Hermione,  Sept.  4  (Heremnona, 
Seremione).  1st  century.  One  of  the 
four  daughters  of  St.  Philip  the  apostle, 
or  St.  Philip  the  deacon.  Hermione  and 
her  sister  Eutyche  went  to  Asia  Minor 
in  search  of  St.  John  the  Theologian,  but 
he  was  already  taken  to  heaven  like 
Enoch  and  Elias,  so  they  ruled  their 
lives  by  the  teaching  of  St.  Petronius,  a 
disciple  of  St.  Paul.  Hermione  devoted 
herself  to  the  study  and  practice  of 
medicine,  and  great  numbers  resorted  to 
her  to  be  cured.  The  Emperor  Trajan, 
on  his  way  to  Persia,  passed  through  the 
place  where  Hermione  practised,  and  she 
was  accused  to  him  of  being  a  Christian. 
He  sent  for  her,  and  enraged  at  the  bold- 
ness with  which  she  confessed  her  faith, 
he  ordered  her  to  be  beaten,  but  when  he 
saw  the  patience  and  courage  with  which 
she  bore  that  trial,  he  was  ashamed  of 
his  conduct,  and  set  her  at  liberty.  She 
then  opened  a  public  hospice,  where,  as 
long  as  Trajan  lived,  she  received  all 
comers  who  wanted  cure  or  comfort  for 
body  or  mind. 

But  in  117  he  was  succeeded  by  his 
son-in-law  Adrian,  who  recommenced  the 
persecution  of  Hermione.  Among  other 
torments  to  which  he  subjected  her,  she 
was  put  into  a  burning  fiery  furnace, 
which,  however,  was  powerless  to  hurt 
her,  and  the  emperor  condemned  her  to 
be  beheaded.  Whenever  the  executioners 
attempted  to  touch  her,  their  hands  burned 
as  if  they  were  in  the  fire,  until,  perceiv- 
ing that  she  was  a  servant  of  the  true  God, 
they  fell  at  her  feet,  and  begged  her  to 
forgive  them  and  pray  for  tliem.  She 
prayed  that  they  might  give  up  their 


converted  souls  to  God  in  her  presence, 
which  happened  immediately,  and  then 
she  also  died.  Another  account  says 
they  were  all  beheaded.  Mart,  of  Basil. 
AA.SS.,  from  the  Greek  Meneas. 

St.  Hermynhilda,  Ermenilda. 

St.  Herneldia,  Aug.  13,  V.  Men- 
tioned with  Ermelina  in  an  old  calendar 
as  holy  virgins.  Herneldia  is  unknown. 
Ermelina  supposed  same  as  Ermelenda, 
Oct.  20  or  29.    AA.SS.,  Prmter. 

St.  Hero,  Jan.  18.  One  of  thirty- 
seven  martyrs  in  Africa  commemorated 
together  this  day.  AA.SS. 

St.  Herod,  Herotes. 

St.  Herois,  Herais,  March  4. 

St.  Heronima,  Herenta,  and  perhaps 
sometimes  written  for  Hieronyma,  which 
is  Girolama. 

St.  Herotes,  March  3  (Herod, 
Hierotes,  Horotis,  Iherotis),  M.  with 
Marcia  and  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Herswind,  or  Hilsuind,  May  4. 
-f  c  1028.  First  abbess  of  Thora,  or 
Thorn,  on  the  Mouse.  She  is  said  by 
Molanus,  in  his  Historic  de  Louvain,  to 
have  been  of  the  family  of  the  Dukes  of 
Lou  vain  and  Brabant,  and  to  have  married 
St.  Ansfrid  (May  3),  count  of  Bratu- 
spantium.  They  separated  from  religious 
motives,  and  he  became  Bishop  of  Utrecht 
t  in  997,  and  died  the  same  year.  Other 
accounts  place  him  a  few  years  later. 
Compare  with  her  daughter,  St.  Bene- 
dicta  of  Thorn. 

St.  Hertrue,  Hiltrude  (l). 

St.  Hertula,  April  12,  M.  303. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Herulca,  Herluka,  and  perhaps 
Herulia. 

St.  Herulia,  honoured  at  Augsburg, 
April  18.   Possibly  Herluka. 

St.  Herundina,  O.S.A.,  at  Borne. 
Mentioned  by  Torelli,  Secoli  Aug. 
Probably  the  same  as  Herundines,  or 
Herundo.    (See  Romula). 

St.  Herundo,  or  Herundines.  (See 

ROMULA.) 

St.  Herwide,  Sept.  23,  Hereswitha. 

SS.  Herwig,  Jutta  (l),  and  Ghise- 
lind,  Nov.  30,  VV.  Sisters  at  Meessene, 
in  the  diocese  of  Ypres.  Daughters  of 
Hezo  and  Ida.  They  kept  sheep  and 
cows.  The  devil  entered  into  three 
keepers  of  the  woods.     The  saints 


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ST.  HILDA 


381 


prayed  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  the 
earth  opened  and  swallowed  them.  The 
three  rogues,  terrified,  became  ancho- 
rites, and  the  three  saints  wrought  so 
many  miracles  that  Adela  (3),  countess 
of  Flanders,  built  a  nunnery  on  the  spot, 
and  in  digging  the  foundations,  the  work- 
men found  the  bodies  kneeling,  in  perfect 
preservation.    Gynecseum.  Stadler. 

St.  Hesia,  July  18  (Hessa,  Nkssa), 
M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Hessa,  Hbsia. 

St.  Hesteria  or  Asteria,  Aug.  10, 
V.  M.  307. 

When  St.  Grata,  princess  of  Ber- 
gamo, was  a  widow,  she  chose  a  holy 
virgin  named  Hesteria  to  be  her  com- 
panion. Duke  Lupo,  Grata's  father,  gave 
his  daughter  an  estate,  and  Hesteria  added 
her  patrimony.  They  devoted  their  lives 
and  possessions  to  works  of  mercy  and 
piety. 

When  St.  Alexander  was  martyred  at 
Bergamo,  Grata  took  up  his  head,  and 
Hesteria  gathered  up  his  blood. 

After  many  years,  Grata,  who  had 
succeeded  her  father  in  the  sovereignty 
of  Bergamo,  found  herself  dying,  and 
calling  the  chief  men  of  the  state  to- 
gether, recommended  them  to  take 
Hesteria  for  their  ruler.  They  did  so, 
notwithstanding  her  representation  that 
she  was  not  of  royal  birth,  and  therefore 
not  fit  to  reign  over  people  of  their  rank 
and  importance.  Two  messengers  were 
sent  from  the  Emperor  Diocletian  to  con- 
firm Hesteria  in  her  new  government. 
They  praised  hor  wisdom  and  goodness, 
and  required  her  to  inaugurate  her  reign 
by  a  sacrifice  to  Jupiter.  She  refused  on 
the  ground  that  she  was  a  Christian,  and 
they  reminded  her  that  St.  Alexander  had 
suffered  death  at  Bergamo  for  the  same 
superstition,  bidding  her  choose  to  live 
and  reign,  or  to  die  at  once  by  the  hand 
of  the  executioner.  She  said  she  was 
proud  to  be  counted  worthy  to  follow  in 
the  stops  of  St.  Alexander.  She  was  be- 
headed, and  buried  in  tho  church  of  that 
martyr. 

AA.SS.,  P.B.,  from  an  old  MS.  Lec- 
tionary  of  the  Church  of  Bergamo.  The 
Biografia  Eclestastica  makes  her  the  sister 
of  St.  Grata.  The  Roman  Martyrology 
merely  gives  the  name  of  Asteria  on  this 


day  as  a  martyr  at  Bergamo,  under  Dio- 
cletian and  Maximian. 

St.  Hethna,  Ethnea. 

St.  Heya,  Heiu. 

B.  Heyleka,  Jan.  14.  A  Cistercian 
recluse,  who  had  visions  and  wrought 
miraclos,  and  is  worshipped  at  St. 
Andrew's  Church  at  Cologne.  AA.SS,, 
Prseter.,  from  Bucelinus  and  Henriquez. 

St.  Heyna,  Heiu. 

St.  Heyua,  Heiu. 

St.  Hia,  Ia  (3). 

St.  Hier,  Theoctiste. 

St  Hieremia  (l),  May  6,  M.  at 
Milan.  AA.SS. 

St.  Hieremia  (2),  June  21  (Hieria, 
Ineria,  Jeremia,  Yena),  M.  at  Syracuse. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Hieria,  Hieremia  (2). 

St.   Hieronyma,    Geronima  or 

GlROLAMA. 

St.  Hierotes,  Herotes.  # 

St.  Hilaria  (1),  Deo.  3,  March  li) 
in  the  Greek  Church,  M.  c.  257.  Wife 
of  St.  Claudius,  a  tribune,  and  mother 
of  St.  Jason  and  St.  Maurus,  who  were 
martyred  at  Rome  with  seventy  soldiers, 
under  the  Emporor  Numerian.  Claudius 
was  thrown  into  the  river  with  a  stone 
tied  to  his  neck.  Hilaria,  after  burying 
her  sons,  was  seized  while  praying  at 
their  tomb.  She  begged  her  captors  to 
let  her  finish  her  prayer,  promising  to 
go  with  them  wherever  they  pleased. 
She  then  prayed  to  be  reunited  to  her 
sons,  and  so  died.    R.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Hilaria  (2),  Aug.  12,  M.  Mother 
of  St.  Afra,  of  Augsburg.  R.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Hilaria  (3),  Dec.  31.  R.M.  (See 

DONATA.) 

St.  Hilda  or  Hild,  Nov.  17,  18,  Y. 
014-080.  Abbess  and  patron  of  Whitby. 
She  was  a  descendant  of  Odin  and  Ella, 
being  daughter  of  Hereric,  nephew  of 
Edwin,  first  Christian  king  of  Northum- 
bria,  cousin  of  Queen  Eanfleda,  the 
wife  of  St.  Oswy.  At  the  age  of  thirteen, 
Hilda  was  baptized  with  her  grand-uncle, 
King  Edwin,  by  St.  Paulinus,  on  Easter 
Eve,  027.  Some  time  afterwards,  about 
the  year  047,  desiring  to  devote  herself 
to  religion,  sho  went  into  East  Anglia, 
which  was  governed  by  her  nephew,  King 
JEdwulf.  From  there,  in  the  following 
year,  she  went  to   the  monastery  of 


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382 


ST.  HILDA 


Chelles,  near  Paris,  whero  her  sister, 
St.  Herkswitha,  the  mother  of  iEdwulf, 
had  already  taken  the  veil.  Hilda  re- 
mained for  a  year,  being  trained  in 
sauctity  and  monastic  devotion  by  the 
abbess  St.  Bertilla,  and,  like  many 
of  her  countrywomen,  she  intended  to 
go  to  one  of  the  religions  houses  on  the 
Marne,  offshoots  of  the  great  monastery 
of  Lnxeuil.  She  was,  however,  recalled 
to  Northumbria  by  St.  Aidan,  bishop  of 
Lindisfarne,  who  had  discovered  her 
worth.  He  gave  her  a  small  piece  of 
land — "  the  place  of  a  single  family  " — 
upon  the  north  bank  of  the  Wear,  and 
here  she  lived  with  a  few  companions 
for  about  a  year.  Then  the  bishop 
placed  her  at  the  head  of  the  monastery 
of  Hereteu  (Hartlepool),  as  successor  to 
Heiu,  its  founder  and  first  abbess. 

"  Bishop  Aidan,"  says  Bedo,  "  and  all 
the  religious  men  who  knew  her,  visited 
her  ofton,  loved  her  devotedly,  and  in- 
structed her  diligently,  on  account  of 
her  innate  wisdom  and  her  delight  in 
the  service  of  God." 

When  Hilda  had  been  abbess  there 
for  nine  years,  and  the  peace  of  Northum- 
bria had  been  secured  by  the  great 
victory  of  King  Oswy  over  the  Mercians, 
Oswy,  according  to  his  vow,  confided  his 
infant  daughter  St.  Elfleda  to  the  care 
of  the  Abbess  Hilda,  giving  her  at  the 
same  time  a  grant  of  land — "sufficient 
for  ten  families  " — at  Streaneshalch,  "the 
port  of  the  beacon,"  now  Whitby.  Here 
Hilda  built  and  organized  her  famous 
monastery.  It  was  situated  on  a  broad, 
grassy  plateau,  on  a  rocky  headland  three 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  in  a  circular 
bay  at  the  mouth  of  the  Esk.  Like 
the  later  religious  houses  of  Barking 
and  Coldingham,  Whitby  was  a  double 
monastery  containing  both  monks  and 
nuns,  the  latter  taking  precedence ;  all 
were  under  the  rule  of  the  abbess.  Here 
Hilda  lived,  and  being  one  of  those 
women  born  to  command,  her  influence 
was  soon  felt  beyond  the  monastery 
walls.  She  was  beloved  and  called 
"  Mother  "  by  all  who  knew  her.  Her 
help  and  advice  were  ever  ready ;  her 
wisdom,  sagacity,  and  piety  were  such 
that,  while  the  poorest  came  to  her  with 
confidence,  kings  and  bishops  sought 


her  advice  and  wise  counsels.  Her 
monastery  became  famous  as  a  seat  of 
learning  and  special  training  for  the 
Church.  Five  of  her  monks  rose  to  be 
bishops— St.  Wilfrid  II.  of  York,  Hedda 
of  Dorchester,  Boza  of  York,  Ostfor  of 
Worcester,  and  John  of  Beverley,  bishop 
of  Hexham,  and  afterwards  of  York. 
The  most  famous  of  her  monks  was 
Cffldmon,  poet  and  cowherd,  whose  gift 
of  song  was  miraculously  bestowed.  He 
was  a  menial  in  the  service  of  the 
monastery;  and  when  the  story  of  his 
powers  of  versification  got  abroad,  Hilda 
sent  for  him,  and,  in  the  presence  of 
learned  men,  examined  him,  and  heard 
him  recite  his  poems.  Seeing  that  his 
talents  were  God-given,  she  received  him 
in  her  monastery  as  a  monk,  and  had  him 
taught  the  whole  series  of  sacred  history. 

She  was  not  only  an  example  to  all 
who  were  in  her  own  monastery,  but  she 
afforded  occasion  of  salvation  and  amend- 
ment to  many  who  lived  at  a  distance, 
thus  fulfilling  the  prophetic  dream  of 
her  mother,  Bregusuid,  in  which  she 
found  under  her  robe  a  splendid  neck- 
lace, which  lighted  up  the  whole  of 
Britain  with  its  brilliancy. 

At  Hilda's  monastery,  in  664,  was 
held  the  great  synod  which  settled 
whether  Easter  should  be  held  accord- 
ing to  the  Celtic  or  the  Roman  rule. 
Hilda  was  an  adherent  of  the  Celtic 
tradition ;  but  she  and  her  party  yielded 
to  the  decision  of  the  king,  who,  with 
many  pious  and  reverend  men,  was  on 
the  Roman  side.  She  was  one  of  the 
opponents  of  St.  Wilfrid,  and  took  the 
part  of  his  enemies.  For  the  last  six 
years  of  her  life,  Hilda  suffered  from  a 
lingering  illness,  but,  in  spite  of  bodily 
infirmity,  did  not  abate  her  labours  in 
the  service  of  her  God,  but  continued 
exhorting  and  teaching  until  her  death 
in  680.  St.  Begu,  a  nun  of  Hackness, 
a  small  monastery  thirteen  miles  from 
Whitby,  founded  by  Hilda,  saw  her  soul 
carried  to  heaven  by  angels.  She  was 
buried  in  her  own  monastery  ;  but  when 
it  was  destroyed  by  the  Danes,  in  the 
9  th  century,  her  body  was  moved  to 
Glastonbury,  and  finally  restored  to 
Whitby  when  the  monastery  there  was 
rebuilt  for  Benedictine  monks  in  1067. 


B.  HILDEBURG 


383 


The  ammonites  with  which  the 
Whitby  rocks  abound  were  thought  by 
the  country  people  to  be  snakes  beheaded 
and  turned  into  stone  by  the  prayers  of 
St.  Hilda.  Bede.  Brit  Sancta.  Kobert 
Spence  Watson,  Csedmon.  Butler.  Mrs. 
Jameson.  Montalembert,  Monks  of  the 
West,  iv. 

B.  Hildeburg,  June  3,  +  1115,  is 
sometimes  called  "  Saint." 

In  the  reign  of  Philip  I.  of  France, 
there  lived  at  Chartres  a  rich  nobleman, 
named  Herve  de  Gallardon.  His  wife 
Beatrice  was  as  nobly  descended  as 
himself,  and  ,both  were  still  more  dis- 
tinguished for  their  virtues  than  for 
their  worldly  advantages.  They  had  a 
daughter  Hildeburg,  whom  they  married 
to  Robert  of  Ivrey,  a  good  and  wealthy 
old  man.  By  this  marriage  she  had 
three  sons.  In  course  of  time  Robert 
began  to  reflect  that  all  human  honour 
and  pleasure  pass  away,  and  as  he  lost 
his  taste  for  the  ambition  and  amuse- 
ment of  the  world,  which  leads  to  de- 
struction, he  resolved  to  betake  himself 
to  religion,  and  look  after  his  soul ;  so 
he  became  a  monk  in  the  abbey  of  Boo, 
in  Normandy,  and  there  ended  his  days. 

When  he  was  dead,  Hildeburg's 
parents,  sons,  and  friends  decided  that 
it  was  not  respectable  for  a  widow  so 
young  and  pretty  to  remain  unmarried ; 
and  although  she  had  hitherto  conducted 
herself  with  the  utmost  propriety,  she 
was  too  humble  not  to  listen  when  they 
said  that  some  temptation  of  the  world 
or  the  devil  might  induce  her  to  disgrace 
her  family  by  her  conduct  She  there- 
fore accepted  as  her  second  husband  a 
certain  warrior  of  rank,  wealth,  and 
valour,  equal  to  the  highest  expectations 
of  her  family.  On  the  day  appointed 
for  the  wedding,  the  bridegroom  came 
with  a  goodly  train  of  noble  knights  to 
bear  him  company  and  do  honour  to  the 
occasion.  The  bride  received  him  in  a 
magnificent  dress  of  many  colours  ;  but 
as  she  was  coming  out  of  the  house  on 
her  way  to  the  church,  the  wooden  steps 
gave  way,  and  she  fell  to  the  ground, 
severely  bruising  both  her  hips  and  sus- 
taining other  injuries.  She  looked  upon 
this  accident  as  a  direct  warning  from 
Heaven  that  she  was  not  to  contract  a 


second  marriage,  and  steadfastly  refused 
to  fulfil  her  engagement  or  form  any 
other  of  the  same  sort. 

She  now  spent  all  her  time  and  money 
in  works  of  piety  and  charity ;  she 
asked  and  obtained  a  place  to  live  in 
near  each  of  the  Benedictine  monasteries 
of  St.  Peter  of  Chartres,  St.  Mary  of 
Colonus,  St.  Mary  of  Bee,  where  her 
husband  had  been  a  monk,  and  St. 
Taurinus  of  Evreux.  At  the  latter 
place  she  built  and  endowed  a  hospice 
for  the  reception  of  pilgrims  and  poor 
people  at  her  own  expense  and  that  of 
her  son  Guellus.  As  she  found  that  she 
could  not  live  there  in  peace  on  account 
of  the  wars  in  which  her  sons  were  fre- 
quently engaged  with  their  neighbours, 
she  asked  Guellus  to  give  her  a  country 
place  near  Jouy  on  the  Oise.  Then  she 
went  to  Theobald,  abbot  of  St.  Martin's, 
at  Pontoise,  and,  with  his  consent,  had 
a  humble  little  dwelling  made  for  her- 
self near  the  monastery,  at  the  same  time 
contributing  handsomely  to  the  embel- 
lishment of  the  church,  making  a  new 
infirmary  within  the  cloister,  and  sup- 
plying the  monks  with  many  things  of 
which  they  stood  in  need.  She  loved 
this  residence  better  than  any  house  or 
castle  she  had  ever  lived  in. 

Her  generosity  to  others  was  only 
equalled  by  her  niggardliness  to  herself. 
She  lived  in  the  greatest  privation  of 
anything  like  personal  comfort;  she 
endured  heat,  cold,  hunger,  and  dirt; 
said  her  prayers  lying  on  the  ground 
lest  she  should  regret  her  married  life. 

Wishing  to  enlarge  the  church  of  St. 
Martin,  she  begged  her  son,  for  the  good 
of  his  own  soul  and  those  of  his  wife, 
children,  and  forefathers,  to  give  to  the 
monks  the  estate  at  Jouy,  where  he  had 
already  given  her  a  house.  This  he 
refused,  and  as  she  importuned  him 
again  and  again,  at  last  he  agreed  that 
they  should  have  it  during  his  mother's 
life  and  for  one  year  afterwards.  She 
died  in  a  good  old  age,  and  was  buried 
in  the  church  of  St.  Martin,  where  her 
tomb  was  honoured  with  many  miracles. 

When  the  time  drew  near  for  the 
monks  to  give  up  the  estate,  their  bene- 
factress having  been  dead  nearly  a  year, 
Guellus  dreamt  one  night  that  he  was  in 


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384 


ST.  HILDEGARD 


the  church  of  St.  Martin,  at  Fontoise, 
between  the  high  altar  and  the  matu- 
tinal altar,  which  stood  behind  it,  where 
his  mother  was  washing  the  feet  of  the 
poor,  and  he  was  holding  the  basins  and 
towels  for  her.  She  turned,  and,  look- 
ing at  him  angrily,  said,  "  Impious  thief, 
why  didst  thou  steal  the  alms  which  I 
had  given  to  the  servants  of  God?" 
Then  she  seemed  as  if  she  would  strike 
him  with  a  white-handled  dagger  that 
she  had  in  her  hand,  saying,  "  Unless 
you  restore  my  inheritance  you  shall  die 
the  death."  When  Guellus  awoke  he 
told  his  dream  to  his  wife,  and  they 
sent  for  the  good  Abbot  Theobald,  and 
told  it  all  to  him,  and  gave  the  estate 
at  Jouy  to  him  and  his  abbey  for 
ever. 

Tho  charter  in  which  this  estate  is 
granted  to  the  monastery,  with  consent 
of  King  Louis  VI.  and  Adelaide  his 
queen,  was  preserved  in  the  monastery 
in  the  time  of  Father  Papebroch. 

Hildeburg  once  appeared  to  her  son 
with  an  empty  purse,  and  asked  him  to 
lend  her  four  pounds  of  the  coinage  of 
Dreux.  (Dreux  had  peculiar  money  of 
its  own,  as  appears  from  Ordericus 
Yitalis.)  He  accordingly  sent  that  sum 
by  his  chaplain  to  St.  Martin's,  for  the 
mass  on  the  anniversary  of  his  mother's 
death,  and  he  did  so  every  year  as  long 
as  he  lived.  He  also  gave  that  church 
a  tenth  of  the  "  sterlings "  which  he 
drew  from  his  English  estates. 

AA.SS.,  from  her  Life  in  an  old 
Cbartulary  of  the  monastery  of  Pontoise. 

St.  Hildegard  (l ),  April  30.  +  783. 
Queen  of  the  Franks.  Founder  of 
Kempten,  and  patron  of  that  abbey  and 
against  pestilence.  Eepresented  giving 
bread  to  the  poor,  or  giving  a  silver 
chalice  to  a  poor  priest  (Guenebault). 
She  was  born  about  754,  of  a  noble  and 
powerful  family  in  Suabia,  and  became  the 
second  wife  of  Charlemagne,  771.  She 
was  the  best  of  wives,  kind  to  every  one, 
and  beloved  by  the  court  and  people. 

Charlemagne  frequently  moved  from 
one  residence  to  another,  and  wherever 
he  went  he  liked  to  be  accompanied  by 
his  mother,  the  famous  Queen  Bertha, 
by  his  wife  and  children,  and  by  learned 
men,  who  instructed  him  and  all  his 


family,  so  that  the  court  became  the 
nucleus  of  a  great  school. 

Hildegard  built  a  magnificent  abbey  on 
her  own  beautiful  property  at  Kempten, 
on  the  slope  of  the  Tyrolese  Alps. 
Stengel,  in  his  Description  of  'the  most 
Famous  Benedictine  Cloisters  in  Ger- 
many, gives  twenty-two  pictures  of 
Kempten,  which  he  says  is  almost  the 
grandest  house  of  God  in  Germany.  The 
Abbot  was  one  of  the  four  prince-abbots 
of  the  Roman  Empire. 

Hildegard  died  at  Thionville,  April 
30,  783,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Arnold's 
Church  at  Metz,  where  her  husband 
built  a  magnificent  tomb  over  her. 

Besides  other  children,  she  was  the 
mother  of  Louis,  who  succeeded  his 
father,  and  Rotrude,  who  died  while 
affianced  to  Constantino,  emperor  of  the 
East,  son  of  St.  Irene,  empress.  Charle- 
magne survived  his  wife  thirty-one 
years.  He  was  crowned  emperor  in 
800,  and  died  814. 

Both  Charlemagne  and  Hildegard 
were  honoured  as  saints  from  the  time 
of  their  death.  Nearly  a  hundred  years 
after  Hildegard's  death,  some  of  her 
relics  were  sent  to  Kempten  as  those  of 
a  saint;  and  near  the  great  abbey  she 
had  built,  a  new  monastery  was  founded 
under  her  invocation,  and  called  by  her 
name.  Some  opposition  was  made  by 
the  Church  to  the  recognition  of  Charle- 
magne as  a  saint,  for,  despite  his  many 
great  virtues,  there  were  points  in  his 
private  life  that  fell  below  the  highest 
standard,  but  the  people  adored  him 
so  fervently  and  so  persistently  that 
eventually  the  worship  had  to  be  sanc- 
tioned. 

The  Lives  of  St.  Charlemagne  and 
St.  Hildegard  are  in  the  AA.SS.,  Jan.  28 
and  April  30.  Charlemagne's  Capitu- 
laries are  in  Migne,  Cursus  Compleius. 
He  is  the  outstanding  figure  in  all 
histories  of  Western  Europe,  in  the 
second  half  of  the  8  th  and  early  part 
of  the  9  th  century,  and  the  hero  of  many 
pretty  fictions.  Eginhard,  his  secretary, 
wrote  his  Life,  which  is  in  sundry 
collections  of  Monumenta ;  it  was  pub- 
lished in  English  a  few  years  ago,  and 
is  eminently  readable  and  interesting. 
Capefiguc's  Charlemagne  is  a  delightful 


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ST.  HILDEGARD 


385 


French  book,  full  of  romantic  fact  and 
legend. 

St.  Hildegard  (2),  Queen  of  Sweden, 
-f  783.  Mas  Latrie.  Perhaps  he  means 
Princess  of  Suabia  and  wife  of  Charle- 
magne. 

St.  Hildegard  (3)  or  Hildkgrand, 
Sept.  17,  1098  or  1104-1189,  one  of 
the  most  famous  Benedictine  sainted 
women,  was  born  at  Bockelheim,  in  the 
diocese  of  Mainz.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Hildebert,  a  nobleman  aud  follower  of 
the  Count  of  Spanheim.  In  her  seventh 
year  she  was  placed  by  her  parents 
under  the  care  of  the  saintly  Jutta, 
sister  of  the  Count  of  Spanheim,  in  a 
small  community  of  nuns  lately  added  to 
the  Benedictine  monastery  of  Disiboden- 
berg,  in  the  principality  of  Zweibrucken, 
and  under  the  rule  of  the  abbot.  Here 
she  learnt  music,  and  was  diligently 
instructed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and 
books  of  devotion ;  but  little  attention 
was  bestowed  on  writing  or  grammar, 
for  she  seems  never  to  have  been  able  to 
write  German,  and  her  Latin  was  so 
incorrect  that  as  long  as  she  lived  she 
had  to  avail  herself  of  the  help  of  some 
better  educated  nun  or  cleric  to  revise 
her  compositions.  This  defect  in  her 
training  gave  rise  to  the  statement  of 
her  contemporary  chroniclers  when  she 
became  famous,  that,  although  at  the  time 
she  began  to  prophesy  and  explain  the 
Scriptures,  she  was  wholly  ignorant  of 
spelling  and  grammar,  and  spoke  even 
her  native  German  very  incorrectly,  yet 
such  was  the  peculiar  grace  bestowed 
upon  her  by  God,  that  she  became  sud- 
denly able  to  understand  Latin,  in  which 
language  the  Scriptures,  especially  the 
Gospels  and  Psalms,  were  in  visions 
expounded  to  her  ;  and  the  power  of 
writing,  of  which  she  had  before  been 
incapable,  was  bestowed  on  her  in  the 
same  miraculous  way.  She  advanced  in 
holiness  and  virtue  from  day  to  day, 
showing  to  all  a  gentle,  patient  kindness, 
clothed  with  humility,  and  practising 
the  most  resolute  self-denial  in  dress 
and  food.  On  the  death  of  Jutta,  in 
1136,  Hildegard  was  chosen  as  her  suc- 
cessor. Owing  to  her  reputation  for 
sanctity,  the  number  of  the  nuns  greatly 
increased,  and  Hildegard,  who  wished  to 


have  a  larger  house  and  greater  inde- 
pendence, founded  a  new  convent  on  the 
Rupertsberg,  near  Bingen,  containing 
accommodation  for  sixty  persons;  and 
thither,  notwithstanding  the  opposition 
of  the  abbot  of  Disibodenberg,  she  re- 
moved in  1147  or  1148  with  eighteen  of 
the  sisters.  During  her  reign  there  she 
founded  another  cloister  at  Eibingen, 
near  Rudesheim. 

St.  Hildegard,  from  her  earliest  youth, 
suffered  from  perpetual  ill  health,  which 
was  increased  at  times  to  severe  and 
dangerous  illness.  Indeed,  it  is  related 
by  the  monks,  her  contemporaries,  that 
whenever  she  hesitated  to  make  her 
visions  known,  or  did  not  immediately 
carry  out  the  commands  she  received 
from  Heaven,  she  was  prostrated  by  an 
attack  of  her  malady.  In  her  preface  to 
the  Life  of  St.  Disibod,  she  mentions,  as 
nothing  remarkable,  having  been  con- 
fined to  her  bed  for  three  years.  At  her 
best  she  was  seldom  able  to  walk. 

She  believed  herself  commanded  by 
God  to  reveal  her  visions,  but  shrank 
from  the  scoffing  that  she  would  incur 
by  so  doing.  The  consciousness  of  dis- 
obedience preyed  upon  her  mind,  and 
she  was  finally  attacked  by  a  dangerous 
illness.  At  length,  in  her  forty-third 
year,  she  resolved  to  obey,  and  confided 
her  visions  and  her  doubts  about  reveal- 
ing them  to  hor  confessor,  who  bade  her 
write  down  all  that  she  had  seen,  that  he 
might  judge  of  what  spirit  it  was. 

She  thus  describes  her  visions,  which 
began  in  her  third  year — 

"  I  see  a  perpetual  light  in  my  soul, 
yet  not  with  my  bodily  eyes,  nor  yet 
with  the  thoughts  of  my  heart,  nor  do 
my  five  bodily  senses  take  part  in  this 
contemplation.  Yet  my  eyes  remain 
open,  and  my  othor  senses  in  full 
strength  and  activity." 

In  1141  she  began  to  write,  and,  after 
ten  years,  completed  the  account  of  her 
visions  in  a  book  called  Scivias,  a  word 
probably  meaning  Know  the  Ways,  or  The 
Ways  of  Wisdom.  This  work,  printed  in 
1513,  contains  discourses  on  the  way  of 
God  and  the  saints. 

In  1148  Pope  Eugenius  III.  held  a 
synod  at  Treves,  whither  the  rumour  of 
the    virtues,    miracles,    visions,  and 

2  c 


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ST.  HILDEGARD 


writings  of  Hildegard  had  penetrated, 
and  despatched  the  Archbishop  of 
Treves,  with  the  Bishop  of  Verdun  and 
other  ecclesiastics,  to  Bingen  to  inquire 
into  the  truth  of  the  report.  They  soon 
returned  bringing  some  of  her  writings, 
and  a  letter  from  her  to  the  Pope.  The 
former  were  read  before  the  synod,  and 
unanimously  acknowledged  as  inspired 
by  God ;  and  the  Pope  wrote  her  a  short 
letter  (still  extant),  exhorting  her  to 
preserve  her  revelations,  and  to  cultivate 
humility.  The  favour  with  which  her 
writings  were  received  is,  perhaps,  partly 
to  be  attributed  to  the  influence  of  St. 
Bernard,  who  was  present  at  the  synod, 
and  who  is  supposed  by  some  historians 
to  have  visited  St.  Hildegard  at  the  time 
that  he  was  preaching  a  crusade  on  the 
Rhine.  There  is,  however,  no  evidence 
that  the  two  saints  ever  met,  although 
their  correspondence  is  still  preserved. 

The  fame  of  Hildegard  had  spread 
through  the  whole  Church,  and  clergy 
and  laity,  princes  and  nobles,  great  and 
small,  flocked  to  her  for  spiritual  comfort, 
for  instruction  and  help,  and,  above  all, 
for  her  intercession  with  God.  The 
Popes  Anastasius  IV.  and  Adrian  IV. 
wrote,  on  their  accession,  to  express  to 
her  their  admiration,  commending  them- 
selves to  her  prayers.  She  was  consulted 
on  all  subjects,  religious,  political, 
scientific,  aud  domestic,  and  was,  indeed, 
the  oracle  of  her  day.  The  Emperor 
Conrad  III.  wrote  to  her,  and  even 
Frederick  Barbarossa,  so  rebellious 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  Church,  bowed 
before  her,  and  acknowledged  her  sacred 
mission,  promising  her  his  protection  in 
case  of  need.  •  She  answered  him,  boldly 
rebuking  his  ungodly  life.  Her  letter 
to  St.  Bernard  is  one  of  the  very  few,  in 
a  collection  of  about  140  of  her  letters, 
in  which  no  rebuke  is  contained.  It  is 
written  in  a  spirit  of  the  deepest  humility 
and  veneration. 

Hildegard  constantly  foretold  great 
disorders  and  revolution  in  the  Church 
through  the  sins  of  the  clergy,  and 
thereafter  a  purer  worship  and  more 
universal  piety.  These  prophecies  are, 
however,  expressed  in  very  vague  general 
terms.  She  was  credited  by  her  con- 
temporaries with  the  power  of  seeing 


into  the  future,  and  was  frequently 
questioned  as  to  future  events.  The 
hidden  past  was  also  thought  to  bo 
revealed  to  her,  for  we  find  the  Abbot 
Cuno  of  Disibodenberg  asking  her  if  the 
Spirit  should  show  her  anything  relating 
to  the  history  of  their  patron  saint,  St. 
Disibod,  to  impart  it  to  him,  as  nothing 
was  then  known  of  him  beyond  his  name. 
St.  Hildegard  shortly  after  had  a  vision 
in  which  a  full  revelation  of  his  history 
was  made  to  her.  In  like  manner  was 
revealed  to  her  the  history  of  St  Rupert, 
or  Robert,  duke  of  Bingen,  and  his 
mother,  St.  Bertha,  whose  castle,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  9th  century,  had  stood 
upon  the  Rupertsberg,  where  the  two 
saints  had  been  buried  in  one  grave,  and 
where  St.  Hildegard  had  founded  her 
convent. 

Not  only  by  her  writings  did  Hilde- 
gard seek  to  instruct  the  Church,  but 
also  by  word  of  mouth.  Out  of  France, 
Belgium,  and  Germany  pilgrims  flocked 
to  Bingen.  She  herself,  led  by  the 
Spirit,  travelled  to  Cologne,  Treves, 
Metz,  Wurzburg,  Bamberg,  and  many 
other  towns  in  Alsace,  Lorraine,  Fran- 
conia,  and  Swabia,  visiting  all  the  neigh- 
bouring convents,  preaching  and 
expounding  the  Scriptures.  During  two 
years  she  journeyed  thus  from  place  to 
place,  and  visited  France,  making  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  grave  of  St.  Martin,  at 
Tours,  passing  on  her  way  through  Paris, 
where  she  submitted  her  writings  to  the 
doctors  of  theology,  receiving  them  back 
on  her  return.  Hildegard  died  soon 
after  her  return  from  Paris,  Sept.  17, 
1189.  She  was  buried  before  the  high 
altar  in  the  church  that  she  had  built  on 
the  Rupertsberg. 

All  her  writings  bear  a  half-mystical 
character,  and  the  sense  is  often  very 
obscure.  The  ruling  idea  throughout  is 
an  earnest,  straightforward  spirit  of 
morality,  and  an  uncompromising 
severity  towards  the  unbelief  and  crying 
licentiousness  of  the  times.  They  convey 
even  now  a  vivid  impression  of  the  talent 
that  drew  all  men  to  her. 

That,  in  days  when  the  ban  of  the 
Church  was  a  ready  instrument  for  the 
punishment  of  the  slightest  disloyalty 
to  ecclesiastical  authority,  she  did  not 


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387 


shrink  from  plainly  rebuking  the  gross 
sins  and  neglect  of  the  priesthood,  and, 
for  the  sake  of  justice  and  mercy,  braved 
even  an  interdict,  argues  a  high  moral 
courage  and  strength  of  purpose,  a 
breadth  of  vision  and  a  grasp  of  truth 
far  in  advance  of  her  time.  Besides  her 
letters,  the  principal  works  attributed  to 
her  are  Scivias,  containing  visions  and 
revelations ;  Divinorum  Operum,  also  con- 
taining visions ;  and  Vitse  Meritorum. 
It  is  these  three  that  she  is  said  to  have 
laid  before  the  doctors  of  Paris,  and 
which  they  declared  to  be  inspired  by 
God.  Among  her  minor  works  are  two 
books  on  medicine,  to  which  science  she 
devoted  great  attention,  whence,  probably, 
some  of  tho  miracles  of  healing  attributed 
to  her.  Her  medical  writings  are  charac- 
terized by  Virchow  as  a  Materia  Medica, 
curiously  complete  for  the  age  to  which 
it  belongs.  Preger,  Deutsche  Mystik. 
im  Mittelalter,  says  that  not  half  of  her 
reputed  works  are  genuine,  and  that 
they  were  written  after  her  death  by  the 
writer  of  her  Life.  Among  the  proofs 
of  this,  he  says  that  twenty-two  letters 
written  to  her  by  different  abbesses  are 
all  alike — full  of  admiration  for  Hilde- 
gard. They  commend  themselves  to 
her  prayers,  ask  her  whether  they  shall 
retain  their  offices,  wish  to  see  her,  to 
obtain  a  word  of  advice  or  encourage- 
ment from  her,  etc.  They  are  all  in 
pretty  good  Latin,  all  in  the  same  style, 
and  using  the  same  forms  of  expression. 
It  is  hardly  likely  that  all  these  ladies 
were  such  good  Latin  scholars,  or  that 
if  they  were  clever  enough  to  be  so,  they 
should  have  so  little  individuality  that 
the  letters  of  them  all  should  be  so  much 
alike.  Moreover,  they  are  suspiciously 
like  Hildegard's  answers  and  the  book 
Scivias,  which,  as  well  as  most  of  her 
books,  are  in  much  better  Latin  than  the 
few  letters  of  undoubted  authenticity, 
one  of  which — a  letter  to  St.  Bernard, 
congratulating  him  on  the  zeal  with 
which  he  preached  the  crusade,  and  say- 
ing that  she  had  seen  him  two  years 
before,  "  as  it  were,  a  man  in  the  sun  " — 
is  in  very  rude  Latin.  This  difference 
in  language  supports  the  theory  that  she 
told  her  visions  and  convictions,  and 
perhaps  dictated  her  letters,  to  her  con- 


fessor, who  put  them  into  better  Latin 
than  she  could  write.  Numerous  miracles 
were  attributed  to  St.  Hildegard,  both 
before  and  after  her  death ;  those  con- 
sisted chiefly  in  casting  out  evil  spirits 
and  curing  every  sort  of  disease.  After 
a  time,  the  concourse  of  pilgrims  to  the 
convent  became  so  great  that  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Mainz  forbade  the  saint  to 
work  any  more  miracles,  as  it  disturbed 
the  regularity  of  the  monastic  discipline. 
Whereupon  she  appeared  to  him,  to  show 
that  even  in  death  she  was  obedient,  and 
the  miracles  ceased.  In  1233,  the  abbess 
and  nuns  of  the  Bupertsberg  sent  a  peti- 
tion to  Pope  Gregory  IX.,  to  Borne,  for 
the  canonization  of  Hildegard,  and  in- 
quiries were  made  as  to  her  holy  life, 
otc. ;  but,  from  what  cause  is  not  known, 
neither  under  Gregory  IX.,  nor  under 
his  successor  in  the  13th  century,  was 
it  brought  about.  It  was  again  attempted 
in  the  14th  century,  under  John  XXII. ; 
but  although  the  commissioners  declared 
Hildegard  worthy  of  canonization,  the 
miracles  having  ceased,  John  XXII., 
though  not  unwilling  to  canonize  her, 
did  not  feel  justified  in  so  doing,  and 
Hildegard  was  never  formally  canonized. 
Her  name  is,  however,  in  the  Boman 
and  several  other  Martyrologies.  In  the 
time  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  the  con- 
vent was  burnt  down  by  the  Swedes 
(1632),  and  the  relics  of  St.  Bupert  and 
St.  Hildegard  were  transferred  to  Eibin- 
gen,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Bhine, 
where  the  coffin  containing  her  relics 
may  yet  be  seen. 

Claras,  IZY Idegarde  Die  heilige.  Preger, 
Deutsche  Mystik.  Eckenstein,  Woman 
under  Monasticism.  Eales,  Letters  of  St. 
Bernard,  English  edition. 

St.  Hildegund  (1),  Feb.  6.  Coun- 
tess, daughter  of  Hermann  of  Lidtberg. 
Founder  and  first  abbess  of  Meer  or 
Mare.  Her  mother,  Hedwig,  as  a  widow, 
became  a  Pnemonstratensian  nun  at 
Dunwald.  Hildegund  married  Lothaire, 
count  of  Hochstadt  and  Ar,  or  Aldenar. 
They  had  two  sons  and  a  daughter.  On 
the  death  of  her  husband  and  one  of  her 
sons,  she  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Borne. 
On  her  return,  she  took  the  veil  with 
her  daughter,  B.  Hedwig,  about  1165, 
founded  the  Convent  of  Meer  or  Mehre, 


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ST.  HILDEGUND 


near  Cologne,  and  placed  it  under  the 
Prsemonstratenfiian  rale.  She  was  the 
first  abbess,  and  was  succeeded  by  her 
daughter  B.  Hedwig.  The  relics  of 
both  and  of  her  son,  B.  Hermann,  fourth 
abbot  of  Kappenberg,  are  preserved  in 
the  convent  of  Meer.  Bollandus,  A  A.SS., 
gives  Alexander  III.'s  bull  confirming 
the  foundation,  the  deed  of  division  of 
lands  between  Hildegund  and  her  sister 
Elizabeth,  countess  of  Randerode,  and 
the  deed  of  donation  of  lands  to  the 
monastery.  Le  Paige,  Bibl.  Prsemona. 
Migne,  Die.  des  Abbayes. 

St.  Hildegund  (2),  April  20,  V. 
+  1188.  Cistercian  monk,  under  the 
name  of  Brother  Joseph,  at  Schdnau, 
in  the  diocese  of  Worms — not  the  Scho- 
nau of  St.  Elisabeth  (9). 

Hildegund's  parents  lived  at  the  little 
town  of  Nuytz  or  Neusse,  in  the  diocese 
of  Cologne.  Having  for  many  years 
been  childless,  they  prayed,  and  begged 
the  prayers  of  other  pious  persons,  that 
they  might  be  blessed  with  children,  and 
tried  to  deserve  this  favour  of  Heaven 
by  liberal  alms  and  frequent  pilgrimages. 
At  last  they  vowed  that  if  God  would 
give  them  a  child,  they  would  dedicate 
him  or  her  to  His  service,  and  would 
themselves  "  take  the  cross "  and  make 
the  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land.  Their 
prayers  and  vows  were  answered  by 
the  birth  of  twin  daughters,  whom  they 
named  Agnes  and  Hildegund.  The 
children  were  brought  up  in  a  convent 
in  their  native  town.  When  the  time 
arrived  which  had  been  fixed  for  the 
pilgrimage  of  their  parents,  the  mother 
became  so  ill  that  it  was  impossible  for 
her  to  set  out,  so,  having  made  compen- 
sation by  alms  for  the  failure  of  her 
pious  intention,  she  died  in  peace  at 
Nuytz.  Her  husband  made  Agnes  take 
the  veil.  He  took  Hildegund  out  of  the 
convent,  that  she  might  supply  her 
mother's  place  to  him,  and  accompany 
him  to  Palestine.  For  safety  and  con- 
venience, he  disguised  her  as  a  boy,  cut 
her  hair  short,  and  called  her  Joseph. 
They  passed  safely  through  France,  and 
embarked  from  a  port  in  Provence  with 
many  crusaders.  During  the  voyage  he 
was  taken  ill,  and  finding  himself  near 
death,  ho  instructed  his  daughter  what 


she  was  to  do  when  deprived  of  his  care, 
recommending  her,  above  all  things,  to 
preserve  the  secret  of  her  disguise.  He 
then  gave  all  his  money  and  valuables 
into  the  hands  of  his  servant,  charging 
him  to  be  a  faithful  steward  and  careful 
guardian  of  his  son  Joseph,  and  never 
to  leave  him.  From  this  point  the 
biographers  always  call  Hildegund 
Joseph,  and  speak  of  her  as  a  man. 

Joseph,  then,  with  his  servant  and 
guardian,  proceeded  to  Jerusalem,  visited 
the  holy  places,  and  returned  to  Acre 
(Ptolemals).  One  morning  when  he 
awoke,  he  found  that  his  faithless  com- 
panion had  absconded  with  all  his 
money,  horses,  and  baggage.  He  was 
at  first  in  despair  at  finding  himself 
deserted  in  a  strange  land  without  the 
means  of  getting  home,  or  even  of  main- 
taining himself;  but  before  the  end  of 
the  day  he  found  a  friend,  who,  although 
a  total  stranger  to  him,  was  prepossessed 
by  his  looks  and  manner,  and  touched 
by  his  story.  This  new  friend  had  just 
arrived  at  Acre  on  his  way  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  now  took  Joseph  there  again 
with  him,  and  would  have  kept  him  in 
his  company  and  taken  him  back  to 
Europe;  but  Joseph,  not  willing  to  be 
too  long  a  burden  on  the  generosity  of 
a  stranger,  entered  the  establishment  of 
the  Templars,  where  he  found  means  to 
maintain  himself,  and  to  visit  all  the 
places  of  interest  in  the  Holy  Land, 
which  he  had  not  had  time  to  do  during 
his  first  visit  to  Jerusalem.  When  he 
had  been  a  year  with  the  Templars,  a 
pilgrim  arrived  there  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Cologne,  and  inquired  about 
a  friend  and  relation  of  his  who  came 
from  Nuytz.  The  Templars,  knowing 
that  Joseph  was  a  native  of  Nuytz,  sent 
for  him,  and  when  he  had  heard  the 
inquiries  of  the  stranger,  he  told  him 
he  was  the  son  of  the  man  he  sought, 
that  his  father  had  died  at  sea,  and  that 
he  had  been  robbed  of  everything  by 
his  servant.  The  stranger  recollected 
that  he  had  heard  that  his  friend  had 
taken  one  of  his  children  with  him, 
believed  the  story,  and  took  Joseph  with 
him  on  his  return  to  Europe;  but  just 
as  they  were  about  to  enter  the  territory 
of  Cologne,  Joseph's  benefactor  died  from 


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ST.  HILDEGUND 


880 


the  fatigues  of  the  journey,  leaving  him 
hy  will  all  his  money.  Joseph  wished 
to  see  his  sister  again,  and  thought  of 
spending  the  rest  of  his  life  with  her, 
hut  different  circumstances  led  him  to 
delay  taking  any  decisive  step.  On  his 
arrival  he  did  not  make  himself  known, 
nor  leave  off  his  disguise,  hut  made  some 
visits  in  the  town,  .calling  himself  a 
stranger  on  his  travels.  A  canon  of  the 
cathedral  took  such  a  fancy  to  him  that 
he  insisted  on  his  taking  up  his  abode 
with  him  for  the  time.  This  canon  had 
a  sister,  a  nun  in  the  Benedictine  mon- 
astery of  St.  Ursula  (afterwards  called 
"of  the  Maccabees ").  She  had  just 
been  chosen  abbess  by  the  larger  and 
more  trustworthy  part  of  the  community, 
but  five  nuns  endeavoured  to  defeat  her 
election  by  voting  for  the  archbishop's 
niece,  who  was  too  young  to  fill  the 
post  The  archbishop  nevertheless  up- 
held her  claim,  and  the  canon  determined 
to  appeal  to  the  holy  see  in  favour  of 
his  sister.  He  begged  Joseph  to  ac- 
company him,  as  he  was  an  experienced 
traveller  and  spoke  several  languages. 
Joseph  tried  to  excuse  himself,  fearing 
to  tempt  providence  a  second  time,  but 
the  canon  would  take  no  refusal.  They 
passed  through  May e nee  and  Swabia, 
but  determined  to  avoid  Augsburg,  as  it 
was  then  full  of  the  vassals  of  the  Em- 
peror Frederic  I.,  who  was  not  on  good 
terms  with  the  Pope.  They  therefore 
turned  out  of  the  direct  road,  and  went 
and  slept  at  Zusmarhus,  about  two 
leagues  off.  They  had  only  one  horse 
between  them,  and  they  rode  in  turns. 
On  the  morning  of  their  departure  from 
Zusmarhus  it  was  the  canon's  turn  to 
ride,  and  he  set  off,  leaving  Joseph  to 
follow  with  the  stick,  in  the  hollow  of 
which  were  the  papers  relating  to  their 
business  in  Borne.  The  canon  being 
some  little  distance  in  advance,  his 
friend  had  to  pass  alone  through  a  wood, 
where  he  met  a  thief  escaping  from  the 
servants  of  justice.  This  man,  seeing 
no  chance  of  carrying  off  his  plunder, 
resolved  to  abandon  it,  and  save  his  life 
by  flight,  so  he  begged  the  unsuspecting 
Joseph  to  carry  his  bag  a  little  way  for 
him,  and  having  thus  far  imposed  on 
his  good  nature,  he  plunged  into  a  thick 


part  of  the  wood  and  disappeared.  The 
archers  presently  arrived,  and  found 
Joseph  sitting  quietly  on  the  stolen 
property  in  the  middle  of  the  road. 
They  searched  him,  and  not  doubting 
his  guilt,  beat  him  within  an  inch  of 
his  life,  and  took  him  to  the  chief 
magistrate  of  Zusmarhus,  who  con- 
demned him  to  death  on  the  spot.  See- 
ing no  hope  of  clearing  himself  from 
the  crime  which  seemed  so  well  proved 
against  him,  he  only  begged  to  be  allowed 
to  confess  and  receive  the  last  sacra- 
ment With  some  difficulty  his  request 
was  granted.  The  priest  who  heard  his 
confession  was  so  convinced  of  his  inno- 
cence that  he  obtained  a  reprieve  for 
him.  By  his  description  of  the  man 
who  had  left  the  bag  with  him,  they 
recognized  a  man  of  bad  character,  who 
was  well  known  in  that  country;  they 
caught  him  when  he  thought  himself 
out  of  danger,  and  brought  him  face  to 
face  with  his  falsely  accused  accuser. 
As  he  denied  every  word  that  Joseph 
said,  and  there  were  no  witnesses  on 
either  side,  the  priest  advised  the  ordeal 
then  resorted  to  in  such  cases.  Both 
the  accused  were  made  to  walk  over 
red-hot  iron.  Joseph  sustained  the  test 
unhurt,  but  the  thief  was  burnt,  and  on 
that  evidence  he  was  hanged,  and  Joseph 
resnmed  his  journey.  Scarcely,  how- 
ever, had  he  entered  the  wood  again 
when  he  was  attacked  by  the  relations 
of  the  criminal,  who,  to  avenge  the 
disgrace  of  their  family,  hanged  the 
unfortunate  Joseph  on  the  nearest  tree, 
and  made  off  with  all  possible  speed. 
While  he  hung  there  he  saw  the  soul 
of  his  sister  Agnes  ascending  into 
heaven,  and  heard  the  angels  singing 
for  joy.  Some  shepherds  coming  by, 
cut  him  down,  intending  to  bury  him, 
but  perceiving  signs  of  life,  they  did 
what  they  could  to  recover  him.  After 
thus  escaping  hanging  a  second  time, 
he  proceeded  on  his  journey,  and  soon 
overtook  the  canon,  who  had  begun  to 
be  very  uneasy  about  his  absence.  They 
went  towards  Verona,  where  they  under- 
stood Pope  Lucius  III.  to  be ;  but  on  the 
way  they  heard  of  his  death,  so  they 
went  to  Rome  to  lay  their  case  before 
his   successor,   Urban  III.,  and  he 


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ST.  HILDEGUND 


referred  the  affair  to  the  decision  of  the 
Bishop  of  Spire.  On  their  arrival  at 
Spire,  the  bishop  was  absent,  and  the 
canon,  thinking  the  case  would  be  a  long 
one,  went  to  Cologne  to  attend  to  his 
own  affairs  until  the  time  the  bishop 
was  expected  to  return.  Joseph  mean- 
while remained  at  Spire  to  make  in- 
terest with  the  counsellors  and  officials 
of  the  bishop. 

As  Agnes  was  dead,  Joseph  had  now 
no  tie  to  the  world,  and  thought  seriously 
of  spending  the  rest  of  his  life  in  re- 
ligious seclusion.  He  hesitated  to  con- 
fess his  disguise  after  keeping  it  for 
so  many  years,  and  was  therefore  un- 
decided what  course  to  take.  Meantime, 
while  awaiting  the  return  of  the  canon, 
he  lodged  with  a  recluse  named  Matilda, 
who  made  no  scruple  of  receiving  him, 
either  because  he  had  confided  his 
secret  to  her,  or  because  she  considered 
herself  above  suspicion  and  scandal. 
While  he  lived  with  Matilda  he  dili- 
gently attended  the  Church  of  St.  Maurice, 
where  lessons  were  given  to  those  who 
wished  to  be  instructed  in  religious 
subjects.  He  was  soon  distinguished 
among  the  other  students  for  his  hand- 
some face  and  devout  behaviour,  and 
gentle  and  docile  ways;  and  then  it 
began  to  be  gossiped  that  Matilda  did 
not  show  her  usual  circumspection  when 
she  housed  so  attractive  a  stranger.  A 
gentleman  of  the  name  of  Berthold,  who 
had  lately  renounced  his  military  career 
to  become  a  monk,  distressed  by  these 
rumours,  endeavoured  to  persuade  Joseph 
to  join  him  in  embracing  a  religious 
life  in  the  Cistercian  abbey  of  Schonau, 
near  Heidelberg.  Joseph  was  willing 
enough  to  undertake  a  monastic  life, 
but  he  hesitated  to  shut  himself  up  for 
ever  among  men.  Ho  distrusted  his 
power  of  keeping  his  secret,  notwith- 
standing the  long  novitiate  he  had 
already  passed  through.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  thought  he  should  never  have 
courage  to  reveal  the  secret  he  had  kept 
so  well,  and  which  his  father  had  been 
the  first  to  impose  upon  him ;  so  that  a 
convent  of  nuns  was  for  ever  inaccessible 
as  a  resting-place  for  him.  After  much 
deliberation,  he  resolved  to  accompany 
Berthold,  and  took  the  monastic  habit 


at  Schonau  under  the  name  he  had 
borne  during  his  wanderings.  Although 
the  delicacy  of  his  skin  and  voice  ex- 
cited a  little  surprise  at  first,  he  soon 
showed  that  he  could  work  as  hard  as 
the  strongest  of  the  monks,  and  endure 
the  greatest  austerities  of  penance. 
The  devil,  however,  tempted  him  to  flee 
from  the  monastery.  Sometimes  he  re- 
gretted his  freer  life  and  his  wanderings 
under  the  skies  of  Palestine.  Some- 
times his  courage  sank  at  the  thought 
of  living  and  dying  surrounded  only  by 
men.  His  fear  of  discovery  led  him 
into  the  greatest  imprudences;  he  was 
always  asking  indiscreet  questions,  which 
nothing  but  the  extreme  unlikeliness  of 
the  circumstances  prevented  from  be- 
traying him.  He  sometimes  asked  what 
they  thought  of  his  voice  and  of  his 
skin.  Sometimes  he  asked  what  penalty 
would  be  inflicted  on  a  woman  who 
should  introduce  herself  into  a  monas- 
tery disguised  as  a  monk.  Sometimes 
he  blamed  the  custom  of  stripping  and 
washing  dead  bodies  as  unfit  even  for 
secular  persons,  and  much  more  so  for 
monks.  He  even  expressed  a  wish  that 
it  should  not  be  done  to  himself  when 
he  died.  At  last  his  fears  so  far  pre- 
vailed that  he  made  the  desperate  reso- 
lution of  leaving  the  house ;  but  as  it 
was  the  will  of  God  to  save  him  from 
breaking  his  vow,  he  was  seized  with  an 
attack  of  illness,  and  fell  down  at  the 
door.  He  was  carried  to  the  infirmary, 
and  never  left  it  alive.  He  lay  there 
during  the  whole  of  Lent,  getting 
weaker  and  worse,  and  died  the  Wed- 
nesday after  Easter,  surrounded  by  all 
the  brethren  praying  for  him.  After 
his  death  they  discovered  that  he  wore 
stays. 

When  the  funeral  was  over,  Godfrey, 
abbot  of  Schonau,  wrote  to  all  the  con- 
vents of  men  and  of  women  throughout 
the  country,  recommending  to  their 
prayers  a  saintly  maid  who  had  lived 
and  died  as  a  monk  in  his  community, 
and  requesting  any  information  they 
could  give  about  her.  The  abbess  of 
Nuytz  reported  that  a  gentleman  of  that 
town  had  taken  his  daughter  out  of  her 
convent,  and  disguised  her  as  a  boy  to 
travel  with  him  to  the  Holy  Land ;  that 


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ST.  HILTRUDE 


891 


it  had  afterwards  come  to  her  knowledge 
that  Joseph  was  the  name  taken  by  Hilde- 
gnnd;  that  she  had  passed  for  the  son 
of  her  father,  both  at  Jerusalem  and 
afterwards  at  Cologne,  and  had  travelled 
to  Rome  with  a  oanon  about  the  election 
of  the  abbess  of  the  Benedictine  convent 
of  St.  Ursula,  at  Cologne. 

It  was  very  easy  after  this  to  iden- 
tify Hildegund  with  Joseph,  and  to  trace 
her  life  until  the  moment  of  her  entry 
into  the  monastery  of  Schonau,  par- 
ticularly as  she  had  told  her  whole 
history,  with  the  exception  of  her  sex,  to 
her  friend  and  fellow-novice,  who  after- 
wards wrote  her  life. 

She  is  called  "  Saint  "in  the  Benedictine 
and  Cistercian  Martyrologies,  and  is  a 
popular  saint  in  Germany  and  Belgium ; 
but  her  worship  has  never  been  autho- 
rized throughout  the  whole  Koman 
Church. 

Papebroch,  in  AA.SS.,  and  Baillet, 
Vies  des  Saints,  give  her  story  from  the 
contemporary  biography. 

St.. Hildelid  or  Hildelitha,  March 
24,  V.  +  c.  720.  Princess.  Second 
abbess  of  Barking.  One  of  the  first 
virgins  of  the  English  nation  who  con- 
secrated herself  a  spouse  to  Christ.  She 
went  for  that  purpose  to  a  French  monas- 
tery, where  she  quickly  became  so  perfeci 
as  to  be  fit  to  teach  and  direct  many  other 
virgins,  as  their  mother  and  mistress,  in 
the  holy  discipline  of  a  religious  life. 
When,  therefore,  St.  Earkonwald  founded 
for  himself  the  monastery  of  Chertsey, 
and  for  his  sister,  St.  E  thelburga,  that 
of  Barking,  not  being  able  to  find  in 
England  (where  there  were  at  that  time 
scarcely  any  nunneries)  a  religious  woman 
fit  to  model  this  new  establishment,  he 
invited  St.  Hildelid  from  France,  and 
committed  his  sister  to  her  care  and 
teaching.  St.  Ethelburga  was  the  first 
abbess  of  Barking;  St.  Hildelid  the 
second.  She  lived  to  a  great  age ;  the 
exact  date  of  her  death  is  not  known. 
St.  Cuthberga,  who,  in  713,  founded  the 
abbey  of  Wimborne,  was  one  of  her  nuns 
and  disciples.  St.  Aldelm  dodicated  to 
her  his  Book  of  Virginity,  and  her  memory 
was  highly  honoured  by  St.  Dunstan,  St. 
Ethel  wold,  and  St.  Elphegius.  St.  Boni- 
face, the  apostle  of  Germany,  is  supposed 


to  have  meant  this  saint  when  he  wrote, 
in  his  twenty-first  Epistle,  What  he  learnt 
from  the  venerable  Abbess  Hildelid.  With 
her  are  commemorated  the  nuns  of  her 
convent  who,  about  150  years  after  her 
death,  were  all  burnt  by  the  Danes  when 
they  ravaged  the  eastern  shores  of  Eng- 
land, in  the  time  of  St.  Edmund,  about 
870.    Bede,  iv.  10.    Britannia  Sancta. 

St.  Hildemar,  Oct.  25  (Childkmara, 
Childeomarca,  Childombroa,  Childo- 

MARA,   HlLDEMARCHE,    ILDEMERCA,  etc.), 

-f  689.  The  abbey  of  Fecamp  was  one 
of  several  religious  foundations  made  by 
St.  Waning.  He  left  it  by  will  to  St. 
Wandregesil,  who  brought  St.  Hildemar 
from  the  convent  of  St.  Eulalia  at  Bor- 
deaux, of  whioh  she  was  abbess,  to  preside 
over  the  new  community.  She  received 
St.  Leger  (Leodegarius)  when  he  was 
persecuted,  and  she  and  her  nuns  bene- 
fited much  by  his  teaching.  He  was  still 
the  prisoner  of  Ebroin,  mayor  of  the 
palace,  and  was  not  at  liberty  while  he 
was  in  Hildemar's  house.  The  convent 
was  destroyed  by  the  Normans  in  the  9th 
century.  AA.SS.  Chastelain.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Hilp,  or  Hilf,  is  probably  the 
same  as  Wilgefortis.  Eckenstein. 

B.  Hilsuind  or  Hilsendis,  Her- 
swind. 

St.  Hiltrude  (l),  Sept.  27  (Hertrue, 
Eldetrude),  V.  Second  half  of  the 
8th  century.  Patron  of  Liessies  and  of 
Hainault.  Represented  holding  a  lamp 
and  a  palm. 

Daughter  of  Wibert  and  Ada,  noble 
Franks,  living  in  Picardy.  Wibert, 
being  tired  of  fighting,  begged  of  King 
Pepin  the  Short  a  place  where  he  could 
live  in  peace.  Pepin  gave  him  a  piece 
of  land  between  Theoracia,  in  Northern 
Picardy,  and  Hainault.  There,  at  Lies- 
sies, on  the  river  Helpra,  Wibert  and 
Ada  built  a  church  and  monastery,  fur- 
nished with  relics  of  St.  Lambert,  and 
all  other  necessaries.  They  had  a  son, 
Guntard,  a  monk,  and  two  pretty 
daughters,  Hiltrude  and  Bertha.  Hugo, 
a  prince  of  Burgundy,  proposed  to  marry 
Hiltrude.  Her  parents  consented,  but 
Hiltrude,  desiring  to  be  a  nun,  fled  to 
the  forest  with  a  few  attendants.  Hugo 
transferred  his  suit  to  her  sister  Bertha, 
and  after  their  marriage,  Hiltrude  came 


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392 


ST.  HILTRUDE 


out  of  her  retreat,  and  took  the  veil  from 
the  hands  of  Theodoric,  bishop  of  Cam- 
bray.  Her  parents  gave  her  an  estate 
from  Molhain  to  Veaux  for  her  life,  and 
after  her  death  it  was  to  go  to  the  Church 
of  St.  Lambert.  She  lived  for  some  years 
in  a  cell  adjoining  the  monastery  of 
Liessies,  where  she  and  the  young  women 
who  joined  her  were  under  the  guidance 
of  her  brother  Guntard.  She  had  an 
illness  which  at  first  seemed  slight,  but 
she  grew  ever  weaker  and  thinner  until 
her  happy  death.  Hiltrude  was  wor- 
shipped certainly  from  the  11th  to  the 
18th  century  at  Liessies  (Xsetiis,  in 
Hannonia).  B.M.  Perier,  in  AA.S&, 
from  her  Life,  by  a  monk  of  Yalciodor, 
of  the  11th  century.  Baillet. 

St.  Hiltrude  (2)  was  a  recluse  to 
whom  St.  Cordula  appeared.  Compare 
with  Helimdrude. 

St.  Hiltrude  (3),  Nov.  17,  +1177, 
V.  of  Bingen.  Daughter  of  Megenhard, 
or  Meginrad,  count  of  Spanheim.  Nun 
under  St.  Jutta,  at  Disibodenberg.  Her 
holiness  was  made  known  by  St.  Hilde- 
gard  (3).  She  was  one  of  the  nuns 
who  acted  as  amanuensis  to  St.  Hildegard, 
and  helped  her  to  put  her  book  Scivias 
into  writing.  Bucelinus.  Lechner. 
Eckenstein. 

St.  Himbert,  Sept.  16,  V.  in  Alsatia. 
Martin. 

B.  Himmana,  Imaine. 

SS.  Hinna  (1)  and  Hisca,  com- 
memorated with  St.  Olympias,  Dec.  17. 
A  A  .SS.,  Prseter.,  Feb.  24. 

St.  Hinna  (2),  or  Hymna,  Feb.  1 .  A 
holy  virgin  who  refused  to  take  a  quantity 
of  money,  saying  it  was  too  heavy  to 
carry.  She  went  home  without  it,  and 
St.  Brigid  sent  it  after  her  by  throwing 
it  into  the  Shannon.  The  gold  floated  on 
the  water  until  it  arrived  at  the  place 
where  St.  Hinna  lived,  and  there  she 
took  it  out,  and  gave  thanks  to  God  and 
St.  Brigid.  She  is  supposed  by  some 
writers  to  be  the  same  as  St.  Cinna. 
BoUandus,  in  "St.  Bridget"  and  "St. 
Kinia."  AA.SS. 

St.  Hippeas,  Jan.  18,  one  of  thirty- 
seven  martyrs  in  Egypt  AA.SS. 

St.   Hippolyta,   Jan.   25.  (See 
Elvira.) 
St.  Hirena  or  Herena,  Irene. 


St.  Hirena,  Feb.  28.  A  Boman 
martyr  whose  relics,  with  those  of  St. 
Eulalia  and  many  others,  were  brought 
from  Borne  to  Antwerp,  and  there  wor- 
shipped with  the  authority  and  appro- 
bation of  the  archbishop.  AA.SS. 

St.  Hirenaeus,  Herena. 

St.  Hirmina,  Irmina,  of  Treves. 

St.  Hirnynhilda,  Ermenilda,  queen. 

St.  Hirois,  Herais. 

St  Hirundo  or  Herundines.  (See 

BOMULA.) 

St.  Hisberga,  V.  Cousin  of  St. 
Oswald,  king  of  Northumberland,  martyr. 
Her  relics  were  in  the  Abbey  of  Berg  St. 
Winoc,  in  Flanders,  and  were  burnt  with 
the  monastery,  in  1383,  by  the  French. 
Molanus  confounds  the  English  Hisberg  a 
with  the  Flemish  St.  Isberge.  Butler, 
St.  Wenoc,  Nov.  6. 

St.  Hisca,  Feb.  24,  with  Hinna  (1). 

St.  Hixta  or  Yxta,  daughter  of  St. 
Notburga,  and  honoured  with  her. 

Hlotild,  Clotilda. 

St.  Holda,  Huldah. 

St.  Hombeline,  Humbelina.  . 

St.  Homberge,  Humberga. 

St.  Honesta  (1),  May  8,  M.  at 
Constantinople  with  St.  Acacius.  (See 
Agatha  (2).)  AA.SS. 

St.  Honesta  (2),  Oct.  11,  18  (Con- 
stants, Onesta),  V.  M.  Perhaps  8th 
century.  There  was  once  a  king  whose 
name  was  not  written  in  the  book  of  life, 
and  therefore  need  not  be  mentioned 
here.  He  lived  in  the  country  about 
Toulouse,  and  had  two  sons,  Justus  and 
Artemius,  and  one  daughter,  Honesta. 
They  all  became  Christians  without  his 
knowledge,  fled  from  their  home,  and, 
after  much  wandering,  came  to  Monchel 
on  the  Canche,  in  the  diocese  of  Amboise, 
where  they  lived  several  years.  Their 
father  sent  men  to  find  them,  with  orders 
to  bring  them  back,  and  if  they  refused 
to  come,  to  put  them  to  death.  They 
did  refuse,  and  were  killed.  Christians 
of  the  Morini  built  a  church  in  their 
honour.  They  are  not  mentioned  in 
the  oldest  martyrologies,  and  their  date 
is  uncertain.    AA.SS.,  Preeter. 

B.  Honofria,  Feb.  28,  April  22 
(Honophria,  Onopria),  V.  M.  One  of 
the  early  Boman  martyrs  of  whose  life 
nothing  is  known.    Her  body  and  that 


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ST.  HOYLDA 


303 


of  St.  Martina  were  taken  from  Rome 
to  Wilna,  in  Poland,  by  Nicholas  Lance- 
cius,  S.J.  The  body  of  Honofria  was 
afterwards  presented  to  the  Jesnits  at 
Antwerp.   AA.SS.,  April  22. 

St.  Honora,  Enora. 

St.  Honorata  (1),  in  French, 
Honoree,  June  2,  M.  at  Lyons,  not  with 
Blandina. 

St.  Honorata  (2),  June  2.  One  of 
227  Roman  martyrs  commemorated  to- 
gether in  the  Martyrology  of  St.  Jerome. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Honorata  (3),  June  3.  B.M. 
St.  Honorata  (4).  '  (See  Victoria 
(2)0 

St.  Honorata  (5),  of  Pavia,  April 
17;  translation,  Jan.  11.  5th  century. 
St.  Epiphanius,  bishop  of  Pavia  from 
467  to  495,  had  four  sisters,  Speciosa, 
Luminosa,  Liberata,  and  Honorata,  the 
youngest,  whose  highest  praise  is  that 
she  was  the  worthy  sister  of  so  great 
a  man.  In  469  he  travelled  to  Rome  to 
bring  about  a  reconciliation  between  the 
Emperor  Anthemius  and  his  son-in-law, 
Ricimer.  On  his  return  he  consecrated 
Honorata,  and  confided  her  to  the  care 
of  Luminosa  (who  seems  to  be  not  his 
sister,  but  another  woman  of  the  same 
name),  a  woman  of  amazing  sanctity, 
whose  hereditary  honours  were  great, 
but  were  eclipsed  by  her  holy  life  and 
great  wisdom.  Luminosa  and  Honorata 
lived  in  the  monastery  of  St.  Vincent, 
outside  the  Palatine  Gate. 

When,  in  476,  Odoacer,  king  of  the 
Goths,  stormed  the  city,  churches  were 
set  on  fire,  and  the  whole  city  shone  like 
one  funeral  pile.  Many  members  of 
noble  families  were  massacred  or  carried 
captive.  Among  them  were  Luminosa 
and  Honorata ;  but  ere  the  light  of  that 
disastrous  day  declined  to  evening  they 
were  ransomed  by  Epiphanius.  Many 
others  of  the  citizens  he  delivered  by 
his  entreaties  before  they  felt  tho  chains 
of  their  hard  fortune.  Especially  did 
he  intercede  for  mothers  of  families, 
whose  detention  seemed  to  be  of  peculiar 
inhumanity.  Soon  after  this  Luminosa 
died,  but  Honorata  survived  her  many 
years.  On  other  occasions  Epiphanius 
made  peace  between  belligerent  kings, 
and  ransomed  thousands  of  captives. 


Honorata  was  full  of  holy  dispositions 
and  devoted  to  all  good  works,  and  had 
the  power  which  exceeding  holiness  gives. 
She  was  first  buried  in  the  Church  of  St. 
Vincent,  and  was  afterwards  translated 
to  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Histories. 
Miraculous  circumstances  attended  the 
translation. 

The  chief  authority  is  the  contem- 
porary Life  of  Epiphanius  by  St.  Enno- 
dius.  This  and  her  Life  by  Ferrarius 
are  given  in  the  AA.SS.  and  other 
collections. 

St.  Honoria,  Anor. 

St  Honorina  (l),  Feb.  27,  V.  M. 
Patron  of  Conflans-sur-Oise.  Invoked 
by  captives.  A  martyr  under  the 
Romans  in  Gaul.  Her  body  was  found 
in  the  9th  century  at  Honfleur,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Seine,  and  translated  to 
Conflans  (where  the  Seine  and  Oise  unite), 
for  fear  of  the  Danes,  who  invaded 
France  under  Brier,  son  of  Lodbroc, 
burning  Rouen,  Tours,  and  other  towns, 
and  laying  waste  tfie  country.  AAJ3S. 
Baillet. 

St.  Honorina  (2).  Baillet  says  that 
the  name  of  Hononna  is  sometimes  sub- 
stituted for  that  of  Dorothy  in  the 
legend  of  St.  Dorothy. 

St.  Honorina  (3),  Enora. 

St.  Hope  (1).  (See  Faith,  Hope, 
and  Charity.) 

St.  Hope  (2),  Oct.  1.  She  is  one  in 
a  list  of  martyrs  at  Tomis,  in  Lower 
Mosia.  AA.SS. 

Horisfula,  or  Horris,  March  13, 
V.  M.    (See  Theuseta.) 

St.  Horols,  Aerais. 

St.  H  or otis,  Herotes. 

St.  Horris,  Horisfula.  (See  Theu- 
seta.) 

St.  Hortulana,  Ortolana. 

St.  Hospis,  July  30,  M.  at  Tubur- 
bum,  in  Mauritania.  AAJ3S. 

St.  Hou,  Houl,  or  Hould,  Hoylda. 

St.  Hourbelle.  One  of  the  earliest 
Cistercian  nuns.  Possibly  another  name 
for  St.  Humbklina. 

St.  Hourdis,  Hoylda. 

St.  Hoylda,  April  30  (Oildis, 
Othildi8,  Othilia,  Hou,  Houl,  Hould, 
Hourdis,  and  perhaps  Hilda^).  5th  cen- 
tury. One  of  seven  beautiful  sainted 
virgins,  daughters  of  Sigmar,  count  of 


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ST.  HRIPSIMA 


Parta.    The  others  were  Ama,  Mene- 

HOULD,     LUTTRUDE,     PlJSINNA,  LlBERA, 

Francula,  and  perhaps  Gertrude.  Pos- 
sibly Libera  and  Francula  are  two  names 
for  one  person.  Hoylda  is  worshipped 
at  Troyes,  in  Champagne.  It  has  been 
asserted  that  she  was  Hilda,  a  servant  of 
the  Empress  St.  Helen.  This  would 
place  her  in  the  4th  century.  Her  story 
rests  on  no  contemporary  authority. 
She  was  brought  into  notice  many  years 
after  her  death,  by  Henry,  count  of 
Champagne,  who  dreamt  that  he  fell  into 
a  deep  well  and  was  pulled  out  by  a  holy 
maiden  of  the  name  of  Hoylda.  He 
diligently  inquired  who  she  was,  and 
eventually  her  sacred  body  was  found 
carefully  sewn  up  in  a  stag's  hide.  He 
placed  it  in  an  ivory  shrine  in  the  church 
which  he  built  in  honour  of  St.  Stephen 
the  Protomartyr,  at  Troyes,  where  it 
heals  diseases,  and  brings  rain  in  time  of 
drought.  AA.SS. 

St.  Hripsima,  Ripsima. 

B.  Hrotsvith,  Roswitha. 

St.  Hruadlauga,  Hadeloga. 

B.  Hugolina,  of  Yercelli,  Aug.  8,  Y. 
+  1200  or  1400.  Represented  in  a 
scanty  cilicium,  barefooted,  bareheaded, 
with  long  hair,  carrying  a  crucifix  and 
palm  in  one  hand  and  a  rosary  in  the 
other,  at  her  feet  a  skull  on  a  book  and 
a  shield  with  a  flower  on  it,  and  in  the 
distance  the  city  of  Yercelli.  She  fled 
from  a  comfortable  home  to  avoid  a 
crime,  and  lived  forty-seven  years  as  a 
hermit,  disguised  as  a  man,  and  shut  up 
in  a  cell,  lest  any  one  should  see  her. 
She  lived  upon  alms.  On  her  death 
signs  of  the  departure  of  a  saint  called 
attention  to  her,  and  her  confessor,  a 
Dominican,  told  her  story.    AA  SS. 

St.  Huldah,  Holda,  or  Olda,  April 
10.  7th  century  b.c.  Huldah  the  pro- 
phetess was  the  wife  of  Shall  urn,  keeper 
of  the  wardrobe.  In  the  reign  of  Josiah 
she  lived  at  Jerusalem,  in  the  part  called 
in  the  English  Bible  the  College,  other- 
wise the  second  ward,  near  the  Fish  gate. 
Josiah,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his 
reign,  sent  Shaphan  the  scribe  to  Hilkiah 
the  high  priest,  telling  him  to  count  the 
money  that  had  been  gathered  at  the 
doors  of  the  temple,  and  to  spend  it  in 
repairing  the  sacred  building.  Shaphan 


reported  to  the  king  that  he  had  fulfilled 
his  orders,  at  the  same  time  bringing 
him  the  book  of  the  Law  which  Hilkiah 
had  found  in  the  temple,  where  appar- 
ently it  had  lain  neglected  for  many 
years.  Shaphan  read  the  book  to  the 
king,  who  said,  u  Go  ye,  inquire  of  the 
Lord  for  me,  and  for  the  people,  and  for 
all  Judah,  concerning  the  words  of  this 
book  which  is  found:  for  great  is  the 
wrath  of  the  Lord  that  is  kindled 
against  us,  because  our  fathers  have  not 
hearkened  unto  the  words  of  this  book, 
to  do  according  unto  all  that  which  is 
written  concerning  us."  So  Hilkiah  and 
Shaphan  and  three  others  went  to  Huldah 
the  prophetess,  who  said  that  God  would 
bring  on  the  nation  all  the  evil  which 
was  prophesied  in  the  book,  but  that  as 
Josiah  had  humbled  himself,  he  should 
be  gathered  to  his  grave  in  peace  before 
these  things  happened  (2  Kings  xxii.). 
AAJSS. 

St.  Humbelina,  Humberoa,  or  Hum- 
buroulina,  Feb.  12,  Aug.  21.  1092-1141. 
Patron  of  Cistercian  nuns.  Daughter  of 
B.  Tescelin,sumamed  Sorus,or  Rousseau, 
a  nobleman  of  Burgundy,  and  B.  Ade- 
laide (7).  Humbelina  was  born  in  1092, 
a  year  after  her  famous  brother,  St. 
Bernard.  When  he  retired  to  the  solitude 
of  Citeaux  about  1113,  with  thirty  com- 
panions, most  of  whom  were  married, 
their  wives  followed  their  example,  and 
the  convent  of  Julli,  or  Juilly,  sometimes 
called  Billette,  was  built  for  thorn. 
Among  Bernard's  disciples  were  his  five 
brothers ;  and  when  they  had  all  gone  to 
Citeaux,  Humbelina  remained  at  home 
with  her  father,  who  married  her  to  a 
young  nobleman  related  to  the  Duchess 
of  Lorraine  (perhaps  the  licentious 
Adelaide,  converted  by  St.  Bernard). 
Humbelina  was  attracted  by  the  pleasures 
of  the  world,  and  was  fond  of  amusement 
and  rich  clothing.  She  went  splendidly 
dressed  and  with  a  great  retinue  to  pay 
a  visit  to  her  six  brothers  at  Clairvaux. 
Her  brother  Andrew,  who  was  at  the 
door,  abused  her  for  her  worldliness, 
calling  her  a  bag  of  dirt,  a  dressed-up 
dunghill.  Her  other  brothers  refused 
to  see  her,  saying  they  would  not  come 
out  to  speak  to  a  finely  dressed  woman 
with  a  train  of  servants.   She  answered 


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ST.  HUMILITY 


395 


with  tears,  "  Let  my  brother  despise  my 
body,  but  let  the  servant  of  God  not 
despise  a  soul  for  whom  Christ  died." 
Then  Bernard  came  to  the  door  and 
talked  to  her.  He  told  her  to  give  np 
all  luxury  and  vanity,  and  take  example 
by  her  mother.  Humbelina  went  home, 
and  lived  for  two  years  the  life  of  a  nun 
in  her  own  house.  After  that  her  hus- 
band let  her  go  to  Julli,  where  she  took 
the  veil,  and  spent  the  rest  of  her  life, 
and  was  visited  on  her  death-bed  by  St. 
Bernard. 

She  is  regarded  as  the  founder  and 
mother  of  all  Cistercian  nuns,  having 
established  for  women  the  rule  which 
St.  Bernard  founded  for  men.  Her  name 
is  in  the  Cistercian  appendix  to  the 
R.M.  Henriquez,  Lilia  Cistercii,  gives  an 
account  of  the  rule  and  customs  and 
different  offices  in  the  nunneries  of  this 
order.    Helyot.  Baillet. 

St  Humberga  (1),  June  29,  30,  V. 
12th  century.  Commemorated  in  the 
Monumenta  of  St.  Michael's,  in  Lorraine. 
Sister  of  St.  Theobald,  priest  and  hermit, 
of  the  Order  of  Camaldoli  (Martin,  French 
Martyrology).  Migne.  Mas  Latrie.  The 
contemporary  Life  of  St.  Theobald  is 
given  in  the  AA.SS.,  but  Humberga  is 
not  mentioned  in  it. 

St.  Humberga  (2),  Humbelina. 

St.  Humburga,  countess  and  abbess, 
Feb.  20,  is  perhaps  Humbelina. 

St.  Humburgulina,  Humbelina. 

B.  Humiliana,  June  2.  Emiliana 
de  Cerchi  is  so  called  in  the  A.B.M. 

St.  Humility,  May  23,  Dec.  13. 
+  1310.  First  abbess  of  the  Order  of 
Yallombrosa.  Her  name  in  the  world 
was  Roxana  or  Robana,  so  called  from  a 
little  town  between  Parma  and  Reggio. 
Humility,  her  name  as  a  nun,  is  trans- 
lated into  all  the  languages  in  which  her 
story  is  told:  in  Italian,  Umilta;  in 
German,  Demuth,  etc. 

She  is  represented  in  several  ancient 
statues  and  pictures  with  a  fillet  of 
lamb's  wool  round  her  head,  or  with  a 
lamb's  skin  or  fleece  on  her  head. 

Roxana  Elimonte,or  Alitmonte,came  of 
a  noble  and  wealthy  family,  and  was  born 
at  Faenza  in  1 22G.  She  grew  up  beautiful 
and  amiable,  and  early  prayed  that  the 
Vikgin  Mart  and  St.  John  the  Evangelist 


might  protect  and  befriend  her.  One 
day  she  was  dressed  after  the  fashion  of 
the  time  and  place  and  of  her  rank,  so 
as  to  display  her  beauty  to  the  groatest 
advantage,  but  suddenly  she  was  shocked 
at  her  own  worldliness.  She  returned 
to  her  chamber  and  prayed,  and  from 
that  day  she  cared  no  more  for  such 
vanities.  Her  parents  were  disappointed, 
fearing  she  would  not  make  so  good  a 
marriage  as  they  had  hoped. 

One  of  the  kinsmen  of  the  Emperor 
Frederick  II.,  whoentered  Faenza  with  the 
victorious  army  after  a  long  siege,  heard  of 
the  beauty  and  good  qualities  of  Roxana, 
and  was  seized  with  a  passion  for  her. 
He  sent  her  many  messengers,  whom, 
however,  she  would  not  receive.  At 
last  he  sent  to  her  parents  to  ask  for  her 
hand,  but  she  made  them  answer  that 
she  would  have  no  husband  but  Christ. 
Then  he  ceased  to  trouble  her,  and  spoke 
of  her  as  the  best  and  purest  of  maidens, 
but  Roxana  did  not  relax  her  seclusion 
and  vigilance  as  long  as  he  remained  in 
the  town.  Soon  after  this  incident,  her 
father  died,  and  she  married  a  nobleman 
of  Faenza,  Ugolotto  dei  Caccianemici. 
When  they  had  been  married  nine  or  ten 
years,  and  had  several  sons  and  daughters, 
they  separated  for  the  sake  of  greater 
perfection.  Roxana,  who  was  now 
twenty-four,  entered  the  monastery  of 
St.  Perpetua,  near  Faenza,  while  Ugo- 
lotto joined  the  exterior  brethren  of  the 
same  place,  and  from  that  day  she  never 
saw  him  again.  She  was  now  called 
Sister  Humility,  and  made  such  won- 
derful progress  in  holiness  as  to  be  an 
example  of  all  the  virtues  most  difficult 
of  attainment.  She  was  quite  illiterate 
when  she  entered  the  convent,  but  one 
day  the  nuns  called  her  and  bade  her 
read  during  their  meal  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  house.  She  bowed,  and 
opening  the  book,  began,  "  See  that  ye 
despise  not  the  works  of  God  .  .  ." 
going  on  to  sentiments  of  such  lofty 
devotion  that  the  whole  community  hung 
entranced  on  her  words.  She  finished 
with  an  admirable  sentence  of  personal 
application,  which  all  belived  to  be  in- 
spired by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  this 
opinion  was  confirmed  when  it  was 
known  that  what  she  had  so  marvellously 


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396 


ST.  HUNEGUND 


read  to  them  all  was  never  found  in  the 
book  either  before  or  after.  They  then 
gave  her  a  teacher  and  had  her  instructed. 
She  was  afflicted  with  a  cancer  in  the 
kidneys,  and  was  cured  by  prayer.  De- 
siring more  complete  withdrawal  from 
the  world,  she  passed  through  barred 
doors  and  over  high  walls  from  this 
monastery  to  that  of  St.  Clara,  and  thence 
to  the  guardianship  of  one  of  her  own 
relations,  where  she  practised  great 
austerity  and  cured  one  of  the  brethren  of 
St.  Apollinaris,  of  the  Order  of  Vallom- 
brosa,  of  a  dangerous  and  painful  disease. 
She  obtained  from  that  community  the 
privilege  of  having  a  small  cell  built  for 
her  adjoining  their  church  and  furnished 
with  one  little  window  looking  into  the 
church,  that  she  might  see  and  partake 
of  the  Holy  Sacraments,  and  another  on 
the  outside  through  which  she  might 
receive  the  necessaries  of  life.  She  then 
took  the  religious  vows  and  dress,  and 
was  formally  inducted  into  her  narrow 
abode  by  the  abbot,  and  here  she  dwelt 
for  twelve  years.  During  part  of  that 
time  a  weasel  with  a  bell  round  its  neck 
came  and  kept  her  company,  eating  what 
she  gave  it,  and  keeping  quiet  during 
her  prayers.  At  last  it  deposited  its 
bell  on  the  window-sill,  and  gazing  long 
and  affectionately  at  its  mistress,  departed, 
and  was  never  seen  again. 

And  now,  her  husband  being  no  longer 
able  to  endure  her  absence,  took  himself 
to  the  same  monastery,  making  over  to 
it  all  her  dowry,  which  she  had  left  to 
him  on  their  separation.  Next  to  the 
superior,  he  looked  up  to  his  wife  as 
prioress,  and  though  he  never  saw  her, 
he  followed  her  advice  in  all  things,  and 
after  three  years  of  this  life  he  died  in 
peace. 

Meanwhile,  the  fame  of  her  sanctity 
attracted  imitators,  each  of  whom  would 
fain  have  her  cell  close  by  that  of  St. 
Humility;  but  as  this  could  not  be, 
she  was  moved  by  the  entreaties  of 
bishops,  abbots,  and  other  holy  and 
eminent  persons,  and  notably  by  St. 
Pleban,  of  the  Order  of  Vallombrosa,  to 
build  a  convent  for  women.  So  she  left 
her  cell,  and  erected,  at  a  place  called 
Malta,  near  Faenza,  a  convent  to  the 
honour  of  the  Mother  of  God,  under  the 


rule  of  St.  Benedict,  and  became  its 
abbess,  with  a  vow  of  perpetual  obedience 
to  St.  Pleban  and  his  successors.  Here, 
her  reputation  for  holiness,  her  natural 
strength  of  character,  her  great  charity, 
and  her  increasing  gift  of  miracles,  made 
hor  rule  eminently  successful. 

She  died  May  22  or  23,  1310,  accord- 
ing to  her  Life  by  Guidici,  in  her  eighty- 
fourth  year.  Bucelinus  says  she  lived 
to  be  ninety-nine. 

Oil  having  been  seen  to  exude  from 
her  tomb,  her  body  was  taken  up,  magni- 
ficently adorned,  and  buried  again  with 
great  honour.  Miracles  attended  this 
first  elevation,  and  continued  to  be 
wrought  at  her  grave. 

In  after  years,  her  monastery  and  the 
Church  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  which 
she  built  at  Florence,  having  been 
destroyed  for  the  defence  of  the  city  in 
time  of  war,  nothing  remained  of  the 
monastery  but  the  well  of  St.  Humility, 
whose  waters  were  of  special  value  in 
cases  of  fever.  The  body  of  the  saint 
was  translated  to  the  choir  of  the  church 
of  the  Convent  of  St.  Salvius.  She  was 
canonized  by  Urban  VIII.,  and  her  wor- 
ship was  revived  with  renewed  honour 
and  special  devotion  at  Faenza,  1630. 

AA.SS.  She  is  commemorated  May 
23  in  the  Martyrology  of  the  Order  of 
Vallombrosa.  A.R.M. 

St.  Hunegund,  V.,  Aug.  25,  in  the 
French  Martyrology  Nov.  1 .  7th  century. 
Founder  and  patron  of  Homblieres,  in 
Vermandois,  dep.  de  TAisne.  Some- 
times represented  kneeling  at  the  feet  of 
the  Pope. 

Hunegund  was  born  at  Lembais  or 
Lembaide,  an  estate  belonging  to  her 
parents,  near  the  town  of  St.  Quentin. 
St.  Eloy,  the  friend  of  St.  Bathilde, 
was  her  godfather.  Being  a  considerable 
heiress,  she  was  betrothed  in  her 
infancy  to  another  child,  who  died  in 
his  cradle.  When  she  came  to  mar- 
riageable age,  she  was  again  betrothed, 
to  Eudaldus,  a  nobleman  of  the  same 
country.  It  is  not  certain,  from  the 
somewhat  contradictory  accounts,  whether 
the  marriage  took  place,  but  Hune- 
gund persuaded  Eudaldus  to  take  her 
to  Borne  before  beginning  their  mar- 
ried life,  that  they  might  secure  the 


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ST.  HYACINTH 


397 


special  intercession  of  the  apostles  by 
visiting  their  tombs,  and  that  their  union 
might  receive  the  blessing  of  the  Pope, 
which  would  bring  them  a  numerous 
family  and  many  other  advantages  tem- 
poral and  spiritual.  Eudaldus  acceded 
to  her  wish,  and  instead  of  preparing  a 
bridal  feast,  they  made  ready  a  travelling 
carriage  and  a  suitable  train  of  servants 
and  horses.  They  accomplished  the 
journey  very  happily,  visited  the  holy 
sites  in  Rome,  and  prayed  with  great 
devotion  on  the  ground  saturated  with 
the  blood  of  hundreds  of  martyrs.  At 
last  the  day  came  that  they  were  to  be 
presented  to  the  Pope  and  receive  the 
nuptial  blessing  from  him.  No  sooner 
were  they  in  his  presence  than  Hunegund 
— either  in  obedience  to  a  sudden  inspira- 
tion of  piety,  or  in  accordance  with  a 
deliberate  intention — threw  herself  at 
the  feet  of  the  Pontiff,  made  a  solemn 
vow  of  perpetual  virginity,  and  besought 
His  Holiness  to  give  her  the  veil  of  a 
consecrated  nun.  In  the  first  moment 
of  his  disillusion,  Eudaldus  felt  an  im- 
pulse to  run  his  sword  through  his  lost 
love,  but  resisting  this  temptation,  he 
turned  and  left  her  without  a  word  of 
farewell,  and  taking  all  his  retinue,  he 
set  off  for  Pioardy,  leaving  her  without 
a  servant  and  without  a  penny.  He 
nursed  his  indignation  all  the  way  home, 
and  intended  to  punish  her  by  taking 
possession  of  all  her  property  that  was 
to  have  come  to  him  as  dowry.  On  his 
arrival  in  his  own  country,  he  found 
that  Hunegund  was  already  there,  living 
among  the  nuns  of  Homblieres — a  com- 
munity that  had  existed  for  several 
years,  subject  to  no  congregation — and 
that  she  had  presented  all  her  property 
to  this  convent.  She  soon  became  abbess, 
and  built  a  church  in  honour  of  the  B.  V. 
Mary,  so  that  she  is  regarded  as  the 
founder  of  Homblieres. 

After  a  time,  Eudaldus  understood 
the  purity  and  holiness  of  her  motives ; 
his  affeotion  revived,  he  repented  of  his 
anger  and  ceased  to  wish  for  married 
life.  So  far  from  claiming  any  of  her 
family  possessions,  he  endowed  her 
church  with  all  that  he  was  to  have 
given  her  had  she  become  his  wife.  He 
craved  her  pardon  for  his  anger,  and 


begged  her  to  accept  as  a  servant  him 
whom  she  had  refused  to  take  for  a  hus- 
band. He  became  her  most  devoted  friend 
and  servant,  and  transacted  all  the  secular 
affairs  of  the  convent.  He  chose  a  place 
within  the  walls  of  the  nunnery  where 
he  wished  to  be  buried.  He  died  before 
her,  leaving  all  his  lands,  slaves,  and 
other  property  to  the  Church  of  Hom- 
blieres. She  rewarded  his  devotion  by 
burying  him  in  the  spot  he  had  chosen. 
690  is  the  latest  date  assigned  to  her 
death,  which  occurred  when  she  was  about 
fifty,  but  some  authorities  place  it  several 
years  earlier.  Some  writers  say  the  Pope 
she  visited  was  Martin  I.,  who  sat  from 
649  to  654,  while  others  say  it  was 
Vitalian,  whose  reign  was  657-672. 

The  first  translation  of  her  body  was 
made  in  946.  In  the  15th  century  one 
of  her  ribs  was  given  to  Louis  XL 
(1461-1483). 

She  is  spoken  of  in  ancient  grants 
to  the  monks  who  succeeded  the  nuns  at 
Homblieres,  as  joint  patron  with  the  B. 
V,  Mary  of  the  Church  and  Monastery 
of  Homblieres. 

Stilting,  in  AA.SS.  Mabillon,  AA.SS. 
O.S.B.  Her  name  occurs  in  some  very 
ancient  calendars,  one  of  which  (to  be 
seen  in  D'Aohery's  Spicilegium,  p.  130) 
is  ascribed  to  the  year  826.  She  is  also 
mentioned  by  Baronius,  Saussaye,  Baillet, 
Cahier.  Migne,  Die.  des  Abbayea. 

St.  Hunegundes,  Cunegund  (3), 
empress. 

St.  Hunna,  Nov.  30,  April  15,  and 
June  3  (Hun a,  Huva),  called  la  saintc 
laveuse.  7th  century.  Patron  of  laun- 
dresses. A  noble  matron  of  Alsace. 
St.  Di6  resigned  the  bishopric  of  Nevers 
to  go  and  live  in  solitude.  His  exhor- 
tations on  that  occasion  had  so  great  an 
effect  on  the  family  of  St.  Hunna,  that 
she  made  herself  the  servant  of  the  poor, 
washing  their  linen,  and  visiting  the 
sick,  and  her  son  became  a  monk  in  the 
Abbey  of  Ebersheimsmunster.  Cahier. 

B.  Huva,  Hunna,  April  15. 
Ferrarius. 

St.  Hya,  Ia  (3). 

St  Hyacinth,  in  Italian,  Giacinta, 
Jan.  30.  1588-1640.  Patron  of  the 
arch-confraternity  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus, 
and  that  of  the  Sacconi,  and  founder  of 


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ST.  HYDRA 


the  Oblates  of  St.  Mary.  Sho  was  chris- 
tened Clarissa,  and  was  the  daughter  of 
Mark  Antony  Mariscotti,  count  of  Vigna- 
nello,  and  Octavia  Orsini.  She  was  born 
at  Viterbo.  When  she  was  about  four- 
teen, she  fell  into  a  deep  well,  and  catch- 
ing hold  of  a  beam  or  rope,  hung  for  a 
long  time  in  great  fear  and  danger,  being 
at  last  rescued  by  a  servant.  This  acci- 
dent made  her  serious  and  religious  for 
a  time,  but  she  soon  became  worldly,  and 
was  very  envious  because  her  younger 
sister  was  betrothed  before  her.  A  mar- 
riage was  arranged  for  her,  but  her  in- 
tended husband  died,  and  she  became 
very  melancholy,  and  her  parents  thought 
it  advisable  for  her  to  take  the  veil  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Bernardino,  of  the  Third 
Order  of  St.  Francis ;  but  she  carried  her 
worldliness  into  the  cloister,  indulging 
in  luxury  and  pride  of  birth,  wearing 
ornaments,  and  sacrificing  everything  to 
her  vanity,  to  the  annoyance  and  scandal 
of  the  other  nuns.  This  went  on  for  ten 
years,  and  then  she  had  a  serious  illness, 
during  which  she  repented,  and  on  her 
recovery  seemed  to  be  a  different  woman, 


showing  great  humility  and  charity,  and 
devoting  herself  heartily  to  the  care  of  the 
sufferers  in  a  pestilence  which  occurred 
about  that  time. 

She  procured  the  establishment  of  two 
associations,  which  she  directed,  and 
which  still  exist  at  Viterbo.  One  was 
to  procure  assistance  for  poor  ladies  and 
gentlemen  who  were  ashamed  to  beg, 
and  for  prisoners;  the  other  was  to 
afford  an  asylum  to  aged  persons.  The 
members  of  these  associations  were  called 
Oblates  of  Mary. 

Her  nephew,  Cardinal  Mariscotti, 
solicited  her  beatification,  which  was 
decreed  by  Benedict  XIII.  in  1726,  and 
she  was  solemnly  canonized  by  Pius  VII. 
in  1807. 

R.M.  Jubin,  Fondatrices.  Baring 
Gould,  from  the  Bull  of  her  canonization. 
Biario  di  Roma,  Feb.  13, 1830.  Martin. 

St.  Hydra,  Dec.  8,  died  at  Siene,  in 
Egypt.  Guerin. 

B.  Hymene,  Imaine. 

St.  Hypomona,  April  5  and  9,  M. 
with  Amphian  and  Edesius.  Grrseco- 
Slav.  Calendar. 


St.  Ia  (l),  Ja. 

St.  Ia  (2)  occurs  several  times  in  the 
Grseco-Slavonic  Calendar,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  be  in  some  cases  an  abbreviation 
of  Maria  ;  in  others,  of  Eudocia. 

St.  Ia  (3),  Oct.  27  (Eye,  Ias,  Ies,  Iia, 
Iies,  Ita  (2),  Itha,  Iva,  Ives,  Hia,  Hya, 
Tia,  Ye),  commemorated  with  her  brother, 
St.  Uni,  Feb.  3.  5th  century.  St.  Iwy, 
or  Ewe  for  Eve,  is  perhaps  the  same. 
Ia  was  daughter  of  an  Irish  chief,  and 
disciple  of  St.  Barr  or  Fingar.  She 
ought  to  be  patron  of  persons  who  miss 
their  trains  or  ships,  for  when  SS.  Fin- 
gar  and  Piala  left  Ireland  for  Cornwall, 
St.  Ia  intended  to  accompany  them,  but 
when  she  arrived  on  the  seashore,  she 
saw  the  ship  already  a  good  way  out  to 
sea.  Much  grieved,  she  raised  her  tear- 
ful eyes  to  heaven,  and  prayed  for  help, 
and  when  she  turned  them  again  on  the 
sea,  she  observed  a  little  leaf  floating  at 
the  edge  of  the  water.  She  touched  it 
with  her  staff,  and  lo !  it  grew  large  and 


firm  before  her  eyes,  until  she  could  step 
on  to  it,  and  it  bore  her  safely  across  to 
the  bay  of  Hayle,  in  Cornwall,  where  she 
landed,  and  where  her  friends,  St.  Fin- 
gar  and  St.  Piala,  with  their  777  ship- 
mates, arrived  presently  after  her.  She 
applied  to  Dinan,  one  of  the  great  men 
of  Cornwall,  for  a  place  to  live  in.  He 
built  her  a  churoh  in  St.  Ives  Bay.  The 
town  around  this  church  was  called  for 
centuries  Pendinas,  but  gradually  its 
name  was  changed  to  St.  Ies,  and  then 
St.  Ives.  Other  places  in  England  called 
St.  Ives  are  supposed  to  be  called — two 
after  a  Persian  missionary  bishop,  about 
the  7th  century,  and  another  after  St. 
Ives  or  Yves,  bishop  of  Chartres,  12th 
century;  but  according  to  Miss  Arnold 
Forster,  the  Cornish  saint  was  venerated 
and  her  parish  called  St.  Ives  long  be- 
fore the  coming  of  these  foreign  bishops. 
The  parish  of  St.  Ewe,  in  Cornwall,  which 
was  spelt,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  Iwy,  and 
is  pronounced  Eve,  is  perhaps  another 


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300 


dedication  of  la.  AA.SS.  Arnold  Forster, 
Church  Dedications.  Butler.  British 
Piety  (Supplement)  says  Tia  came  to 
Cornwall  with  SS.  Elwin,  Breaca,  Sinnin, 
Marnan,  Crewenna,  Helena,  and  Tegla. 

St.  Icelia,  Feb.  2,  5th  century,  was 
the  wife  of  the  prefect,  and  her  piety 
and  munificence  gave  her  some  authority 
in  the  Church  of  our  Lady;  it  was  in 
the  place  called  the  Old  Seat,  in  the 
road  from  Jerusalem  to  Bethlehem.  She 
brought  to  Constantinople  the  custom  of 
celebrating  with  torches  the  Hypapantc 
or  Purification.  In  course  of  time  the 
custom  spread  all  over  the  Western 
Churches,  and  was  therefore  called 
Candelaria  or  Candlemas.  Collin  de 
Plancy.  Baillet  and  Guerin  mention 
the  institution  by  her,  but  do  not  style 
her  «  Saint" 

St.  Ida  (I),  June  20,  July  18.  Her 
body  was  first  buried  in  the  wall  of  the 
Capitol  of  Cologne.  It  is  preserved  in 
the  Church  of  St.  John  at  Ghent.  She  is 
variously  called  virgin',  martyr,  widow, 
abbess,  and  the  mother  of  St.  Ursula. 
Henschenius,  in  AA.SS.  Sanderus, 
Flandria  Ulustrata. 

St.  Ida  (2),  of  Ireland,  Ita. 

St.  Ida  (3),  May  5,  17  (Idaberg, 
Iduberga,  Ista,  Iste,  Itha,  Itisberg, 
Itta,  Ydubergue,  Ytha,  etc.)  7th  cen- 
tury. Represented  (1)  in  a  group  with 
her  husband  and  daughters,  Gertrude 
(5)  and  Begga;  (2)  giving  bread  to 
the  poor  at  the  door  of  the  monastery. 
Sometimes  called  sister  of  St.  Modoald, 
bishop  of  Treves.  She  was  a  woman  of 
high  birth  and  good  fortune,  and  was  the 
wife  of  Pepin  of  Landen,  one  of  the  great- 
est men  of  the  time,  both  in  worldly  im- 
portance and  integrity.  Their  daughters 
were  the  famous  SS.  Gertrude  and  Begga, 
and  they  had  a  son,  Grimoald,  who  suc- 
ceeded his  father.  St.  Ida's  fame  is  lost 
in  that  of  her  younger  daughter,  St. 
Gertrude,  but  it  was  Ida  who,  on  her 
husband's  death,  built  the  great  double 
monastery  of  Nivelle  on  her  own  estate, 
and  cut  off  her  daughter's  hair  with  her 
own  hands,  lest  anything  should  prevent 
Gertrude  from  consecrating  her  life  to 
God  there.  The  mother  and  daughter 
gave  land  and  funds  to  the  Irish  monks, 
Foillan  and  Ultan,  at  Fosse,  or  Mors- 


les-Fossez,  to  be  a  perpetual  house  of 
hospitality  for  pilgrims  travelling  that 
way.  Ida  lived  five  years  as  a  nun  under 
her  daughter's  rule,  assisting  her  with 
her  advice  and  care. 

Pepin  and  Ida  were  buried  in  the 
Monastery  of  Nivelle.  Both  were  called 
"  Blessed  "  in  the  Netherlands,  and  their 
relics  were  carried  in  procession  on  cer- 
tain days  with  those  of  other  saints. 
Pepin's  name  was  placed  in  the  Litanies 
by  authority  of  some  prelates  of  the  Low 
Countries,  but  it  has  been  asserted  that 
the  services  which  were  solemnized  in 
their  honour  at  Nivelle  previously  to  the 
16th  century  were  not  worship,  but  of 
the  nature  of  prayers  for  the  dead. 

Baillet,  "Pepin"  (Feb.  1),  and  the 
authorities  for  Gertrude. 

St.  Ida  (4),  Sept.  4  (Idda,  Itta, 
Otha,  Ydda,  Yde,  Ytha,  etc.),  +  813 
or  814,  was  a  near  kinswoman  of  Charle- 
magne, and  grandmother  of  St.  Hadu- 
mada.  The  story  is  that  Charlemagne 
went  from  Germany  into  France  to  quell 
a  revolt  (not  recorded  in  secular  history). 
One  of  the  most  distinguished  of  his 
friends  and  nobles  who  joined  the  expe- 
dition was  Egbert,  a  favourite  companion 
of  the  young  king.  He  was  son  of 
Bruno,  who  ruled  over  an  extensive  tract 
in  Westphalia.  On  the  march,  Egbert 
became  dangerously  ill,  and  was  left  at 
the  nearest  castle,  where  he  was  hospit- 
ably cared  for  by  Theodoric,  duke  of 
the  Eipuarii,  whose  wife,  B.  Theodrada, 
afterwards  abbess  of  Soissons,  was  the 
daughter  of  Count  Bernard,  son  of 
Charles  Martel,  and  consequently  uncle 
of  the  emperor. 

Giesebrecht  and  some  other  writers 
make  Ida  the  daughter  of  Bernard, 
Charlemagne's  uncle,  and  sister  of  SS. 
Adalard  and  Wala,  founders  and  abbots 
of  Corvei  (who,  however,  were  more  pro- 
bably her  maternal  uncles).  This  would 
make  Theodrada  her  sister  instead  of 
her  mother. 

Theodorio  had  a  daughter  Ida,  who 
became  doctor  and  nurse  to  the  invalid 
guest,  poultioing  his  sores  and  fomenting 
his  aches  with  her  own  hands. 

On  the  return  of  the  victorious  army, 
Charlemagne  halted  at  the  place  where 
he  had  left  his  friend,  and  found  that  he 


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ST.  IDA 


bad  recovered  his  health  and  fallen  in 
love  with  his  nurse,  to  whom  he  was 
shortly  afterwards  married.  The  king 
presented  them  on  the  occasion  with 
estates  worthy  of  their  rank,  and  ap- 
pointed Egbert  duke  and  governor  of 
all  the  Saxons  between  the  Khine  and 
the  Weser,  at  the  same  time  charging 
him  with  the  defence  of  the  northern 
frontier  of  the  empire  against  the  heathen 
Danes. 

One  of  the  first  halting- places  of -the 
yonng  couple  within  their  new  domains 
was  Hertzfeld  on  the  Lippe,  where  they 
rested  one  night  in  a  pleasant  wood. 
Here  Ida  had  a  dream,  in  which  an  angel 
told  her  to  build  a  church  on  that  spot, 
and  this  she  afterwards  did.  Their  resi- 
dence was  at  Hovestadt  or  Drevenik,  in 
Westphalia.  They  had  a  son,  Liudolph 
{see  St.  Hadumada),  and  a  daughter, 
Hardwido  or  Hadwio,  abbess  of  Herford, 
which  was  the  first  monastery  built  on 
Saxon  ground.  Warinus,  abbot  of  Cor- 
vei,  has  been  said  to  be  their  son,  but 
this  is  not  certain.  Giesebrecht  calls 
him  a  brother  of  Egbert. 

Egbert  died  a  few  years  after  his 
marriage,  and  Ida  buried  him  in  the 
great  church  they  had  built  at  Herzfeld, 
and  thenceforth  became  a  religious  re* 
cluse,  devoting  herself  to  works  of 
charity  and  devotion.  She  built  herself 
a  small  oratory  attached  to  the  church, 
and  in  it  she  placed  a  marble  tomb  for 
herself,  and,  until  she  should  be  laid 
there,  she  filled  it  twice  a  day  with  food 
for  the  poor. 

At  her  death,  which  is  generally 
placed  in  the  same  year  as  that  of 
Charlemagne  (814},  she  was  universally 
venerated  as  a  saint,  and  the  miracles 
she  wrought  were  so  striking  that  in 
the  following  century  (the  10th)  a  solemn 
translation  of  her  body  was  made,  and 
a  church  belonging  to  the  Monastery  of 
Herford  was  consecrated  in  the  joint 
names  of  St.  Mary  and  St.  Ida. 

Her  Life  by  UffiDg  was  written  in 
the  10th  century,  when  her  worship  was 
already  very  popular.  Her  name  is  in 
the  Auctaria  to  Usuard,  by  Greven  and 
Molanus,  and  in  the  German  Martyr- 
ology,  by  Walasser  and  Canisius.  Pertz, 
Monumenta  Germanise  Scriptores,  ii.  569, 


681.  Surius,  Vitse  SS.,  pp.  663-666. 
AA.SS.  Falke,  Traditionum  Corbeien- 
sium,  p.  361.  Leibnitz,  Script.  Berum 
Brunswicensium,  i.  171.  Claras,  Die 
Heilige  Mathilde. 

St.  or  B.  Ida  (5),  April  13.  +1113. 
Countess  of  Boulogne  in  Picardy,  and 
of  Namur.  Mother  of  the  Kings  of 
Jerusalem.  Patron  of  Boulogne-sur- 
mer.  Daughter  of  Godfrey,  duke  of 
Lorraine,  a  descendant  of  Charlemagne. 
Second  wife  of  Eustace  II.,  count  of 
Boulogne,  whose  first  wife  was  Mary  of 
Scotland,  daughter  of  St.  Margaret. 
Eustace  and  Ida  had  three  sons — Eustace 
III.,  count  of  Boulogne,  Godfrey  of 
Bouillon,  and  Baldwin,  successively 
kings  of  Jerusalem.  Ida  brought  up 
and  educated  all  her  children  with  the 
greatest  care,  and  founded  several 
churches  and  monasteries. 

Eustace  III.  was  among  the  noblemen 
of  Boulogne  who  joined  William  of 
Normandy  in  the  invasion  of  England. 
He  died  in  1070.  Ida  survived  him 
more  than  forty  years.  She  was  very 
enthusiastic  for  the  Crusade.  To  enable 
her  sons  to  go  as  became  their  rank,  she 
sold  and  mortgaged  a  great  part  of  her 
property.  She  received  from  Otbert, 
bishop  of  Liege,  1300  marks  of  silver 
and  three  marks  of  gold  for  Bouillon, 
reserving  the  right  to  buy  it  back. 
Then,  with  her  children's  consent,  she 
sold  her  estates  of  Genappes  and  Boisy, 
in  Brabant. 

In  Le  Mire's  Origines  Ben.,  p.  70 
(Euen's  Collectio),  is  the  diploma  of 
B.  Ida.  For  her  soul,  that  of  her  father, 
and  her  husband,  Count  Eustace,  she 
gives  to  the  monks  of  Hafflingham  five 
"mansos"  of  land  in  her  estate  of 
Genassia,  her  sons  Godfrey,  Eustace, 
and  Baldwin  co-operating,  1096.  Baillet, 
from  her  Life  written  a  few  years  after 
her  death.  Le  Glay,  Hist,  des  Conies  de 
Flandres,  I  240.  William  of  Malmes- 
bury,  iv.  2.  Le  Mire,  Annates.  Moreri, 
Die.  Hist,  torn.  5,  folio  2110.  Lappen- 
berg,  Saxon  Kings,  ii.  300  and  457. 
Biog.  Nationale  de  Belgigue.  Giese- 
brecht, iii. 

B.  Ida  (6)  of  Spanheim,  Jutta  (2). 

B.  Ida  (7)  of  Hohenfels  and  Span- 
heim, March  1 9  and  Oct  29.  Ida  married 


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401 


Everard,  count  of  Spanheim,  and  in  1 190 
took  the  veil  at  Bingen,  whero  her  sister, 
B.  Margaret  (10),  was  abbess.  Both  are 
called  "Saints  by  Bucolinus  and  Menar- 
dus.  Ida  is  sometimes  confounded  with 
St.  Ida  (6). 

St.  Ida  (8),  May  30,  Nov.  3,  5, 
1156-1226  (Idda,  Ideburga,  Itha,  Itta, 
Juditha,  Yda,  Ydd),  patron  of  Fischin- 
gen,  is  represented  (1)  reading  by  the 
light  of  flames  proceeding  from  the 
points  of  the  horns  of  a  stag :  the  stag 
attended  to  give  light  in  her  cave,  and 
accompanied  her  to  her  convent  after- 
wards; (2)  a  raven  flying  away  with 
her  ring. 

The  story  told  by  Ott  is  this— 

Count  Henry  of  Toggenburg  (also 
spelt  Tockenburg,  Dockenbourg,  and  in 
other  ways')  was  a  handsome  man  and  a 
brave  knight,  and  had  many  castles  and 
villages  at  his  home  in  Switzerland; 
his  only  drawback  was  a  violent  tempor. 
Once,  on  his  homeward  journey  from  a 
tournament  at  Cologne,  he  rested  at  the 
castle  of  Kirchberg,  in  Swabia,  the  resi- 
dence of  Count  Hartmann,  founder  of 
the  famous  Benedictine  monastery  of 
Wiblingen.  Hartmann  had  a  beautiful 
daughter,  Ida.  Henry  married  Ida  in 
1197,  and  they  went  to  his  castle  of 
Toggenburg. 

As  often  as  her  household  duties 
would  permit,  Ida  went  to  church  in  the 
cloister  at  Fischingen,  or  to  the  chapel 
of  the  B.  Y.  Mary  in  the  meadow.  8ho 
had  no  children,  but  she  made  herself 
the  mother  of  the  poor,  and  ruled  her 
people  wisely  and  kindly.  All  loved 
and  honoured  her  except  one  page,  an 
Italian,  called  Domenic,  who  attended 
on  Count  Henry,  and  had  won  his 
master's  confidence  by  flattery  and  by 
his  cleverness  and  attention  to  every 
wish  of  his  lord.  Ida,  unsuspecting, 
treated  him  with  the  same  kindness  as 
the  others.  He  flattered  himself  that 
she  would  return  his  guilty  passion  for 
her.  One  day  he  dared  to  avow  his 
feeling,  and  was  answered  with  such 
anger  and  contempt  that  his  wicked  love 
changed  into  deadly  hate,  and  he  deter- 
mined  to  revenge  himself  by  insult  and 
violence.  As  she  was  on  her  way  to 
church,  walking  along  in  silent  prayer, 


where  great  oak  trees  cast  a  dark  shadow, 
he  assaulted  her.  Another  servant,  named 
Euno,  who  was  hunting,  hoard  the 
screams  of  the  countess,  and  came  to  the 
rescue.  Ida  remembered  hor  husband's 
temper,  and  knew  ho  would  kill  the 
wretch,  so  she  dissuaded  Euno  from 
dragging  him  into  the  presence  of  his 
master,  and  bade  Domenic  repent  and 
be  converted. 

After  this  she  always  showed  great 
favour  to  Euno.  The  villain  saw  it,  and 
put  into  the  count's  head  the  wicked 
suspicion  that  she  favoured  Euno  more 
than  became  her  rank  and  her  duty. 
Ida  soon  perceived  that  her  husband 
was  jealous,  but  she  did  not  know  of 
whom,  and  did  not  suspect  that  Domenic 
was  conspiring  against  her.  She  sat  in 
her  own  room,  sewing,  and  cried,  and 
looked  across  the  dark  woods  towards 
the  distant  home  of  her  parents,  who  all 
this  time  supposed  that  their  daughter 
was  the  happiest  of  wives.  One  day,  in 
spring,  a  fancy  seized  her  to  take  out 
her  wedding  dress  and  air  it  with  some 
beautiful  things  her  husband  had  given 
her.  She  dusted  her  jewels,  and  spread 
them  on  a  table  at  the  window,  sighed 
over  her  wedding  ring,  and  laid  it  beside 
the  others.  Then  she  went  to  see  to 
some  household  matters,  and  towards 
evening  she  folded  the  clothes  again,  and 
put  them  back  in  the  shelves,  and  re- 
placed the  jewels  in  the  casket.  But, 
oh,  horror !  her  wedding  ring  was  gone I 
She  searched  the  whole  room  in  vain. 
A  raven  had  stolen  it. 

Not  very  long  afterwards,  Euno  went 
bunting.  After  many  hours  of  vain 
search  for  game,  he  was  returning  home, 
disappointed,  when  a  large  nest  attracted 
his  attention.  He  climbed  the  tree  and 
found  it  to  be  a  raven's  nest,  and  in  it 
he  saw  a  sparkling  ring.  He  knew  the 
thievish  ways  of  ravens.  He  did  not 
know  whose  ring  it  was,  for  Ida  had  not 
told  the  household  of  her  loss.  He  put 
it  on  his  finger,  took  the  young  ravens, 
and  oame  down  from  the  tree.  When 
he  got  home  he  showed  it  to  his  fellow- 
servants.  Domenic  recognized  it  and 
laid  a  fiendish  plot.  He  went  and  told 
the  count  that  now  there  was  proof  of 
the  guilty  intimacy  of  the  countess  with 

2  D 


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ST.  IDA 


Kuno.  The  huntsman  was  shamelessly 
wearing  the  wedding  ring. 

Henry  sent  for  Kuno  and  demanded 
to  see  the  ring.  The  innocent  and  un- 
suspecting servant  showed  it.  Count 
Henry,  without  waiting  for  a  word  of 
explanation,  ordered  him  to  be  tied  to 
the  tail  of  a  wild  horse,  which  was  to  be 
sent  at  a  gallop  down  the  castle-hill. 
In  Tain  he  begged  to  be  heard,  and 
attempted  to  clear  himself.  Henry 
would  not  listen,  bnt  rushed  to  his 
wife's  room,  assailed  her  with  oppro- 
brious words,  and  threw  her  out  of  the 
window  into  the  abyss  at  least  four 
hundred  feet  deep.  Soon  he  felt  cooler, 
and  began  to  be  horrified  at  what  he 
had  done.  All  the  vassals  and  neigh- 
bours were  in  dismay.  Nobody  believed 
a  word  against  the  countess.  Domenic 
was  glad,  and  persuaded  Henry  von 
Toggenburjg  to  give  out  that  they  de- 
served their  fate  and  that  the  subject 
was  never  to  be  mentioned. 

Meantime,  the  good  countess,  whom 
every  one  supposed  had  been  dashed  to 
pieces  on  the  rocks,  was  safe  and  well, 
in  a  thicket  in  the  forest. 

The  wood  of  Babenstein  was  thick 
and  dark,  and  was  seldom  disturbed  by 
human  steps.  She  resolved  to  stay 
there  and  devote  her  time  to  prayer. 
She  found  a  cave  overshadowed  by  a 
thick  fir  tree,  whose  boughs  swept  the 
ground;  a  clear  little  stream  flowed 
over  the  neighbouring  rock.  Here  she 
settled.  She  had  little  trouble  in  making 
this  shelter  weather-tight  and  in  gather- 
ing herself  a  bed  of  moss.  She  found 
a  quantity  of  bilberries  growing  near, 
which  served  her  for  food.  These,  with 
nuts  and  roots,  she  collected  and  dried ; 
and  she  made  mats  and  baskets  of  reeds 
and  bark.  She  found  quantities  of  moss 
for  covering,  but  it  would  hardly  keep 
the  cold  from  killing  her.  She  had  no 
candle  and  no  fire. 

Thus  she  lived  for  nearly  seventeen 
years  in  religious  contemplation,  sur- 
rounded by  angels.  She  was  very 
peaceful.  Her  husband,  on  the  con- 
trary, was  a  prey  to  remorse.  Domenic 
tried  to  stifle  all  his  doubts  as  to  his 
wife's  guilt,  but  his  heart  constantly 
upbraided  him  for  the  double  murder 


and  for  the  injustice  of  his  hasty  re- 
venge. He  was  afraid  to  enter  her 
apartments. 

At  last  he  determined  to  leave  the 
castle,  where  he  could  never  rest.  Be- 
fore he  set  out,  he  sent  Domenic  to 
Kirchberg  to  tell  Ida's  parents  that  he 
had  discovered  her  crime  and  punished 
it  with  death.  They  did  not  believe 
her  guilty,  but  they  could  not  bring  so 
powerful  a  nobleman  to  justice,  so  they 
had  to  submit  to  the  insult  and  wait 
for  the  judgment  of  God. 

Henry  went  with  Domenic  all  about 
the  world,  but  they  could  not  leave 
their  consciences  behind.  They  came 
back,  but  they  could  not  bear  the  place 
where  Kuno  was  killed,  nor  the  coun- 
tess's apartments.  Henry's  only  solace 
was  occasional  hunting. 

Meantime,  Ida  continued  to  pray  for 
him.  At  last,  one  of  his  men  who  had 
succeeded  Kuno,  went  to  hunt,  and  found 
the  hermitage.  Ida,  dressed  in  bark 
with  only  some  rags  of  her  former 
clothing,  looked  very  extraordinary. 
The  servant  recognized  in  her  rags  part 
of  the  robes  that  belonged  to  her  former 
rank,  and  the  more  he  looked,  the  more 
he  believed  in  her  identity.  At  last  he 
exclaimed,  "  Tou  are  our  good  Countess 
Ida!"  She  confessed,  and  when  she 
heard  how  miserable  her  husband  was, 
she  gave  the  servant  leave  to  tell  him 
she  lived. 

Ho  rushed  eagerly  into  the  count's 
apartment,  crying  out  that  the  countess 
was  alive.  Henry  thought  him  mad, 
but  accompanied  him  with  a  beating 
heart  and  with  prayers  and  hopes  to 
the  hermitage  in  the  forest,  where  he 
found  his  injured  wife  and  implored  her 
forgiveness.  A  reconciliation  took  place, 
but  she  had  vowed  not  to  return  to  the 
world,  so  he  had  to  build  her  a  little 
dwelling  by  the  chapel  at  Hornlein, 
near  the  Abbey  of  Fischingen. 

She  assumed  common,  simple  clothing 
instead  of  her  miserable  covering.  She 
was  sorry  to  leave  the  place  where  she 
had  lived  so  long  and  where  she  had 
set  up  a  cross.  She  made  the  chaplain 
bring  her  the  sacrament  before  she  left. 
The  count  made  her  a  comfortable  little 
house  and  garden  in  the  meadow  near 


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403 


the  chapel.  Her  parents  were  still  alive, 
and  were  comforted  by  hearing  that  she 
had  been  found  and  her  innocence  made 
manifest.  They  visited  her  in  her  new 
abode.  The  count  repented  of  all  his 
sins,  and  led  the  short  remainder  of  his 
life  in  great  piety. 

Such  crowds  of  people  came  to  see 
her  and  to  ask  her  prayers,  that  she 
begged  the  nuns  of  Fischingen  to  give 
her  a  cell  in  their  convent  There  she 
lived  to  a  great  age,  and  there  she  was 
buried  before  the  altar  of  St.  Nicolas, 
about  1226. 

She  was  honoured  as  a  saint  in  her 
life  and  after  her  death ;  and  is  always 
called,  in  that  region,  die  Heilige  Itha. 

B.  Peter  Kanisius  has  written  her  Life 
for  the  comfort  of  all  sufferers.  AA.SS. 
gives  the  story  with  dates  and  a  service 
and  hymns  in  her  honour  used  from 
ancient  times.  Ott,  Die  LSgende.  Cahier. 
Perrarius. 

B.  Ida  (9)  of  Nivelle,  April  13,  Oct. 
29,  Nov.  29,  Dec.  11,  also  called  Ida  of 
Ramey,  of  Louvain,  of  Leewa  or  Lewis, 
of  Eerchum,  of  Namur,  of  Roosendael, 
near  Mechlin.  13th  century.  Cister- 
cian nun,  born  either  at  Nivelle  or  at 
Lewis.  From  her  earliest  youth  she 
gave  her  whole  attention  to  practices  of 
devotion  and  mortification.  For  some 
time  she  bent  her  knees  eleven  hundred 
times  a  day.  She  became  a  Cistercian 
nun  at  the  convent  of  Barney,  in  Brabant, 
near  Namur,  and  arrived  at  such  per- 
fection that  she  could  read  hearts,  foretell 
the  future,  release  the  souls  of  the  living 
from  temptation,  and  those  of  the  dead 
from  Purgatory.  She  frequently  saw 
and  conversed  with  saints  and  angels. 
Her  sympathy  and  charity  for  sinners 
was  so  great  that  she  was  often  ill  for 
very  sorrow. 

Once  Christ  appeared  to  her  in  a 
vision,  and  caught  in  a  gold  basin,  the 
tears  she  shed  during  her  prayers.  He 
washed  her  face,  an  angel  standing  by 
and  handing  her  a  towel. 

The  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  repeatedly 
gave  her  the  Infant  Christ  to  hold  and 
to  kiss.  Once,  on  a  feast  day,  the 
Blessed  Virgin  appeared  to  Ida  "  at  the 
vigils  of  the  night "  with  the  Holy  Child 
in  her  arms,  and  presented  Him  to  Ida. 


While  holding  Him  in  her  arms,  it  came 
to  Ida's  turn  to  intone  a  psalm.  The 
rule  required  her  to  do  it  with  arms 
hanging  straight  down ;  afraid  of  break- 
ing the  statutes,  she  said  to  the  Child, 
"  Take  care  of  Yourself  now,  for  I  must 
obey  my  rules."  She  let  down  her  arms 
and  sleeves  full  length,  the  Holy  Child 
clung  to  her  neck.  Ida  sang  better  than 
usual,  and  then  sat  down  and  took  her 
Precious  Charge  on  her  lap.  She  was 
marked  with  the  five  wounds  of  Christ 
which  appeared  as  circles  of  divers 
colours,  and  she  felt  the  crown  of  thorns 
on  her  head.  She  died  at  the  age  of 
thirty-two. 

A.  R.M.  for  the  Benedictines,  April  13. 
Papebroch,  in  AA.SS.,  Oct.  29,  from  her 
Life  by  Hugo  her  confessor.  Bucelinus, 
Dec.  11  and  Oot.  29.  H.  Collins,  Cis- 
tercian Legends  of  13th  Century.  Biog. 
NationcUe  de  Belgique.  Le  Mire,  Fasti. 
Molanus,  Eistoire  de  Louvain. 

B.  Ida  (10)  of  Liege,  March  25,  May 
7,  13th  century.  Cistercian.  First 
abbess  of  Argensol  in  Champagne. 
Migne,  Die.  Hag.  Bucelinus  calls  her 
Blanche  (3). 

.  St  Idaberg  (1),  Ida  (3). 

St.  Idaberg  (2),  Edburg,  daughter 
ofPenda. 

St.  Idaberg  (3),  May  21  (Gisla, 

GlSLEBERGA,  IsBERGUE,  ISBURG,  IsiBERGA, 

Itisberga,  Itisburg,  Sitisberg,  Stis- 
bkrga,  Ybergue),  V.  +  c.  770  or  780. 
Represented  holding  an  eel  in  her  hand 
or  on  a  dish,  and  sometimes  wearing  a 
crown  and  a  mantle  adorned  with  Jleurs 
de  lys.  Said  to  be  daughter  of  King  Pepin 
and  sister  of  Charlemagne.  Nun  at  Area 
or  Aire,  in  Artois.  Legend  says  that  a 
powerful  prince  sought  her  hand,  but  she, 
aspiring  to  a  higher  destiny,  prayed  that 
he  might  desist  from  his  suit.  She  fell 
ill  and  her  beautiful  face  became  a  mass 
of  ugly  spots.  The  prince  withdrew  his 
offer.  It  was  revealed  that  she  should 
be  cured  by  eating  the  first  fish  caught 
in  the  river  Lys.  Her  people  took  much 
trouble  to  find  her  a  good  fish,  but 
nothing  could  they  take  except  a  little 
eel  and  the  body  of  St.  Yenantius,  her 
confessor,  who  had  been  murdered  and 
thrown  into  the  river  by  her  disappointed 
lover.  AA.SS.  Martin  Molanus  includes 


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404 


ST.  IDDA 


her  among  the  saints  of  Belgium.  Wion, 
Lignum  Vitse,  p.  520.  Cahier. 

St.  Idda,  Ida. 

St  Iduberga,  Ida. 

St  Ie,  Ja. 

St.  Ies,  Ia  (3). 

St.  Igalute  or  Ijaluta,  Jan.  11. 
Honoured  by  the  Ethiopians.  Guerin. 

St  Iherotis,  Herotes. 

St.  Iia,  or  Iies,  Ia  (3). 

St  Ijaluta,  Igalute. 

St.  lid,  Matilda. 

St.  Ildaura,  Ilduarda. 

St.  Ildemerca,  Hildemar. 

St  Ilduarda,  Dec.  20  (Ildaura, 
Ilduara,  Iluarda),  10th  century.  A 
noble  matron  of  Spain,  married  to  Gun- 
ther  de  Marendez,  and  mother  of  St. 
Rodesuind,  bishop  of  Duma.  When  she 
became  a  widow  she  built  a  nunnery 
near  the  monastery  of  St.  Saviour  of 
Cella  Nova,  in  Galicia,  took  the  veil, 
and  lived  under  the  rule  of  her  daughter 
Adosina,  the  abbess.  Ilduarda  was 
buried  there,  in  the  episcopate  of  her 
son,  and  is  honoured  among  the  saints 
of  Spain.  Menard,  who  refers  to  Yepez's 
Chronicle  O.S.B.,  ad.  ann.  935,  cap.  4. 

St  Illuminata  (1),  Nov.  29,  V. 
M.  at  Todi  under  Maximianus.  B.M. 
Oynecseum. 

BB.  Illuminata  (2)  di  Giovanello 
and  Chiaretta,  April  27,  +  1320, 
O.S.A.  Lay-sisters  under  St.  Clara  (4) 
of  Montefalco. 

B,  Illuminata  (3)  Bembi,  com- 
panion of  St.  Catherine  of  Bologna. 
Called  "Beata"  by  Arturus  and  by 
Masino,  Bolonia  iUustrata. 

St.  Iluarda,  Ilduarda. 

St.  Image,  Sept.  8  (Imagine,  Imago, 
Imoge,  Imogene),  is  probably  some  famous 
picture.  Cahier,  "Synonyms."  (See 
Veronica  (1).)  The  village  of  Ste. 
Imoge,  in  Champagne,  is  supposed  to 
take  its  name  from  some  ancient  statue 
or  pioture  of  the  B.  V.  Mary  formerly 
honoured  there,  as  the  fete  is  on  the  day 
of  her  nativity.  Chastelain. 

B.  Imaine,  Himmana,  or  Hymene  de 
Loss,  Jan.  29,  +  1270.  Fifth  abbess 
of  Salzinne  and  afterwards  of  Flines. 
Cistercian.  Daughter  of  Henry  de  Loss, 
of  the  family  of  the  Counts  of  Hochstadt. 
He  had  renounced   the  ecclesiastical 


state  in  hope  of  succeeding  Count  Louis 
II.,  who  was  childless.  He  married 
Matilda,  sister  of  the  Count  of  Viane, 
and  widow  of  Lothaire,  count  of  Hoch- 
stadt. Imaine,  only  child  of  Matilda  by 
Henry  de  Loss,  lost  her  parents  very 
young,  in  1218,  and  was  placed  in  the 
monastery  of  Salzinne.  When  St.  Juli- 
ana (21)  fled  to  Namur,  Imaine  interested 
herself  about  the  matter,  and  wrote 
several  times  to  Liege  to  obtain  an 
allowance  for  her  out  of  Juliana's  own 
property,  and  finally  procured  her  shelter 
in  her  (Imaine's)  monastery  at  Sal- 
zinne, 1256.  The  Empress  Mary,  wife 
of  Baldwin  de  Courtenay,  the  last  of  the 
Latin  emperors  of  Constantinople,  was 
trying  unsuccessfully  to  govern  the 
county  of  Flanders  for  her  absent 
husband.  She  was  disliked  by  the 
"people,  and  a  measure  of  her  unpopu- 
larity reflected  on  Imaine  as  her  friend, 
The  convent  of  Salzinne  was  destroyed 
in  a  riot  and  the  nuns  dispersed.  Imaine 
procured  them  homes  in  othf r  monas- 
teries, but  she  herself  would  not  leave 
St.  Juliana.  They  went  to  Fosse  and 
lived  in  a  small  house  formerly  occupied 
by  a  recluse.  Juliana  died  there,  1258, 
in  the  arms  of  Imaine,  who,  in  1261, 
transported  her  body  to  the  Abbey  of 
Villers,  according  to  her  own  wish. 
Imaine  was  made  Abbess  of  Flines,  which 
had  been  founded  about  twenty  years 
before.  Her  half-brother  Conrad  of 
Hochstadt,  archbishop  of  Cologne,  sent 
her  the  relics  of  some  of  the  11,000 
virgins.  Ram,  Hagiohgie  National  de 
Bclgique, 

St.  Imata  or  Imeata,  Oct.  27, 
+  1360.  3rd  O.S.D.  Represented  as  a 
Dominican  nun  holding  in  one  hand  a 
crucifix  between  two  lilies,  in  the  other 
a  book  on  which  is  a  heart  upside  down. 

A  hundred  years  after  the  institution 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic,  eight  monks 
left  Rome  to  visit  Jerusalem  and  to  go 
farther  for  the  salvation  of  souls.  They 
took  with  them  an  elderly  woman  of  the 
Third  Order,  of  great  wisdom  and  piety. 
They  all  endured  great  hardships  on  the 
journey.  They  visited  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre and  afterwards  went  to  India.  The 
brothers  built  a  convent  for  men,  and 
Imata  built  one  for  nuns.    It  was  at 


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ST.  INGENUA 


405 


first  called  Bedenagli  and  afterwards 
St.  Clara,  in  honour  of  one  of  Imata's 
disciples,  (See  Clara  (7).)  In  time  it 
came  to  be  the  abode  of  5000  nuns.  The 
name  of  Imata  was  given  her  by  the 
Indians  (Pio  Uomini  illmtri).  Gue"ne- 
bault  says  her  converts  and  her  monas- 
tery were  in  Ethiopia.  He  refers  to  a 
Spanish  history  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Dominic  in  the  remote  kingdoms  of 
Ethiopia,  etc.,  by  Luys  de  Ureta,  O.S.D. 
of  Valencia,  1611.  She  may  be  a  real 
person,  but  if  so,  her  actions  are  much 
exaggerated,  and  although  she  is  repre- 
sented as  a  saint  in  some  collections  of 
prints,  etc.,  she  does  not  appear  in  any 
of  the  calendars.  Imeata,  nun  in  Ethi- 
opia, is  mentioned  in  the  supplement  to 
the  Bollandists'  AA.SS.  Octobria.  XII., 
p.  312,  but  without  the  title  of  "  Saint." 

St.  Imeata,  Imata. 

B.  Imelda  Lambertini,  May  12, 
Sept.  16,  +  1333,  O.S.D.  Of  the 
same  noble  family  of  which  afterwards 
came  Pope  Benedict  XIV.  In  1333, 
although  scarcely  eleven  years  old,  she 
was  a  novice  in  the  Dominican  convent 
of  St.  Mary  Magdalene,  outside  the  walls 
of  Bologna.  She  ardently  desired  to 
receive  the  Holy  Communion,  and  wept 
bitterly  when  her  request  was  refused  on 
the  ground  of  her  extreme  youth.  One 
day  all  who  were  old  enough  received, 
and  as  she  grieved  to  be  denied  the  same 
privilege,  the  Host  came  out  of  the 
tabernacle  (or  down  from  heaven,  say 
others)  and  stood  in  the  air  over  her 
head.  The  officiating  priests  were  be- 
yond measure  surprised,  but  discerning 
in  this  miracle  the  Divine  will,  they 
brought  the  paten  and  gave  her  the  Holy 
Bread.  So  great  was  her  joy  that  she 
instantly  died.  She  was  buried  in  an 
honourable  place  in  the  same  church, 
and  her  family  placed  an  epitaph  over 
her,  which  remained  there  when,  two 
centuries  afterwards,  the  nuns  removed 
into  a  new  convent  inside  the  city  and 
took  her  bones  with  them  among  their 
sacred  and  valued  possessions.  Bene- 
dict XIV.  mentions  her  in  his  work  on 
heroic  virtue.  Leo  XII.,  in  1827, 
sanctioned  her  immemorial  worship. 
She  appears  in  the  A. EM.  for  her  order, 
Sept.  16.    AA.SS.,  May  12.  Pio. 


St  Imma  (1),  Ama  (4),  sister  of 
Hoylda. 

St  Imma  (2)  (Immina,  Ibmina, 
Umbina,  Ymma),  8th  century.  Her 
grandfather  or  great-grandfather,  Gott- 
bert  or  Gotzbert,  was  converted  to 
Christianity  by  the  Irish  missionaries, 
SS.  Kilian,  Coloman,  and  Totman,  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  7th  century,  as  is 
told  in  their  lives.  He  and  his  son 
Hethan  or  Hettaulf — the  last  duke  of 
the  Eastern  Franks  and  father  of  Imma 
— and  many  other  members  of  the  family 
were  murdered  in  successive  risings  of 
their  subjects,  perhaps  in  consequence  of  „ 
thoir  trying  to  force  the  new  religion 
upon  them.  Imma  lived  as  a  nun  with 
some  other  pious  women  near  her  father's 
castle,  on  the  hill  afterwards  called  Old 
Wurtzburg  or  St  Mary's  Mount.  When 
St.  Burohard  came  to  Wurtzburg  as  its 
first  bishop,  she  gave  him  her  property 
and  her  residence,  and  removed  to  the 
quiet  monastery  of  Karelburg,  built  by 
St.  Gertrude  of  Neustadt,  and  there  she 
ended  her  days.  The  numerous  authori- 
ties are  given  in  my  article  Imma,  in 
Smith  and  Wace's  Dictionary  of  Christian 
Biography. 

St.  Immina,  Imma  (2). 

St  Imoge,  Image. 
•  St.  Imogene,  Image. 

St.  Impere  or  Impema,  Sept.  0, 
matron*  at  Mauprouvoir,  near  Carroux, 
in  Poitou.    Chastelain.  Guerin. 

St.  Importuna,  May  6,  M.  at  Milan 
under  Maximianus.  AA.SS. 

St.  Inansia,  Emasia. 

St.  Indica,  M.  in  Africa.   May  19 
(AA.SS.).    May  17  (Guerin). 

St  Inella.  An  Irish  nun,  supposed 
to  be  the  same  as  Dkrinella,  and  to  have 
lived  in  the  6th  century.  Lanigan  from 
Colgan. 

St  Ineria,  Hieremia  (2). 

St  Inez,  Spanish  for  Agnes. 

St  Ingardas,  Anna  (14). 

St  Ingebiorg,  Anna  (14). 

St  Ingeburg,  Aug.  26,  V.  Third 
daughter  of  St.  Brigid  of  Sweden. 
Nun  in  the  convent  of  Kisaberg.  Died 
young  and  worked  miracles.  Vastovius. 

St.  Ingeniana  or  Ingenua,  Feb.  25, 
M.  at  Thessalonica.  AA.SS. 

St  Ingenua  (l),  May  19,  M.  in  the 


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ST.  INGENUA 


cemetery  of  Calixtus,  Via  Appia,  Rome. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Ingenua  (2)  or  Ingenuus,  March 
1,  M.  at  Nicomedia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Ingenua  (3\  Ingeniana. 

St.  Ingenua  (4),  Ingknula. 

St.  Ingenua  (5),  Ingona. 

St.  Ingenula  (l)  or  Ingenua,  Jan. 
17,  M.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St  Ingenula  (2)  or  Ingenua,  Feb. 
25,  M.  with  more  than  fifty  others,  under 
the  Emperor  Decius.  AA.SS. 

St.  Ingenuus,  Ingenua  (2). 

St.  Ingigerda,  Anna  (14). 

Sti  Ingoara,  or  Ygora.  {See 
Liceria.) 

St.  Ingona  or  Ingenua,  Feb.  25,  M. 
with  several  others,  probably  in  Pam- 
phylia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Ingrid,  July  1,  13th  century. 
O.S.I).  One  of  the  patron  saints  of 
Sweden.  Born  at  Skenning,  of  a  noble 
Swedish  family,  and  married  young.  As 
a  widow,  she  set  out  on  a  pilgrimage 
accompanied  by  some  very  devout  virgins, 
to  Compostella,  Home,  and  Jerusalem. 
In  1282,  her  safe  return  to  her  country 
was  miraculously  made  known  to  the 
inhabitants,  who  collected  their  silver 
vessels,  each  according  to  his  means,  and 
humbly  offered  them  to  the  saint  that 
she  might  build,  with  the  price  of  them,' 
a  large  Dominican  convent  in  their  town, 
where  their  daughters  might  be  piously 
and  wisely  educated.  She  collected  a 
number  of  nuns  and  pupils,  to  whom  she 
set  an  example  of  obedience  and  all 
virtues.  (See  Matilda  of  Sweden.) 
Ingrid  was  canonized  by  Martin  V.  in 
1414  or  1418,  with  St.  Brynolph,  bishop 
of  Scar,  and  they  were  invoked  with  five 
other  Swedish  saints,  as  patrons  of 
Sweden,  in  the  prayer  of  the  Mass  for 
the  feast  of  St.  Nicholas,  bishop  of  Lin- 
copen.  Butler,  "  St.  Nicholas  of  Lin- 
copen  (May  9),"  quoting  Benzelius, 
Monumenta  Suevogothicse.  Helyot. 

St.  Inna,  M.  with  Pinna. 

St.  Innocentia  (l),  Sept.  16,  V.  M. 
Patron  of  Rimini,  where  she  was  born  of 
a  noble  family,  and  put  to  death  under 
Diocletian  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  If  is 
uncertain  whether  she  is  the  same  who 
is  honoured  at  Vicenza.  Sticker,  in 
AA.SS.  Cahier. 


St.  Innocentia  (2),  Aug.  10,  M. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Innocentia  (3),  Feb.  1,  V. 
+  c.  400.  Daughter  of  St.  Severus, 
bishop  of  Ravenna,  and  of  St.  Vincentia, 
his  wife.  AA.SS. 

St.  Inthwara,  Juthwara. 

St.  Intuata,  Dec.  23,  V.  M.  709. 
According  to  Du  Monstier,  Gynec&um, 
she  was  murdered  by  barbarians  in  Wales. 
Ferrarius  calls  her  Intunata  or  In- 
tunara,  and  refers  to  her  Life  by  Kobert 
Buokland. 

St.  Invelta,  April  15,  V.  Mentioned 
in  an  old  French  calendar.  Guerin. 

St.  Ioland  or  Iolanthe,  Yoland. 

St.  lone  or  Ionas,  Nov.  24,  M.  in 
Ethiopia.  Guerin. 

St.  Ionilla,  Jonilla. 

St.  Iphigenia,  Sept.  21.  1st  cen- 
tury. Daughter  of  Eglippus  and 
Euphenissa,  king  and  queen  of  Ethiopia. 
St.  Matthew  converted  and  baptized  them 
all,  as  well  as  the  other  members  of  their 
family  and  great  numbers  of  their  sub- 
jects. He  consecrated  Iphigenia  to  the 
service  of  Christ  and  gave  her  the  veil 
of  a  dedicated  virgin,  and  she  pre- 
sided over  200  nuns.  Thirty -two 
years  afterwards  the  king  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Hirtacus,  who,  to  improve 
his  position,  wished  to  marry  Iphigenia, 
and  knowing  that  St.  Matthew  had  con- 
siderable influence  with  her,  offered  him 
any  bribe  up  to  the  half  of  his  kingdom, 
to  persuade  her  to  consent.  The  apostle 
assembled  all  the  people  with  the  new 
king  and  the  princess,  and  explained  that 
marriage,  though  base  and  contemptible, 
was  not  in  itself  a  crime ;  but  that  to  take 
the  wife  of  another  was  one  of  the  worst 
of  sins,  and  that  it  was  an  infinitely 
greater  sin  to  take  a  consecrated  nun. 
No  sooner  had  the  apostle  pronounced 
these  words  than  Hirtacus  ordered  a 
soldier  to  stab  him.  The  people  were 
angry,  and  tried  to  burn  the  palace  and 
kill  the  king,  but  were  dissuaded  by  the 
Christians. 

Iphigenia  gave  all  her  wealth  to  build 
a  church  in  honour  of  St.  Matthew. 
Hirtacus  set  fire  to  the  place  where  she 
and  her  nuns  lived,  but  a  sudden  wind 
blew  the  flames  away  from  the  convent 
and  burned  the  king's  palace.  He 


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SS.  IRENE,  PELICDLA,  AND  MARCIANA 


407 


escaped  with  his  son,  but  the  son  was 
tormented  by  a  devil,  and  Hirtacus  was 
seized  with  a  dreadful  cancer  and  killed 
himself.  Behor,  brother  of  Iphigenia, 
reigned  in  his  stead. 

B.M.  Mart  of  Salisbury.  Her  story 
is  only  known  from  the  Acts  of  St. 
Matthew,  which  although  old,  are  of 
very  donbtfnl  authority.  AA.SS. 
Ordericus  Vitalis,  Hist.  Eccles. 

St.  Irais,  Iraidbs,  Herais,  Rais, 
Haissa,  or  Khais,  Sept.  22,  23,  5,  Oct.  5, 
V.  M.  e.  308.  A  nun  at  Alexandria,  or 
Antinodpolis.  She  went  out  of  her  con- 
vent to  fetch  water,  and  saw  the  prefect 
of  the  city  geting  into  a  ship  near  the 
shore,  with  a  number  of  Christians  in 
chains;  priests,  deacons,  matrons,  and 
virgins.  She  ran  to  them  and  asked  why 
they  were  in  chains.  They  said,  "  We  go 
to  martyrdom  for  the  sake  of  our  Saviour 
and  that  we  may  have  eternal  life."  She 
obtained  of  the  lictors,  permission  to  go 
with  them.  They  went  to  Antinoiis, 
where  as  they  persisted  in  their  religion, 
they  were  tortured,  and  at  last  all  be- 
headed: Irais  first  and  then  the  rest 
B.H.,  Sept.  22.  Menology  of  Basil,  Sept. 
23.  Greeco-Slav.  Calender,  Oct.  5.  AA.SS., 
Sept.  5. 

St  Iraja,  Sept.  24,  M.  with  her 
brother  Abadirus,  occurs  in  the  Coptic 
Calendar.   Perhaps  the  same  as  Irais. 

St.  Irembertana,  Bertana. 

St.  Irene  (l),  May  5  (Herena, 
Herina,  Peneloi^),  V.  M.  1st  century. 
Patron  of  Lecce  in  Calabria,  and  of 
young  girls. 

According  to  the  Menology  of  the 
Emperor  Basil,  Irene  was  the  daughter 
of  a  certain  king  named  Lucinius.  She 
was  shut  up  in  a  tower  at  the  age  of  six, 
with  thirteen  maids,  and  there  she  was 
instructed  by  the  angel  of  God,  and  soon 
afterwards  baptized  by  Timothy,  a  dis- 
ciple of  St.  Paul.  She  broke  the  idols 
her  father  had  given  her  to  worship; 
he  was  very  angry,  and  had  her  tied  to 
the  feet  of  a  wild  horse.  But,  instead 
of  hurting  her,  it  bit  off  his  hand  and 
caused  his  death;  he  was,  however, 
restored  to  life  in  answer  to  the  prayers 
of  Irene,  whereupon  he  and  his  wife 
and  3000  of  her  subjects  became 
Christians.    At  last,  Irene  was  arrested 


by  order  of  Ampelianus  the  governor, 
and,  persisting  in  the  worship  of  Christ, 
was  tortured  and  beheaded. 

The  scene  of  her  martyrdom  is  vari- 
ously said  to  be  Constantinople,  Me- 
sembria,  Callipolis  in  Thrace,  and 
Magedon,  which  probably  means  Mace- 
donia, and  is  also  called  her  birthplace. 
Henschenius  places  her  martyrdom  in 
the  1st  century.  She  is  probably  the 
same  person  who,  under  the  name  of 
Hebina,  is  made  the  heroine  of  a  legend 
placing  her  in  the  4th  century. 

She  is  the  same  as  St.  Herena  or 
Herina,  who  is  specially  worshipped  at 
Lecce  in  Calabria,  where  the  inhabitants 
imagine  her  to  be  a  native  of  their  town, 
or  to  have  fled  thither  from  the  persecu- 
tion of  Lycinius,  with  her  companion 
St.  Venera  or  Venbranda  or  Para- 
sceve  (June  26  or  28). 

In  1418,  when  Mary,  widow  of  Ladis- 
laus,  king  of  Naples,  was  living  at  Lecce, 
an  old  chapel  was  discovered  outside 
the  walls,  containing  an  image  of  the  B. 
V.  Mary,  with  SS.  Herina  and  Venera 
on  either  side,  with  burning  lamps  in 
their  hands.  No  one  used  to  resort 
there,  but  as  a  light  appeared  over  the 
roof  every  night  for  a  year,  the  Aletians 
built  a  church  there  and  called  it  Sta. 
Maria  di  Luce. 

BM.  AA.SS. 

St.  Irene  (2)  or  Irenes,  Sept.  18, 
M.  with  St.  Sophia  (12).  B.M. 

St.  Irene  (3),  June  16,  M.  under 
Mark  Anthony,  c.  213.  Canisius. 

SS.  Irene  (4),  Felicula,  and 
Marciana  or  Martiniana,  VV.,  June  5, 
about  235,  were  among  the  ten  martyrs 
commonly  called  companions  of  SS. 
Marcian  and  Nicander.  (See  Daria.) 
Whether  they  were  ten  or  twelve  in  all, 
seems  uncertain.  In  the  persecution, 
under  Galerius  Maximianus,  they  were 
tortured,  miraculously  healed  in  prison, 
and  finally  walled  up,  men  and  women 
together,  in  a  place  built  expressly  for 
them,  where  they  died  of  the  effects  of 
the  burning  sun  of  Egypt,  and  of  hunger 
and  thirst.  As  long  as  they  lived  within 
the  wall,  their  guards  were  instructed 
to  keep  telling  them,  "We  have  food 
and  water  ready.  If  you  wish  to  escape 
from  your  torments  you  have  only  to 


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408 


ST.  IRENE 


deny  your  God."  They  sang  hymns  to 
the  end  and  their  prison  was  their 
sepulchre.  AA.SS. 

St.  Irene  (5),  April  16,  M.  Contem- 
porary of  SS.  Paschal  and  Leonides. 
She  was  at  prayers  with  some  other 
Christians  in  an  oratory  in  her  own 
house  in  Greece,  when  she  was  seized 
and  brought  before  the  governor  of  the 
place.  On  being  questioned,  she  declared 
that  Christ  was  the  true  God,  the  Saviour 
of  men  and  the  destroyer  of  false  gods. 
The  governor  having  other  important 
business  on  hand,  did  not  at  once  con- 
demn her  to  death,  but  let  her  be  beaten 
and  thrown  into  prison  until  he  should 
have  time  to  attend  to  her.  Some  time 
afterwards  she  was  again  brought  before 
him,  and  after  having  her  tongue  cut 
out  and  her  teeth  drawn,  was  beheaded. 
AA.SS.,  from  Basil's  Menology. 

St.  Irene  (0).   (See  Agape  (3).) 

St.  Irene  (7),  May  5  (Erina, 
Herena),  V.  M.  Burnt  with  SS. 
Ireneus  and  Feregrinus,  at  Thessa- 
lonica,  under  Diocletian.  AA.SS. 

St.  Irene  (8),  Jan.  22  (jErena, 
Herena,  Serena,  Syrena),  +  c.  300. 
Eepresented  with  a  vase  containing 
the  blood  of  martyrs.  Widow  of  Cas- 
tulus  (March  26),  who  was  zetarus,  that 
is,  manager  of  the  dining-rooms,  in  the 
palace  of  Diocletian.  Irene  received 
and  befriended  the  persecuted  saints, 
washed  the  wounds  of  St.  Sebastian,  and 
recovered  him  when  he  had  been  shot 
with  arrows  and  left  for  dead.  AA.SS. 

St.  Irene  (9),  Feb.  21,  Dec.  11 
(Erena,  Heira,  Hirena),  V.,  4-  379,  a 
native  of  Borne  and  sister  of  St.  Damasus, 
Pope.  She  often  used  to  pray  all  night  in 
the  catacombs.  AA.SS.  Smith  and  Wace. 

B.  Irene  (10),  Salaphtha. 

St.  Irene  (11),  Oct.  20,  V.  M.  653 
(Iria,  Arem,  Aren).  Patron  of  Santarem. 
Martyr  of  chastity.  Eepresented  as  a 
nun  enceinte,  with  a  knife  or  dagger 
sticking  in  her  throat.  She  lived  in  a 
Benedictine  convent  at  Nabancia  (now 
Thomar),  with  many  holy  nuns,  two  of 
whom  were  her  aunts  Casta  and  Justa. 
They  all  used  to  go  once  a  year  to  St. 
Peter's  church,  near  the  residence  of 
Castinaldo,  the  pious  lord  of  Thomar. 
He  had  a  son,  Britald,  who  on  one  of 


these  occasions  saw  Irene  and  fell  ill  for 
love  of  her.  When  his  parents  had  vainly 
tried  every  means  to  cure  him  or  dis- 
cover the  cause  of  his  malady,  the  true 
state  of  the  case  was  divinely  revealed  to 
Irene,  who  went  and  prayed  for  him  and 
argued  with  him.  Finding  her  obdurate 
to  all  his  love-making,  he  said,  "  If  you 
ever  grant  to  another  what  you  have 
refused  to  me,  I  will  certainly  kill  you ; 
and  if  after  I  have  died  for  love  of  you, 
you  give  yourself  to  any  other  man,  a 
friend  of  mine  will  kill  you  for  my  sake." 
Irene  answered,  "Neither  for  you,  nor 
for  any  one  else  will  I  ever  be  false  to 
my  vow  of  virginity."  With  this  com- 
fort, he  had  to  be  content.  He  recovered, 
and  his  grateful  parents  built  a  larger 
house  for  the  nuns.  Two  years  after 
this,  Satan  entered  into  a  monk  named 
Kemigius,  so  that  he  entertained  a  sinful 
passion  for  Irene.  After  trying  many 
devices  to  seduce  her,  he  gave  her  a 
potion  which  caused  her  to  swell  as  if 
she  were  with  child.  When  Britald 
heard  it,  he  sent  a  soldier  to  assassinate 
her  and  throw  her  into  the  river.  The 
soldier  found  her  praying,  at  a  place  since 
called  Pego  di  Sant  Iria,  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  Nabana,  in  the  morning  twilight 
after  matins.  He  gagged  her  with  some 
of  her  clothes,  cut  her  throat,  and  threw 
her  into  the  stream.  Meantime  her 
friends  thought  she  must  have  eloped 
with  some  man,  but  her  history  was 
revealed  to  the  abbot  o&  a  monastery  far 
down  the  Tagus.  Her  body  had  floated 
down  the  Nabana  into  the  Ozechar  or 
Zezere,  and  down  that  into  the  Tagus  as 
far  as  Santarem.  When  the  venerable 
abbot  went  with  a  numerous  attendance 
to  the  bank  of  the  stream,  there  was  a 
tremendous  flood  in  the  river ;  but  when 
the  waters  subsided,  the  body  of  the  saint 
was  found  on  a  little  eminence  whence 
it  proved  impossible  to  remove  it;  so 
they  buried  her  there,  and  a  church  was 
soon  raised  over  her,  called  Sant  Iria, 
and  the  town  which  grew  up  there  is 
called  by  her  name  corrupted  into  San- 
tarem, about  thirty  miles  from  Lisbon. 
Britald  and  Kemigius  went  to  Borne  and 
did  penance.  B.M.  The  legend  is  in 
AA.SS.  and  in  Martin's  Surius.  See 
also  Murray's  Handbook  of  Portugal. 


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ST.  IRENE 


409 


St.  Irene  (12),  empress,  Aug.  7,  13, 
1 5,  +  803.  The  first  of  three  empresses 
of  the  same  name  accounted  saints. 
Called  "the  new  Athaliah"  (Bossange, 
Dictionnaire  de  la  conversation,  "Nice- 
phore  I.").  Wife  of  Leo  IV.,  emperor 
775-780.  Mother  of  Constantino  YL 
780-797.  She  was  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  characters  in  Byzantine 
history.  Tillemont  says  of  her — 
"  Jamais  femme  ne  fut  moins  digne  de 
vivre  que  cette  detestable  princesse." 

The  Emperor  Constantino  Y.  (called 
Copronymos)  had  an  idea  of  marrying 
his  son  Leo  IV.  to  Gisla,  sister  of 
Charlemagne  and  daughter  of  Pepin  the 
Short,  king  of  the  Franks ;  but  his  over- 
tures were  not  favourably  received,  and 
seeing  no  other  alliance  with  royalty 
desirable  in  every  respect,  he  looked 
around  for  a  suitable  wife  for  his  son, 
and  chose  Irene,  a  young  Athenian  lady 
of  extreme  beauty  and  great  ability.  She 
hid  her  real  inclinations  so  well  beneath 
a  mask  of  modesty  and  piety,  and  showed 
herself  so  clever  and  energetic  on  several 
critical  occasions,  that  her  father-in-law 
was  completely  charmed  with  her.  Ho 
had  her  crowned  empress,  and  looked  to 
her  to  guide  her  amiable  but  weak  hus- 
band. He  did  not  perceive  that  she  was 
more  concerned  to  grasp  all  the  power 
in  her  own  hands  than  to  use  it  well. 
She  was  fond  of  grandeur  and  display. 
If  she  had  any  of  the  good  qualities  with 
which  Constantino  credited  her,  they 
were  stifled  by  prosperity  and  wealth. 

The  iconoclastic  controversy  had  been 
distracting  the  Church  for  half  a  century, 
and  the  most  bitter  hatred  reigned  on 
either  side,  dividing  families  and  estrang- 
ing dear  friends.  Leo  and  his  father 
were  both  iconoclasts.  Irene  favoured 
the  opposite  party,  but  concealed  her 
opinions,  one  condition  of  her  elevation 
to  the  throne  being  that  she  should  swear 
never  to  tolerate  images. 

When  her  husband,  Leo  IV.,  succeeded 
his  father  in  775,  he  was  twenty-five 
years  old.  He  was  very  amiable,  and 
was  unboundedly  kind  to  his  wife  and 
her  family.  In  the  following  year  their 
son  Constantino,  then  six  years  old,  was 
crowned  with  great  state,  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Sophia. 


In  780  Leo,  who  was  as  violent  an 
iconoclast  as  his  father,  found  some 
images  in  Irene's  apartments.  He  was 
very  angry,  but  as  she  always  made 
principle  yield  to  expediency,  she  coolly 
declared  they  did  not  belong  to  her,  and 
she  knew  nothing  about  them.  Leo  did 
not  believe  her.  She  managed  to  throw 
the  blame  on  others  and  have  them 
punished,  but  she  never  succeeded  in 
clearing  herself.  Whether  in  conse- 
quence of  this  religious  dispute  or  that 
he  discovered  other  offences  and  crimes 
of  hers,  they  never  were  reconciled,  and 
she  has  been  suspected  of  poisoning  him 
for  fear  of  losing  her  position.  A  dif- 
ferent story  was,  however,  circulated  to 
account  for  his  death.  Leo,  who  had 
Asiatic  blood,  had  a  passion  for  jewels, 
incomprehensible  to  the  western  mind. 
Being  often  at  services  in  the  great 
Church  of  St.  Sophia,  he  admired  and 
coveted  a  splendid  jewelled  crown  which 
was  suspended  over  the  altar.  He  ordered 
it  to  be  taken  down,  placed  it  on  his  own 
head,  and  carried  it  to  his  palace.  No 
sooner  had  he  arrived  there  than  pesti- 
lential tumours  burst  out  round  his  fore- 
head, an  attack  of  fever  came  on,  and  he 
died  the  same  day,  having  lived  thirty 
years  and  reigned  five. 

Irene  now  reigned  for  her  son  Constan- 
tino VI.,  who  was  ten  years  old.  She  had 
a  difficult  part  to  play,  but  "  no  one  was 
ever  endowed  with  greater  talents  for 
removing  opposition  and  conciliating 
personal  support  than  she."  She  took 
the  side  of  image-worship,  both  from  in- 
clination and  policy,  but  did  not  openly 
declare  her  sentiments  at  first  because 
all  the  chief  offices  were  filled  by  mem- 
bers of  the  iconoclastic  party:  the 
favour  of  the  army  had  to  be  secured. 

Leo's  death  and  the  regency  of  a 
woman  gave  an  opportunity  to  his  five 
half-brothers  to  break  the  oath  of  allegi- 
ance they  had  made  some  years  before, 
to  the  young  emperor  on  his  coronation. 
Irene  quickly  and  cleverly  quashed  their 
plot,  and  compelled  them,  as  the  price 
of  their  lives,  to  enter  the  priesthood. 
She  and  her  son  at  the  same  time  restored 
the  treasures  taken  from  the  Church  by 
the  iconoclastic  emperors. 

In  781,  thinking  the  help  of  tho 


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ST.  IRENE 


Western  empire  might  be  useful,  she 
negotiated  a  marriage  between  her  son 
and  Rotrude,  daughter  of  Charlemagne 
and  St.  Hildkqard.  The  young  princess 
died  before  she  was  grown  up,  but  it  is 
generally  supposed  that  Irene  broke  off 
the  engagement  lest  she  should  lose 
power  over  her  son.  Her  conduct  re- 
garding his  marriage  to  Mary  of  Paphla- 
gonia  and  then  to  Theophano  was 
thoroughly  selfish. 

She  terminated  the  iconoclastic  heresy 
by  procuring,  with  the  help  of  Pope 
Adrian  L,  that  a  council  should  be  held 
in  787.  The  president  was  Tarasius,  a 
creature  of  Irene,  raised  by  her  to  the 
patriarchate  of  Constantinople.  It  is 
called  the  Second  Nicene  Council.  It 
condemned  as  heretical  the  council  of 
Constantinople  of  754.  Neither  of  these 
could  be  called  oecumenical,  as  many  of 
the  chief  patriarchates  were  unrepre- 
sented. Two  monks  of  Palestine 
attended,  and  assumed  the  names  of 
two  of  the  patriarchs.  Western  bishops 
to  the  number  of  350  were  present; 
they  ruled  for  image-worship.  Present 
at  this  council  were  two  historians: 
Nicephorus,  afterwards  patriarch  of 
Constantinople,  who  wrote  the  history 
of  the  empire  from  602  to  770,  and 
George  Syncellus. 

Irene  brought  the  relics  of  St. 
Euphemia  from  Lemnos  to  Constanti- 
nople, and  placed  them  in  a  church  she 
had  built  to  receive  them. 

Meantime  Constantino  was  growing 
up.  He  was  much  less  capable  of  govern- 
ing than  his  mother.  He  was  married 
by  her  to  a  woman  he  did  not  like,  so 
that  courtiers,  who  might  have  some- 
thing to  gain  by  a  revolution,  easily 
worked  upon  his  discontent  and  incited 
him  to  rebel  against  the  empress  regent. 
Irene,  without  much  trouble,  defeated 
the  plot,  punished  the  conspirators  with 
considerable  severity,  flogged  the  em- 
peror, and  kept  him  for  some  time  locked 
up  in  his  rooms  like  a  child  in  disgrace. 
She  attempted  to  exact  from  the  com- 
manders of  the  army  a  promise  never 
during  her  life  to  call  her  son  emperor, 
but  her  unworthy  treatment  of  him  gave 
general  offence;  she  was  compelled  to 
let  him  reign,  but  worked  on  his  stu- 


pidity to  make  him  act  ungratefully  to 
his  best  friends,  and  thus  estrange  his 
partisans.  He  was  a  good  enough  soldier, 
but  was  no  general  and  no  statesman ; 
his  temper  was  naturally  fickle,  and  his 
education  had  been  shamefully  neglected. 
He  had  fallen  in  love  with  Theophano, 
one  of  his  mother's  ladies-in-waiting, 
and  Irene,  for  her  own  ends,  encouraged 
the  intrigue,  and  influenced  his  wife  to 
submit  to  a  divorce  and  become  a  nun, 
that  he  might  marry  Theophano ;  where- 
upon divorce  became  fashionable.  His 
indolence  and  his  affection  for  his  mother 
gradually  let  the  power  slip  back  into 
her  hands. 

The  Eastern  empire  was  declining. 
Irene  had  Charlemagne,  with  his  heroic 
Franks,  for  an  enemy  and  rival  on  one 
hand,  and  Haroun  al  Raschid,  with  his 
Mohammedans,  on  the  other;  the  des- 
perate Bulgarian  warriors  were  a  per- 
petual danger.  The  superiority  of  the 
Byzantine  navy,  with  its  dread  inextin- 
guishable Greek  fire,  alone  saved  the 
capital  from  the  hands  of  the  Saracens ; 
but  notwithstanding  all  the  defeats  and 
losses  she  sustained,  all  the  disadvan- 
tageous treaties  she  was  driven  to  make, 
and  all  the  blunders  of  her  son,  Irene 
ruled  with  great  energy  and  ability. 
Her  insatiable  love  of  mastery  could  not, 
however,  be  content  with  a  divided 
throne.  In  797,  she  plotted  against  her 
son.  He  escaped,  and  if  he  had  had  a 
particle  of  his  mother's  ability,  he  might 
have  kept  his  crown  and  reduced  her  to 
a  private  station  ;  but  he  acted  as  if  he 
was  bent  on  making  himself  unpopular, 
persecuting  the  most  esteemed  of  the 
clergy  because  they  had  opposed  his 
marriage,  blinding  and  scourging  his 
benefactors ;  and  as  the  quarrel  dragged 
on,  and  Irene  was  not  without  fears  that 
even  her  best  servants  might  go  over  to 
his  party,  she  threatened  them  that  if 
they  did  not  immediately  bring  him  to 
her  a  prisoner,  she  would  make  peace 
with  him  and  accuse  them  to  him,  and 
that  he  would  forgive  her  but  would 
relentlessly  punish  her  tools.  They 
knew  she  would  act  as  she  said,  so 
making  a  great  effort,  they  captured  the 
unfortunate  young  man  and  brought  him 
to  his  mother  in  the  purple  chamber 


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ST.  IRENE 


411 


where  he  was  born,  and  there  she  at  onoe 
had  his  eyes  pnt  out :  a  punishment  to 
which  he  had  condemned  his  own  uncles 
a  year  before,  for  an  unsuccessful  plot 
While  undergoing  this  torture,  he  cursed 
his  mother.  Then  for  seventeen  days 
the  clouds  were  so  thick  and  dark  that 
mariners  lost  their  way  and  ships  went 
out  of  their  course.  This  darkness  cul- 
minated in  an  eclipse  of  the  sun. 
According  to  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek 
and  Roman  Biography,  which  is  accounted 
a  great  authority,  he  died  the  same  day ; 
but  Lebean  and  Finlay  say  that  he 
recovered,  and  became  accustomed  to  his 
blindness,  and  survived  his  mother. 

She  now  had  her  wish,  and  reigned 
alone  for  five  years,  in  great  pomp  and 
splendour.  She  made  peace  with  her 
enemies  and  made  favour  with  the  clergy. 
She  bethought  her  of  her  crimes,  and 
sought  to  atone  for  them  by  abundant 
almsgiving;  she  established  charities 
for  the  poor,  for  the  old,  for  pilgrims 
and  strangers.  She  lightened  the  taxes, 
which  were  most  oppressive,  and  were 
reducing  great  numbers  of  her  subjects 
to  beggary. 

In  800,  having  no  open  rival  or  enemy, 
she  lost  some  degree  of  her  interest  in 
affairs,  and  the  power  fell  into  the  hands 
of  iEtius,  her  favourite  minister.  He 
left  no  stone  unturned  to  procure  the 
empire  for  his  brother  Leo.  Proud  of 
his  power,  insulting  the  great,  trampling 
on  the  weak,  he  drew  more  hatred  on  his 
empress  than  on  himself. 

Seven  eunuchs,  all  occupying  im- 
portant posts,  conspired  to  dethrone 
Irene  and  set  up  Nicephorus,  a  man  of 
Arabian  blood  who  had  previously  been 
suspected  of  disloyalty,  but  whom  Irene 
despised  too  much  to  fear.  She  was  at 
this  time  ill,  and  in  the  seclusion  of  the 
palace  of  Eleutheria  she  did  not  know 
all  that  was  going  on.  Late  one  night 
the  conspirators  presented  themselves  at 
the  great  brazen  gates  of  the  palace,  and 
persuaded  the  guards  that  the  empress, 
to  rid  herself  of  JEtius,  who  was  trying 
to  compel  her  to  leave  the  crown  to  his 
brother,  had  chosen  Nicephorus  for  her 
successor.  The  guards  saluted  Nice- 
phorus as  emperor,  and  his  partisans  had 
him  proclaimed  through  the  streets. 


Next  morning,  the  aged  patriarch  Tara- 
sios,  trembling  at  the  point  of  many 
swords,  crowned  the  usurper.  Nice- 
phorus then  visited  the  empress,  whom 
he  had  kept  a  prisoner  in  her  palace, 
and  protested  that  he  had  been  forced  to 
accept  the  empire.  He  showed  her  that 
he  wore  plain  clothes,  said  that  he  hated 
pomp  and  state,  and  pronounced  a  strong 
invective  against  riches  and  avarice. 
Irene  saw  that  her  cause  was  lost.  She 
owned  she  had  never  been  worthy  of  the 
crown,  and  that  now  God  had  taken  it 
from  her.  He  promised  to  leave  her  the 
palace  of  Eleutheria  on  condition  of  her 
giving  up  all  her  treasure ;  but  as  soon 
as  he  had  it  safely  in  his  grip,  he  sent 
her  to  a  monastery  she  had  built  on  the 
Prince's  Island.  This  was  early  in 
November,  802,  and  before  the  month 
was  out,  he  shipped  her  off  in  stormy 
weather  to  Mitylene  or  Lesbos,  where 
she  was  allowed  to  see  none  of  her 
friends,  and  was  left  so  poor  and  forlorn 
that  she  had  to  spin  for  a  scanty  liveli- 
hood. Here  she  died  on  Aug.  9  in  the 
following  year,  803,  being  about  fifty 
years  old. 

The  people  who  in  her  life  had  called 
her  a  new  Athaliah,  but  whom  ten 
months  of  Nicephorus  had  taught  to 
regret  her,  after  her  death  declared  her 
a  saint,  and  the  title  was  confirmed  to 
her  by  that  party  in  the  Church  which 
triumphed  through  her  restoration  of 
image-worship.  Lebeau  says  the  Greeks 
must  have  been  deeply  convinced  of  her 
penitence  to  place  her  among  their  saints. 
He  says  her  day  is  Aug.  15. 

Grseco-Slav.  Calendar.  Lebeau,  Bas 
Empire.  Finlay,  Byzantium.  Biittiger, 
Weltfjeschichte  in  Biographien.  Smith's 
Dictionary  of  Qreelc  and  Roman  An- 
tiquities. Smith  and  Wace,  Die.  En- 
cyclopedia Metrop.  HerSsies  Iconoclastes. 
Repertoire  des  connaissances. 

St.  Irene  (13),  July  28,  V.  Abbess. 
+  c.  846,  after  the  conclusion  of  the 
iconoclastic  persecution  and  war.  The 
Empress  St.  Theodora  was  guardian  to 
her  son,  the  Emperor  Michael  III.  (842- 
867),  then  a  child.  She  chose  St.  Irene 
as  a  suitable  wife  for  him,  but  Irene  pre- 
ferred to  become  the  spouse  of  Christ, 
and  was  eventually  abbess  of  the  convent 


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412 


ST.  IRENE 


of  Chrysobalant  at  Constantinople.  She 
was  eminent  in  sanctity,  wrought 
miracles,  and  had  the  gift  of  prophecy. 
Pinius,  AA.SS.,  gives  her  life  from  an 
anonymous  Greek  writer,  with  a  Latin 
translation,  but  points  to  some  dis- 
crepancies in  the  story,  which  throw 
doubt  on  its  truth.  St  Irene  is,  how- 
ever, worshipped  in  the  Greek  Church. 
She  was  a  native  of  Cappadocia. 

St  Irene  (14),  Anna  (14). 

St.  Irene  (15),  the  second  of  three 
sainted  empresses  of  the  same  name, 
all  honoured  Aug.  13.  Daughter  of 
Andronio  Ducas.  Granddaughter  of  the 
C»sar  John  Ducas,  who,  although  a 
monk,  was  one  of  the  most  powerful 
persons  in  Constantinople.  Her  mother 
was  a  daughter  of  the  King  of  Bulgaria. 

Irene  was  born  about  1067,  and 
married  1077,  as  his  second  wife,  Alexis 
Comnenus,  emperor  1081-1118.  He 
began  his  reign  by  a  public  penance  of 
forty  days  for  all  the  misery  and  evil 
brought  on  Constantinople  and  its  in- 
habitants by  the  soldiery  through  whom 
he  had  taken  the  city  and  the  crown ; 
and  he  showed  great  zeal  for  the  con- 
version of  the  heathen.  His  mother, 
Anna  Dalassena,  was  a  good  and  capable 
woman  and  a  great  help  to  him,  both  in 
worldly  and  spiritual  matters. 

Irene's  peace,  if  not  her  life,  was 
threatened  by  the  ambition  of  the  dowager 
empress,  Mary,  who  considered  herself 
the  widow  of  the  last  two  emperors, 
Michael  III.  (Parapinaoe)  and  Nice- 
phorus  III.  (Botaniates),  although  they 
were  both  still  alive  ;  she  had  only 
married  their  crown,  and  to  remain  em- 
press she  would  have  married  Alexis. 
She  was  still  beautiful  and  she  still 
lived  in  the  palace ;  but  the  Cfesar,  John 
Ducas,  who  had  often  befriended  her, 
succeeded  in  prevailing  on  her  to  leave 
the  palace  voluntarily. 

The  eldest  child  of  Alexis  and  Irene 
was  Anna  Comnena,  famous  for  her 
history  of  this  reign  and  of  the  visit  of 
the  Crusaders  of  Western  Europe  to  Con- 
stantinople. Her  tomb  is  still  shown  in 
the  Church  of  St.  Sophia.  From  Theo- 
dora, the  youngest  daughter  of  Alexis 
and  Irene,  descended  the  family  of 
Angelus,  who  reigned  at  Constantinople 


after  the  Comneni.  Alexis  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1118,  by  his  son  John,  who 
married  the  Hungarian  princess,  Pyriska, 
the  third  sainted  Empress  Irene. 

The  only  stain  upon  the  memory  of 
Irene,  the  wife  of  Alexis,  is  her  hatred 
to  her  son  John  and  her  efforts  to  deprive 
him  of  the  succession,  in  favour  of  her 
son-in-law  Nioephorus  Bryennius,  the 
husband  of  Anna.  Having  often  vainly 
tried  to  influence  her  husband  in  accord- 
ance with  her  own  wishes  on  this  subject, 
Irene  worried  him  in  his  last  moments 
by  begging  him  to  leave  the  crown  to 
Bryennius.  He  answered,  "  Leave  me 
with  God.  I  am  seeking  His  pardon  for 
my  crimes ;  worldly  affairs  are  nothing 
to  me  now."  The  empress,  in  despair, 
exclaimed,  "  You  die  as  you  have  lived, 
always  full  of  subterfuge." 

After  the  death  of  Alexis,  on  the  failure 
of  the  plot  to  place  Bryennius  and  Anna 
on  the  throne,  John  generously  forgave  his 
sister,  and  Irene  expressed  great  affection 
for  her  son  and  indignation  against  all 
his  enemies.  She  retired  from  court  and 
took  the  veil,  and  with  it  the  name  of 
Xene,  in  a  monastery  she  had  founded. 
The  rule  she  drew  up  for  the  nuns  is 
still  extant. 

The  historians  of  the  Crusades  give  a 
very  unfavourable  picture  of  the  character 
of  Alexis.  His  daughter  Anna  credits 
him  with  every  virtue. 

Lebeau,  Bos  Empire,  bk.  lxxxiv.  Stad- 
ler,  Heiligen  Lexikon.  Cousin,  Histoire 
de  Constantinople,  "  Nicetas." 

Sir  Walter  Scott's  novel,  Count  Robert 
of  Paris,  introduces  the  reader  to  the 
court  of  Alexis  at  the  time  of  the  passage 
through  Constantinople  of  Bohemond, 
Tancred,  and  the  famous  heroes  of  the 
Crusade,  with  the  incongruities  and 
misunderstandings  between  the  two  sets 
of  Christians.  All  modern  writers  on 
this  reign  draw  largely  upon  Anna 
Comnena. 

St.  Irene  (16)  of  Hungary,  Aug.  7, 
9,  13,  +  1124.  The  third  sainted  em- 
press of  the  name,  called  in  her  own 
country  Pyriska,  which  the  Greeks, 
according  to  their  custom,  changed  on 
receiving  her  into  their  Church  and 
nation.  She  was  the  daughter  of  St. 
Ladi8laus  or  Lasto  I.,  king  of  Hungary, 


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ST.  IRMINA 


413 


1077  or  1080  to  about  1095,  a  great 
conqueror,  and  possessed  of  every  virtue. 
Irene,  who  was  cousin-german  to  Colo- 
man,  then  reigning  in  Hungary,  married 
in  1104,  Kalo-John,  son  of  the  Emperor 
Comnenu8  and  St.  Irene  (15)  ;  he 
became  emperor  in  1118  and  reigned 
till  1143.  He  was  an  ugly  little  man, 
ironically  called  Beautiful  John.  They 
had  four  sons  and  three  daughters :  the 
youngest  son,  Manuel,  succeeded  to  the 
throne.  The  late  years  of  Irene's  life  were 
saddened  by  a  war  between  the  empire  and 
the  kingdom  of  Hungary.  Her  kinsman, 
Bela,  a  claimant  of  the  crown  of  Hungary, 
having  been  blinded  by  his  successful 
rival  Stephen,  took  refuge  at  the  court 
of  Constantinople  ;  Stephen  complained, 
and  J ohn  refused  to  send  away  his  guest : 
a  quarrel  ensued  and  grew  to  a  bloody 
war.  Irene  showed,  on  the  throne,  that 
contempt  for  luxury  and  pleasure  which 
she  had  learnt  from  her  saintly  father. 
Whatever  her  husband  gave  her  she 
spent,  not  on  herself  or  her  children, 
but  on  the  poor  and  the  Church.  She 
built  a  church  and  monastery  for  men, 
and  dedicated  it  to  the  Paniocratar,  the 
all-powerful  God ;  and  there,  by  her  own 
wish,  she  was  buried  in  1124.  The  three 
days  on  which  she  is  commemorated  are 
anniversaries  of  translations  of  her  relics. 
AA.SS.  Le  Beau,  Bas  Empire,  bk. 
lxxxvi.    Stadler,  Lexicon. 

St.  Iriaise  or  Triaise,  V.,  Aug.  16,  a 
recluse  veiled  by  St.  Hilary  at  Poitiers. 
Martin. 

Irmentrudis,  Ermendrude. 

B.  Irmgard  (1)  or  Irmgert,  Feb.  7. 
In  the  time  of  St.  Henry,  emperor  1002- 
1024  (husband  of  St.  Cunigund).  B. 
Irmgard  lived  with  her  sister  Alwred, 
in  the  round  church  at  Magdeburg  in 
Saxony.  Irmgard  became  blind  a  short 
time  before  her  death,  but  her  spiritual 
eyes  were  so  much  the  more  delighted  in 
contemplating  heavenly  things.  Dithmar, 
bishop  of  Merseburg,  her  contemporary, 
testifies  her  sanctity.  The  ecclesiastical 
records  of  the  place  having  been  destroyed 
at  the  reformation,  the  Bollandists  could 
not  satisfy  themselves  whether  Irmgard 
and  Alwred  ought  to  be  publicly 
venerated  or  not.  AAJ3S. 

B.  or  St.  Irmgard  (2),  Sept  4,  V. 


Countess  of  Zutphen.  Probably  end  of 
1 1th  or  beginning  of  1 2th  century.  Cahier 
calls  her  niece  of  the  Emperor  Henry  III. 
(1039-1056).  Represented  kneeling  before 
a  crucifix,  which  is  saying  to  her, "  Bene- 
dicta  sis,  filia  mea  Irmgardis"  Daughter 
of  a  count  of  Zutphen.  She  made  three 
pilgrimages  to  Borne.  The  first  time 
she  was  there,  the  Pope  requested  her 
to  bring  him  some  relics  of  the  11,000 
virgins  of  Cologne.  She  accordingly 
procured  some  of  their  bones  and  some 
of  the  earth  in  which  they  were  buried, 
and  carried  them  to  Borne  in  a  box, 
which  she  presented  to  the  Pope.  When 
he  opened  the  box,  he  found  instead  of 
earth  and  dry  bones,  blood  as  fresh  as  if 
it  had  been  shed  that  very  day  by  the 
holy  virgins.  She  returned  to  Cologne, 
taking  with  her  part  of  the  head  of  St. 
Silvester.  On  her  third  visit  to  Borne, 
she  went  to  the  basilica  of  St.  Paul,  where 
she  saw  a  full-length  statue  of  Christ 
hanging  on  the  cross.  He  spoke  to  her 
and  sent  a  message  of  greeting  by  her  to 
a  crucifix  exactly  similar  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Peter  at  Cologne.  She  promised 
to  deliver  the  message  and  asked  His 
blessing ;  He  unfastened  His  right  hand 
from  the  cross  to  bless  her.  She 
executed  the  commission,  and  the  crucifix 
thanked  her.  She  spent  the  remainder 
of  her  life  in  tending  the  sick  and  poor 
in  a  hospice  at  Hachtport  or  Hachtpfork, 
near  Cologne,  where  she  died. 

Suysken,  who  translates  the  legend 
from  the  German  into  Latin,  adds  in  a 
note  that  he  could  believe  in  the  blessing 
given  her  by  the  image,  but  not  in  com- 
pliments sent  by  one  crucifix  to  another. 
He  thinks  this  incident  must  be  invented 
by  her  anonymous  biographer.  He  adds 
that  the  German  legend  is  of  no  authority. 
All  that  is  known  is  that  she  was  a 
Countess  of  Zutphen,  buried  at  Cologne 
in  the  Church  of  the  Three  Kings,  and 
worshipped  there  in  the  15th  century 
with  ringing  of  bells  and  miracles  of 
healing. 

AA.SS.  Cratepol,  De  ep.  germanise. 
Cahier. 

St.  Irmina  (1),  Oct.  6,  Jan.  23, 
March  7,  Dec.  24,  7th  or  8th  century 
(Ermina,  Hirmina),  founder  and  abbess 
of  HorreB  and  joint  founder  of  Epternac. 


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414 


ST.  IRMINA 


Patron  saint  of  Treves.  ^Represented 
(1)  with  two  angels  above  her  head 
carrying  her  soul  to  heaven  ;  (2)  with  a 
church  in  her  hand  as  a  founder.  Said 
to  he  daughter  of  Dagobert  II.  (674- 
679)  and  sister  of  St.  Adela  (2);  and 
sometimes,  with  still  less  likelihood,  called 
daughter  of  Dagobert  I.  (628-6381  She 
is  perhaps  the  same  person  called  St. 
Primina,  daughter  of  Dagobert  and  sister 
of  St.  Modesta. 

In  her  youth  she  was  betrothed  and 
much  attached  to  Count  Hermann,  but  just 
before  the  wedding  day,  Edgar,  one  of 
his  attendants,  who  admired  Irmina  and 
could  not  bear  that  his  master  should 
have  her,  called  him  out  of  the  town  on 
pretence  that  there  was  a  merchant  wait- 
ing there  with  beautiful  jewels  which 
Hermann  might  buy  and  present  to 
Irmina.  The  traitor  led  him  across  the 
Mosel  to  the  top  of  a  rock,  and  then 
holding  him  firmly,  jumped  over  the 
precipice.  Both  were  killed  and  the 
bodies  were  found  a  few  days  afterwards. 
Irmina  was  much  grieved.  When  her 
father,  to  comfort  her,  said  he  would 
find  her  a  richer  and  nobler  husband, 
she  said,  "I  will  have  a  husband  not 
only  richer  and  nobler,  but  the  richest 
and  noblest, — the  Lord  of  all  lords." 
The  king  approved  her  decision  and 
built  her  the  great  monastery  of  Horres, 
called  also  CEren,  or  Ste.  Marie  aux 
Greniers,  at  Treves,  which  was  dedicated 
by  St  Modoald,  bishop  of  Treves.  She 
lived  there  as  abbess,  a  pattern  of  all 
virtues.  Through  her  liberality  and 
that  of  Pepin,  mayor  of  the  palace,  St. 
Willibrord  of  Northumberland,  bishop 
of  Utrecht,  was  enabled  to  found  the 
abbey  of  Epternac  in  Luxemburg.  She 
was  succeeded  as  abbess  by  St.  Modesta. 
R.M.  AA.SS.  Cahier.  Butler,  "St. 
Willibrord."  Le  Mire,  Fasti  Belgici. 
Guenebault.  Lechner  gives  the  date  of 
her  death  as  720. 

St.  Irmina  (2),  Imma. 

St.  Isabel  (1 ),  Aug.  31,  Sept.  1, 0.S.F. 
1225-1270. 

Isabelle  de  Valois,  princess  of  France. 
Daughter  of  Louis  VIII.,  king  of  France, 
and  B.  Blanche  of  Castile,  his  wife. 
The  only  sister  of  seven  brothers,  all 
older  than  herself,  the  eldest  of  whom 


was  Louis  IX,  king  and  saint.  When 
she  was  about  nineteen,  the  Emperor 
Frederick  II.  proposed  to  marry  her  to 
his  son  Conrad.  All  her  family  and  all 
France  favoured  the  marriage,  and  so 
did  all  Germany  and  the  Pope,  Inno- 
cent IV.  Isabel,  however,  had  already 
determined  on  a  religious  and  celibate 
life,  and  lived  at  her  brother's  court  the 
life  of  a  nun.  The  Pope,  on  hearing  her 
decision,  wrote  to  congratulate  and  en- 
courage her.  She  spent  her  dowry  in 
building  the  Franciscan  convent  of  Long- 
champs,  at  Boulogne,  near  Paris,  dedi- 
cated to  the  Humility  of  the  V.  Mary, 
1260,  and  after  her  mother's  death  she 
took  up  her  residence  there,  but  never 
took  the  veil,  and  was  only  dressed  in 
the  habit  of  the  order  after  her  death. 
The  nuns  of  this  convent  were  the  first 
Urbanists,  or  mitigated  Clares  {see 
Clara  (2)) ;  that  is  to  say,  that,  finding 
the  rule  of  St.  Francis  too  severe,  they 
obtained  from  Pope  Urban  IV.  a  mitiga- 
tion of  their  extreme  asceticism.  The 
convent  of  Longchamps  also  had  a  dis- 
pensation from  the  rule  of  poverty  to 
enable  them  to  hold  the  lands  and  rents 
presented  to  them  by  their  founder. 
Their  successors,  more  than  200  years 
afterwards,  obtained  her  beatification 
from  Leo  X.  (1513-1522).  Urban 
VIII.  (1623-1644)  permitted  her  body 
to  be  taken  up  and  exposed  for  public 
veneration.  Her  Life  was  written  by 
Agnes  de  Harcourt,  one  of  her  maids  of 
honour,  and  afterwards  abbess  of  Long- 
champs,  who  records  that  she  had  mag- 
nificent hair,  and  that  one  day  she  asked 
her  maids  what  was  the  use  of  keeping 
(as  she  saw  they  did)  all  that  came  out 
when  they  were  brushing  and  combing 
it.  They  said  they  were  preserving 
these  hairs  to  serve  as  relics  when  she 
should  be  a  saint.  She  used  to  say, 
"  Les  premices  appartiennent  a  Dieu  " — 
"  The  firstfruits  belong  to  God."  One 
day  her  brother  St.  Louis  saw  her  finish- 
ing a  cap  of  her  own  spinning,  and  asked 
her  to  give  it  to  him  for  a  night-cap, 
saying  he  would  value  it  highly  as  the 
work  of  her  hands.  She  replied  that  she 
must  give  it  to  Jesus  Christ  as  it  was 
the  first  work  of  that  sort  she  had  made. 
The  king  then  asked  her  to  make  another 


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ST.  ISABEL 


415 


for  him,  and  she  promised  him  the  next 
she  made,  and  sent  the  first  to  a  poor 
sick  woman.  Two  of  her  ladies  of  the 
hon6e  of  Montfort,  who  heard  the  con- 
versation between  the  two  saints,  went 
and  bought  the  cap  for  a  large  sum  from 
the  woman.  They  kept  it  as  long  as 
they  lived,  and  after  their  death  it  was 
given  to  the  nuns  of  St.  Antony,  who 
preserved  it  as  a  relic. 

Miracles  having  occurred  at  her  tomb, 
numbers  of  pilgrims  flocked  to  the  shrine 
of  Notre  Dame  du  Lac  de  Boulogne. 
Some  charities  established  by  Isabelle 
brought  together  a  large  assemblage  and 
gave  rise  to  disorder ;  instead  of  pilgrims, 
young  noblemen  went  to  visit  the  nuns, 
and  scandals  caused  the  resort  to  Bou- 
logne to  go  out  of  fashion.  Then  sacred 
concerts  were  instituted  during  Holy 
Week,  the  nuns  sang,  concealed  from 
sight ;  the  church  was  beautifully  deco- 
rated with  flowers.  All  the  fashion  of 
Paris  resorted  to  the  concerts,  the  ladies 
appearing  for  the  first  time  in  their  new 
spring  costumes  there.  But  new  scandals 
arose;  the  church  became  a  place  of 
appointments,  not  at  all  spiritual  or 
proper,  and  the  concerts  were  suppressed 
by  the  bishop,  but  the  promenade  to 
Longchamps  in  Holy  Week  continued 
until  the  devolution.  On  the  site  of  the 
Abbey  of  Loogchamps  dow  stands  the 
residence  of  Baron  de  Rothschild. 
A.R.M.,  Romano  Seraphic  Mart.  Baillet. 
Butler.  Chronica  Serafica,  vol.  iv.  White- 
hurst,  Court  and  Social  Life  under 
Napoleon  III. 

St.  Isabel  (2),  July  8,  0, 1 1 .  Queen 
of  Portugal,  b.  1271,  +  1336.  Called 
Isabel  de  Paz,  the  Mother  of  Peace, 
Mother  of  her  country;  in  Latin  and 
German,  Elisabeth.  In  a  letter  pre- 
served by  Cardoso  she  signs  her  name 
Ilisabet. 

Youngest  child  of  Peter  III.,  king  of 
Aragon  (1276-1285);  her  mother  was 
Constance  of  Sicily,  granddaughter  of 
the  emperor,  Frederick  IL  Isabel  was 
born  during  the  life  of  her  grandfather 
James  the  Conqueror,  king  of  Aragon 
(1213-1276),  whose  wife  was  Violante  of 
Hungary,  half-sister  of  St.  Elisabeth 
(11),  landgravine  of  Hess  and  Thuringia. 
Isabel  was  born   at  Saragossa.  Her 


wonderful  gift  of  peace-making  began 
with  her  life  or  perhaps  with  her  christen- 
ing, which  placed  her  under  the  special 
patronage  of  her  sainted  great-aunt 
Elizabeth;  for  before  her  birth,  her 
father,  the  Infante  Pedro,  was  not  on 
speaking  terms  with  his  father.  King 
Jayme,  however,  took  a  great  fancy  to 
his  little  granddaughter  and  made  np 
his  quarrel. 

In  1282,  when  scarcely  eleven  years 
old,  she  was  married  to  Dom  Diniz  or 
Denis,  king  of  Portugal  (1279-1325), 
sumamed  the  husbandman.  She  had  a 
son,  Alfonso,  who  succeeded  his  father ; 
and  a  daughter,  Constance,  who  in  1301 
married  Ferdinand  IV.,  king  of  Castile 
(1295-1312). 

Diniz  had  a  great  admiration  and  re- 
gard for  her,  but  he  was  by  no  means  a 
pattern  husband;  and  her  self-effacing, 
peace-loving  disposition  was  never  more 
conspicuous  than  in  her  toleration  of  his 
infidelities  and  her  kindness  to  his  ille- 
gitimate children.  She  was  rewarded 
for  her  patience  and  forbearance  by  the 
entire  restoration  of  his  affection  and 
confidence.  It  was  soon  observed  in  hor 
own  and  other  countries  that  Ood  had 
given  her  a  special  gift  of  peace-making, 
and  princes  from  all  parts  of  Europe 
referred  their  differences  to  her.  Soon 
after  her  arrival  at  her  husband's  court, 
he  quarrelled  with  his  brother  Alfonso. 
Isabel,  who  had  hardly  emerged  from 
childhood,  besought  the  bishops  and  the 
king's  counsellors  to  bring  the  brothers 
to  an  agreement,  and  as  the  dispute  turned 
upon  the  division  of  their  property,  she 
voluntarily  gave  up  part  of  her  own 
settlement  and  persuaded  the  king  to 
give  bis  brother  the  income  he  demanded. 

Isabel's  brother,  James,  king  of  Ara- 
gon, went  to  war  with  her  son-in-law, 
Ferdinand,  king  of  Castile,  for  the  pos- 
session of  some  lands  they  had  taken 
from  the  Moors.  She  prevailed  on  them 
to  meet  her  and  her  husband  at  Turiaso, 
where  their  kingdoms  touched,  in  July, 
1304.  They  came  there  with  their 
queens,  so  that  it  was  a  family  gathering. 
Isabel  met  her  relations  so  affectionately 
that  they  were  all  delighted  to  take  her 
view  of  circumstances,  and  all  agreed  to 
accept  the  friendly  arbitration  of  Denis. 


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B.  ISABEL  LUISA 


Some  years  afterwards,  a  still  more  pain- 
ful dilemma  called  for  her  intervention  ; 
her  son  rebelled  against  his  father,  and 
although  the  king  was  angry  with  the 
queen  for  her  interference,  she  succeeded 
in  arranging  a  meeting  between  the  father 
and  son,  when  Don  Alfonso  apologized 
to  his  father,  was  forgiven,  and  his  in- 
come restored  to  him.  The  trouble 
between  them,  however,  broke  out  again, 
and  the  king  rode  out  of  Lisbon  to  meet 
his  son  and  forbid  him  to  enter  the  city. 
Their  attendants,  always  ready  for  a 
fight,  were  soon  engaged  in  a  life-and- 
death  struggle.  The  queen  heard  of  it, 
and  instantly  set  off  at  the  best  speed  of 
her  mule,  and  rode  into  the  middle  of 
the  battle,  regardless  of  the  stones  and 
arrows  flying  about  her.  She  made  her 
way  first  to  the  king  and  then  to  the 
infante,  and  as  each  was  unwilling  to 
make  the  first  advance,  she  returned  to 
where  the  battle  was  thickest,  and  begged 
the  soldiers  to  desist.  They  obeyed,  for 
she  had  always  been  a  great  favourite 
with  all  classes,  and  when  they  laid 
down  their  arms,  Alfonso  advanced  to 
kiss  his  father's  hands,  and  peace  was 
restored. 

After  her  husband's  death,  1325, 
Isabel  assumed  the  dress  of  a  Franciscan 
nun  and  built  a  convent  of  that  order, 
at  Coimbra;  but  never  took  the  vows, 
although  she  spent  her  time  as  much  as 
possible  in  devotion.  At  sixty-four,  she 
made  a  pilgrimage  on  foot  to  the  tomb 
of  St.  James  at  Compostella,  begging  all 
the  way  like  a  poor  pilgrim.  Many 
more  incidents  of  her  piety  and  charity 
are  recorded  in  her  life  and  in  the 
history  of  Portugal.  One  more  work  of 
peace-making  was  reserved  to  crown  her 
closing  life.  Her  son,  Alfonso,  now 
King  of  Portugal,  quarrelled  with  his 
nephew,  her  grandson,  Alfonso,  king  of 
Castile.  She  recognized  that  it  was  the 
call  of  duty  to  leave  her  calm  retreat, 
among  the  nuns,  to  exercise  once  more 
the  wonderful  gift  she  had  received  from 
God.  It  was  the  middle  of  summer,  and 
her  attendants  represented  to  her  that 
the  heat  and  fatigue  would  be  dangerous 
at  her  age ;  but  she  set  out  for  Estremoz, 
where  she  met  her  son.  She  had  no 
sooner  given  her  injunctions  and  re- 


ceived the  promise  she  desired  than  she 
sank  under  the  fatigues  she  had  sustained, 
and  died  as  she  was  born,  in  the  exercise 
of  her  glorious  mission  of  peace,  July  4, 
1336.  Notwithstanding  the  excessive 
heat  that  prevailed  during  the  seven 
days  that  the  funeral  train  was  on  the 
journey  back  to  Coimbra,  the  body  of 
the  saint  remained  fresh  and  supple  and 
the  signs  of  youth  and  health  returned 
to  her  face.  She  was  soon  recognized 
as  a  saint  in  Portugal ;  but  nearly  two 
centuries  elapsed  before  she  was  canon- 
ized and  worshipped  throughout  the 
Church. 

Schiller's  poem,  Der  Gang  mach  dent 
Eisenhammer,  is  founded  on  an  incident 
in  the  life  of  Isabel.  The  story  told  of 
St.  Elizabeth  of  Hess  and  of  some  other 
saints,  is  related  also  of  this  queen; 
namely,  that  the  king  insisted  on  seeing 
what  she  was  carrying  to  the  poor  in  her 
robe,  and  found  it  full  of  roses,  although 
it  was  mid-winter. 

One  of  her  many  charitable  institutions 
was  the  foundling  hospital  at  Santarem ; 
the  building  was  begun  by  a  good  bishop, 
but  before  it  was  completed,  he  found 
himself  at  the  point  of  death  and  begged 
the  queen,  for  the  love  of  God,  to  take  it 
under  her  care  and  carry  out  his  benevo- 
lent scheme;  which  she  did  with 
hearty  goodwill  and  great  judgment. 
B.M.  AA.SS.  Cardoso,  Agiologio  Lu&i- 
tano,  iv.  41.  She  is  commemorated  by 
tho  Cistercians  July  11,  by  the  Benedic- 
tines July  9,  by  the  Franciscans  July  8. 
A.R.M. 

B.  Isabel  (3)  Luisa  of  Aveiro, 
O.S.D.  +  1542.  One  of  the  first  nuns 
of  the  Dominican  convent  of  Jesus,  at 
Aveiro  in  Portugal,  where  she  lived  in 
great  sanctity  and  asceticism  for  eighty 
years  after  her  profession.  At  the 
moment  of  her  death,  thirty  nuns  who 
were  present  heard  joyful  melodies 
being  played  on  organs.  They  were 
angry  that  any  one  should  play  in  the 
convent  while  they  were  grieving  for  so 
sad  a  loss,  but  when  they  went  to  the 
choir  and  found  it  empty,  they  under- 
stood that  they  had  heard  the  angels 
rejoicing  to  receive  the  soul  of  Mother 
Isabel  Luisa.  This  happened  at  the  end 
of  June,  1542,  on  the  festival  of  the 


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417 


10,000  martyrs,  to  whom  she  had  a 
special  devotion.  Lopez,  Historia  general 
de  Sancto  Domingo  y  de  su  orderly  book  3, 
part  3,  chap.  11. 

B.  Isabel  (4)  de  Soto  Mayor,  16th 
century.  Daughter  of  the  Count  of 
Benalcacar.  Called  in  religion,  Isabel 
de  la  Puebla.  Nun  in  the  Convent  of 
St.  Clara  de  Benalcacar,  called  the  Con- 
vent of  the  Column,  because  they  had  a 
piece  of  the  pillar  to  which  the  Lord 
was  tied  when  He  was  scourged.  Daca, 
bk  iii.  chap.  77. 

St.  Isabel  (5)  Flores,  Rose  of 
Lima. 

B.  Isabel  (0)  Fernandez,  Sept.  10. 
M.  in  Japan,  1(322.  She  and  her  husband, 
Domenic  Jorge  or  Giorgi,  had  St.  Charles 
Spinola  living  in  their  house,  and  he  was 
god-father  to  their  son  Ignatius,  whom 
he  taught  and  baptized.  Isabel  was  only 
twenty-one  when,  in  1619,  Domenic  was 
put  to  death  for  harbouring  a  Christian 
and  adopting  his  faith.  Three  years 
afterwards,  Isabel  and  her  little  Ignatius 
were  condemned  to  be  beheaded.  When 
they  came  into  the  place  of  execution, 
Isabel  saluted  with  her  handkerchief  in 
the  Japanese  manner,  and  Father  Spinola, 
who  was  standing  at  the  stake  where  he 
was  to  be  burned,  did  not  see  the  child, 
and  fearing  he  might  be  lost  to  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ  when  deprived  of  his 
parents  and  pastors,  called  out,  "  Where 
is  my  Ignazietto?"  "Here  with  me," 
she  answered,  holding  up  the  child  in 
her  arms  that  the  venerable  apostle 
might  see  and  bless  him,  "I  havo 
brought  him  to  be  a  martyr,  to  die  for 
his  God  before  he  can  speak,  and  to 
serve  Him  before  he  can  offend  Him." 
Isabel  knelt  down  with  her  son  in  her 
arms  and  both  were  beheaded.  By  one 
account,  the  child  was  beheaded  in  his 
mother's  arms,  at  the  third  blow;  by 
another,  she  was  decapitated  first,  and 
when  he  saw  her  head  roll  off,  he  bared 
his  own  neck  for  the  sword  (Analecta 
Juris  Pontificii,  9me.  serie).  The  bodies 
of  all  the  decapitated  martyrs  were  left  on 
the  ground  and  the  heads  were  placed  on 
a  long  table  opposite  the  missionaries. 
The  pictures  preserved  represent  these 
arrangements.  There  is,  at  the  church 
called  the  Gosu,  in  Borne,  a  picture  done 


at  Manilla  about  this  time,  which  agrees 
exactly  with  the  account.    (See  Lucy 

DE  FBEITA8.) 

Other  SS.  Isabel.  (See  Elisabeth). 
In  Latin  and  German,  Isabel  is  called 
Elisabeth;  in  Spanish,  Elisabeth  is 
called  Isabel. 

St.  Isbergue  or  Isbubg,  Ida- 
berg  (3). 

St.  Isiberga,  Idabebo  (3). 

St.  Isidora  (1),  M.,  April  17,  mother 
of  St.  Thecla  (11)  and  sister  of  St. 
Neophyta.  Tortured  and  martyred  at 
Lentini  in  Sicily.  Thecla  sent  money  by 
Alexander,  son  of  Neophyta,  to  obtain  the 
bodies  of  these  two  saints  and  their 
fellow-martyrs,  whom  she  buried,  and 
after  the  death  of  Tertullus,  the  governor, 
built  a  church  on  the  spot,  called  that  of 
the  Twenty  Holy  Martyrs.  AA.SS. 

St.  Isidora  (2),  V.,  May  1.  There 
was  once  a  double  monastery  on  an  island 
in  the  Nile,  called  Tabenna,  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  Thebaid,  near  Syene.  It 
was  inhabited  by  four  hundred  nuns, 
amongst  whom  was  one  who  appeared  to 
the  whole  community  to  be  an  idiot  and 
possessed  of  a  devil;  so  much  so  that 
they  would  not  have  her  to  sit  at  table 
with  them.  She  did  all  the  kitchen 
work,  and  instead  of  the  hood  that  all 
the  others  wore,  she  had  a  common  cloth 
twisted  about  her  head.  She  never  was 
seen  to  sit  down  to  eat,  none  of  her  sisters 
ever  gave  her  a  piece  of  bread,  she  lived 
on  the  crumbs  and  scraps  that  she  got 
while  she  was  cleaning  out  the  plates 
and  dishes,  she  never  talked  or  grumbled, 
although  some  of  the  nuns  treated  her 
with  rudeness  and  made  her  the  subject 
of  practical  jokes.  One  threw  the  re- 
mains of  her  food  at  her,  another  put 
mustard  in  her  nose,  and  so  on.  When 
this  had  gone  on  for  a  long  time,  an 
angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to  St.  Fyo- 
terius,  a  holy  hermit  living  in  the  desert, 
and  said  to  him,  "  Go  to  the  monastery 
of  Tabenna,  and  you  will  see  one  of  the 
nuns  wearing  a  crown  on  her  head,  and 
you  will  know  that  she  is  the  best ;  com- 
pared with  her  patience  under  trials  you 
will  have  a  very  poor  opinion  of  your 
own  asceticism."  He  went,  and  induced 
the  chiefs  of  the  brothers  to  get  him 
admitted  into  the  house  of  the  women. 

2  E 


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ST.  ISNANDUL 


They  immediately  did  so,  knowing  him 
to  be  a  very  saintly  old  man.  He  re- 
quested to  see  all  the  nuns,  and  when  he 
had  seen  them,  he  said,  "  There  is  some- 
thing I  have  not  seen  yet.  Bring  me  all 
the  nuns."  They  said,  "We  have  one 
who  is  mad;  she  lives  in  the  kitchen, 
and  is  possessed."  He  said,  "  Bring  her 
to  me,  however."  They  called  her,  bnt 
she  did  not  hear  or  would  not  answer, 
and  at  last  they  went  and  said  to  her, 
"  St.  Pyoterius  wants  to  see  yon."  When 
he  saw  her,  with  the  kitchen  cloth  round 
her  head,  he  threw  himself  at  her  feet 
and  begged  her  to  bless  him.  She  then 
kneeled  before  him,  and  said,  "Bless 
thou  me,  Father."  All  the  nuns  were 
surprised,  and  said,  "Do  not  undergo 
such  humiliation,  Father:  she  is  mad." 
He  answered,  "  You  are  mad  to  despise 
her ;  she  is  your  superior  and  mine,  and 
I  pray  that  I  may  be  worthy  to  receive 
her  blessing."  Then  they  all  fell  at  his 
and  her  feet,  and  each  confessed  the  in- 
dignities of  which  she  had  been  guilty 
towards  Isidora.  Then  the  old  man 
offered  up  prayers  for  the  whole  com- 
munity, and  went  away.  A  few  days 
afterwards,  poor  Isidora,  being  distressed 
by  the  confessions  and  apologies  of  her 
sisters,  and  the  honour  they  now  insisted 
on  showing  her,  fled  from  the  monastery, 
and  was  never  heard  of  more.  St.  Basil, 
the  bishop,  told  the  story.  AA.SS.,  from 
IAvcb  of  the  Fathers  by  Kosweide,  and 
other  authorities.  Palladius,  Lausiaca, 
calls  the  nun  Amma,  and  the  hermit 
Pitirum. 

St.  Isnandul,  Snandulia. 

St.  Iste,  Ida,  mother  of  St.  Ger- 
trude. 

St.  Ita  (1),  Jan.  15,  c.  480-570, 
abbess  (Ida,  Ide,  Idea,  Ite,  Itha, 
Ithees,  Itta,  Mida,  Mita,  Ystia,  Ytha, 
Sithe,  Derthrea,  Deidre,  Deirdre, 
Dorothea,  Dorothy).  In  Irish  the 
letters  d  and  t  were  convertible,  the 
sound  thick  between  the  two,  which 
accounts  for  the  appearance  of  the  th ; 
m  or  mo,  literally  my,  denotes  endear- 
ment or  veneration  lor  the  person  to 
whose  name  it  is  prefixed  :  Mita,  my  own 
Ita ;  Ita  means  thirst  (Sc.  Gaelic  Iotadh), 
and  denotes  the  thirst  this  saint  had  for 
Divine  love.    Sithe  is  probably  a  cor- 


ruption of  St.  I  the.  Derthrea,  or  Deidre, 
was  her  original  name,  of  which  others 
are  merely  variations;  her  biographers 
have  rendered  it  in  Latin  as  Dorothea. 

St.  Ita  ranks  next  to  St.  Brioid  (2) 
amongst  Irish  women  saints.  She  is 
patron  of  Camello  in  Limerick;  but 
Eilita,  the  cell  or  church  of  Ita,  is  the 
name  by  which  the  site  of  her  monastery 
is  now  known,  and  is  of  itself  sufficient 
to  commemorate  her.  As  Deirdre  she 
is  probably  patron  of  women  called  Der- 
der,  a  name  which  occurs  in  mediaeval 
Scottish  records. 

Ita  was  born  at  Nandesi,  now  called 
Dessee,  a  barony  in  Waterford.  Daughter 
of  Kennfoelad,  who  was  descended  from 
Felim,  the  law-giver  monarch  of  Ireland 
(111-119).  Ita  lived  eight  generations 
later.  It  is  supposed  that  her  father 
and  her  mother,  Necta  or  Neacht,  were 
Christians,  and  that  Ita  was  baptized  in 
infancy.  Even  in  early  childhood  she 
was  remarkable  for  holiness,  and  miracles 
showed  that  she  was  destined  to  become 
a  great  saint. 

One  day  when  the  little  girl  was  left 
sleeping  alone,  the  room  appeared  to  her 
parents  and  the  servants  to  be  in  a  blaze, 
but  when  they  rushed  in  to  rescue  the 
child,  they  found  her  sleeping  peacefully. 
Seeing  no  trace  of  fire,  but  that  the  radi- 
ance proceeded  from  a  supernatural  light, 
they  understood  that  it  was  an  image 
of  the  fire  of  holiness  in  the  infant's 
soul. 

The  maiden  grew  up  beautiful,  and  a 
young  noble  asked  her  in  marriage. 
Kennfoelad  accepted  his  offer,  but  Ita 
refused,  and  said  she  wished  to  serve 
God  in  the  monastic  life.  Her  father 
was  extremely  angry  when  he  heard  this, 
swore  he  would  never  consent  to  it,  and 
tried  to  force  her  to  marry.  Ita,  how- 
ever, gained  her  mother  over  to  her  view 
of  the  matter,  but  bade  her  not  thwart 
her  husband  openly,  saying,  "Never 
mind,  some  day  he  will  command  me  to 
go  to  serve  Christ  where  I  choose."  Ita 
soon  afterwards  observed  a  rigorous  fast 
for  three  days  and  three  nights,  praying 
in  faith  almost  incessantly  the  whole 
time.  She  was  beset  with  temptations 
of  the  devil  until  the  third  night,  when 
the  evil  one  departed  from  her.    At  the 


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same  time  an  angel  appeared  in  a  vision 
to  her  father,  and  said,  "  Why  prevent 
Ita  from  taking  the  veil  and  going  where 
she  pleases  ?  She  shall  serve  God  in  a 
distant  part  of  Ireland  and  be  the  patron 
saint  of  the  people  who  dwell  there,  and 
an  advocate  for  many  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment." 

Eennfoelad  accordingly  urged  his 
daughter  to  take  the  veil ;  which  she 
did  that  very  day  in  a  church  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Nan  Desi.  She  was 
directed  by  an  angel  to  go  to  Cluain 
Credhnil  ni  Hy  Conail,  now  called 
Kileedy  or  Kilita,  near  Newcastle,  in 
Limerick.  There  she  was  joined  by 
many  women  who  shared  her  holy  pur- 
pose, so  that  in  a  few  years  she  was  at 
the  head  of  a  large  community  of  nuns. 
The  prince  of  Hy  Conail  offered  her  a 
large  tract  of  land  round  the  monastery, 
but  she  would  only  accept  four  acres  to 
be  cultivated  as  a  vegetable  garden.  The 
prince  then  declared  that  the  monastery 
would  be  more  richly  endowed  after  the 
death  of  the  founder  than  during  her  lifo. 
That  might  well  be,  for  Ita  rejected  all 
valuable  gifts  and  would  never  touch 
money. 

Beoan  or  Bevan,  a  warrior  as  well  as 
an  artificer  in  wood  and  stone,  was  obliged 
to  flee  from  his  own  country  of  Cen- 
naught:  Colgan  says  he  was  killed  in 
battle  and  raised  to  life  by  St.  Ita.  He 
came  to  Hy  Conail,  and  while  living 
there  made  some  additions  to  St.  Ita's 
monastery.  She  had  a  beautiful  young 
sister  Nessa,  who  had  joined  her  with 
the  intention  of  becoming  a  nun,  but  Ita 
persuaded  her  to  marry  Bevan,  and  gave 
him  an  estate.  In  answer  to  the  prayers 
of  St.  Ita,  this  marriage  was  blessed  with 
a  saintly  son,  Mochoemoc  or  Pulcherius, 
whom  she  brought  up.  At  twenty  she 
sent  him  to  Bangor.  After  some  years' 
training  there,  he  returned  to  Minister 
and  founded  the  monastery  of  Liathmore 
in  King's  County. 

The  Abbess  Ita  assisted  the  poor  by 
finding  work  for  them,  especially  by  em- 
ploying them  in  the  building  of  her 
monastery.  It  was  probably  as  a  work 
of  charity  in  the  first  instance  that  she 
employed  the  exile  Bevan  to  make 
additions  to  it. 


Besides  St.  Nessa,  Ita  had  another 
sister  whom  she  educated ;  her  name  was 

FlNA. 

But  especially  did  she  devote  much 
care  and  time  to  the  instruction  of  the 
young  Brendan  of  Clonfert,  called  the 
Navigator  because  he  made  a  seven 
years'  voyage  in  search  of  the  earthly 
Paradise.  She  brought  him  up  from  the 
time  he  was  one  year  old  until  he  was 
six.  It  is  supposed  they  were  relations, 
in  any  case  there  was  great  friendship 
between  them.  He  consulted  Ita  on 
points  of  duty,  and  once  she  advised  him 
to  go  to  Brittany,  as  a  penance,  for  having 
involuntarily  helped  to.  cause  the  death 
of  a  person  who  was  drowned  at  sea. 
Some  authorities  say  the  little  Brendan 
was  brought  up  in  the  nunnery,  but 
according  to  others,  Ita's  part  in  his 
training  was  before  she  took  the  veil, 
certainly  before  she  became  Abbess  of 
Cluain  Credhuil ;  it  is  this  which 
throws  back  the  date  of  her  birth  so  early 
as  480.  Brendan  was  brother  of  St, 
Briga  (4),  and  died  577. 

Ita  had  so  great  a  reputation  for 
wisdom  as  well  as  holiness  that  persons 
often  went  to  her  for  advice  on  matters 
of  difficulty.  Among  those  who  visited 
her  were  an  abbess  and  some  nuns  who 
came  from  a  neighbouring  monastery  to 
refer  a  difficult  question  to  her  decision. 
The  saint  became  aware  of  their  approach 
by  supernatural  means,  possibly  by 
second  sight,  and  so  prepared  baths  and 
a  feast  for  them.  As  soon  as  the  visitors 
arrived,  all  the  sisters  exchanged  the 
kiss  of  peace  with  the  Abbess  Ita,  except 
one.  She  hesitated  on  account  of  being 
suspected  of  theft.  She  was  quite  inno- 
cent, but  as  yet  had  not  been  able  to  clear 
herself.  Ita,  however,  held  out  her 
hands  to  the  poor  nun,  saying,  "Come 
and  kiss  me,  for  I  know  you  are  not  the 
guilty  one."  All  the  guests  wondered 
at  Ita's  knowing  anything  of  the  affair, 
and  concluded  that  as  she  knew  so  much  * 
she  would  be  able  to  tell  them  who  really 
was  the  thief,  and  besought  her  to  do  so. 
The  prompt  answer  was,  "  She  who  is  in 
penance  for  another  fault  has  also  done 
this,"  directing  them  where  to  find  the 
stolen  article,  and  foretelling  the  per- 
dition of  the  unworthy  nun.    She  soon 


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ST.  ITA 


afterwards  abandoned  the  religions  life, 
and  discarded  the  habit. 

Once  when  St.  Ita  prayed  that  she 
might  receive  the  Holy  Communion  from 
the  hands  of  a  worthy  priest,  she  was 
instantaneously  led  by  an  angel  to 
Clonmacnoise,  a  great  distance  from  her 
own  monastery,  and  there  received  the 
Sacrament  from  a  very  good  and  vener- 
able man.  The  priest  and  his  assistants 
were  not  aware  of  her  presence,  and  did 
not  know  what  had  become  of  the  sacred 
elements  until  it  was  revealed  to  them 
by  an  angel,  nor  did  any  one  miss  the 
abbess  from  her  place  at  home.  When 
the  holy  man  discovered  what  had  hap- 
pened, he  and  some  of  his  fellow  monks 
took  the  long  journey  to  Cluain  Credhuil 
to  receive  Ita's  blessing.  By  some 
accident  one  of  these  monks  became  blind 
on  the  way,  but  they  all  trusted  that  his 
sight  would  be  restored  by  St.  Ita,  which 
happened  accordingly.  She  requested 
the  aged  priest  from  whom  she  had 
received  the  Sacrament  at  Clonmacnoise 
to  say  Mass  before  her.  Afterwards  she 
ordered  her  nuns  to  present  him  with  the 
vestments  he  had  worn  in  her  church, 
and  which  were  made  by  her  and  the 
sisters.  However,  he  declined  the  gift, 
on  the  plea  that  their  abbot  Eneas,  or 
Angus,  had  forbidden  them  to  receive 
any  present  from  Ita  but  her  prayers  and 
blessing.  Her  answer  was,  "Tell  him 
that  when  he  visited  the  monastery  of 
the  holy  virgin  Chinreacha  Dercain  she 
washed  his  feet  and  I  helped  to  dry  them 
with  a  linen  towel,  then  he  will  not  be 
angry,  but  will  do  me  the  favour  to 
accept  my  gift."  So  they  took  the  vest- 
ments with  tho  abbess's  blessing  and 
returned  home.  When  Eneas  was  told 
of  the  circumstance  he  remembered  it, 
was  satisfied,  and  accepted  the  present. 
(See  Kaibbcha.) 

On  the  death  of  Ita's  uncle  in  tho  Nan 
Desi  country,  she  sent  for  his  eight  sons, 
♦and  told  them  that  their  father  was 
suffering  in  the  other  world  for  his  sins 
in  this ;  she  enjoined  that  each  of  them 
should  daily  give  bread  with  meat  or 
butter  to  the  poor,  and  also  lights,  in 
order  to  gain  repose  for  their  father's 
soul.  After  two  years  of  this,  Ita  told 
her  cousins  that  their  father  was  now 


released  from  his  great  sufferings,  but 
was  without  clothing,  because  in  his 
lifetime  he  had  given  no  clothes  to  the 
poor  in  Christ's  name.  So  they  gave 
alms  in  clothing  during  one  year,  and 
then  Ita  told  them  that  their  father 
enjoyed  rest,  through  their  alms  and  her 
prayers,  but  especially  through  God's 
mercy,  and  after  giving  her  eight  cousins 
a  strong  warning  not  to  lose  their  souls, 
through  covetousness  or  love  of  the 
world,  the  abbess  blessed  them  and 
parted  from  them. 

About  546  or  551,  St.  Ita  obtained  by 
her  prayers,  a  victory  for  the  Hy  Conail 
Sept  among  whom  she  dwelt,  over  an 
enemy  from  West  Munster,  who  had  a 
force  far  more  numerous  than  their  own. 

This  great  saint  is  held  in  deep  venera- 
tion, not  only  for  her  own  holiness,  but 
on  account  of  the  vast  influence  for  good 
she  exercised  on  so  many  others. 
Amongst  those  whom  she  taught  in  their 
youth  were  many  holy  women  besides 
St.  Nessa  and  St.  Fina.  She  was  the 
intimate  friend  of  St.  Cumine,  bishop  of 
Clonfert,  of  the  Abbot  St.  Congan 
(Feb.  27),  of  St.  Luchtigern  (April  28) 
and  St.  Susrean  (Oct.  25).  The  virtues 
and  miracles  of  St.  Ita  are  told  in  the 
lives  of  several  Irish  saints  of  her  time 
(see  St.  Eethna)  ;  many  of  them  are 
cures  of  blindness  and  diseases  of  the 
eyes.  The  Decies  saints  of  her  family 
are  numerous,  and  are  given  in  Colgan's 
appendix  to  her  life,  but  a  more  ancient 
life  of  Ita  than  his  own  was  known  to 
Colgan,  and  was  believed  to  have  been 
written  during  the  lifetime  of  Pulcherius. 
St.  Ita  died  Jan.  15,  569,  of  a  painful 
disease.  She  has  been  constantly  vene- 
rated at  Eileedy,  otherwise  Kilita  or 
Kilardy,  and  throughout  Hy  Conail. 
Her  well  may  still  be  seen  in  the  burial- 
ground  of  Kileedy,  a  little  to  the  north 
of  Ballagh  Gortnadhy  mountains.  Her 
church  has  unfortunately  been  in  some 
measure  modernized;  but  a  portion  of 
the  nave  is  in  the  ancient  Irish  style, 
and  may  well  be  part  of  the  original 
church  built  by  St.  Ita.  She  is  also 
venerated  at  Rosmiden,  her  native  place 
in  the  Decies  country,  and  at  Kilmide, 
in  the  barony  of  upper  Camello  in  county 
Limerick.    The  Protestant  Church  of 


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Kilmeedy  is  believed  to  be  on  the  site 
of  part  of  the  old  graveyard,  but  no 
remains  of  the  ancient  church  are  visible. 
Iddesleigh  in  Devon  and  the  neigh- 
bouring village  of  Meeth  are  supposed 
to  take  their  name  from  this  saint.  Ide 
is  there  pronounced  Eede.  A  very 
ancient  Life  of  the  saint,  published  by 
Bollandus  in  AA.SS.  O'Hanlon. 
Lanigan,  ii.  21.  Britannia  Sancta. 
Butler. 

St.  Ita  (2),  Ia  (3). 

St.  Italica  (1),  June  27,  M.  at 
Cordova.  AA.SS.  St.  Jerome's  Martyr- 
ology. 

St.  Italica  (2),  June  30,  M.  in  Africa. 
AA.8S. 

St.  Italica  (3),  Aug.  24,  M.  at 
Antioch.  AA.SS. 

St.  Itha,  sometimes  Ia,  sometimes 
Ida,  sometimes  Ita. 

St.  Ithelgeofu,  Elfleda. 

St.  Itisberga  or  Itisbubg,  Ida- 

BEBO  (3). 

St.  Itta  (1),  Ida,  Ita. 

St.  Itta  (2),  Jutta. 

St.  Itty,  Ida,  Ita. 

St.  Iva  or  Ives,  Ia  (3). 

B.  Ivetta,  Iveta,  Jutta,  Juette,  or 
Zuette,  Jan.  13,  1228.  Widow  and  re- 
cluse. Represented  surrounded  by  poor 
people,  in  consideration  of  her  special 
devotion  to  lepers.  She  was  of  a  good 
bourgeois  family  of  Huy  near  Leyden ; 
young,  pretty,  and  rich.  She  was  married 
against  her  will,  and  always  hated 
married  life  more  and  more ;  she  fretted 
and  lost  her  health,  and  wished  for  her 
husband's  death.  God  took  pity  on  her 
and  turned  her  heart  to  the  love  of  Him- 
self and  pursuit  of  virtue.  Five  years 
after  the  marriage  her  husband  died, 
leaving  her  with  two  children.  She 
lived  in  the  town  for  five  years  as  a 
widow,  bringing  up  her  two  sons.  She 
gave  a  great  deal  to  the  poor  and  always 
received  pilgrims  hospitably.  Then  she 
went  to  serve  the  lepers  at  a  house  out- 
side the  walls,  on  the  Meuse,  where  there 
was  a  chapel  in  which  the  Eucharist  was 
given  to  the  lepers  sometimes,  but  very 


rarely.  She  wished  she  was  a  leper 
because  she  was  distressed  that  people 
came  from  all  directions  to  visit  her  on 
account  of  the  fame  of  her  holiness  and 
charity.  She  procured  the  conversion 
of  her  father,  by  her  prayers  and  her 
good  works.  He  became  a  monk,  and 
afterwards  left  the  monastery  and  had  a 
cell  built  for  himself  in  the  church  where 
she  and  the  lepers  were,  and  there  he 
died  piously.  Then,  giving  up  the  office 
of  Martha,  which  she  had  held  towards 
the  lepers  for  ten  years,  she  turned  to 
that  of  Mary,  which  is  the  best.  She 
betook  herself  to  the  cell  that  she  had 
helped  her  father  to  build,  and  had  her- 
self walled  up  in  it ;  and  there,  the  devil, 
seeing  that  her  face  was  as  though  she 
would  go  to  Jerusalem,  brought  against 
her  the  whole  host  of  Amalek  and  bade 
her  remember  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt, 
but  she  was  assisted  by  the  Virgin 
Mabt. 

Her  elder  son  became  a  Cistercian 
monk  and  abbot  of  Orval  in  Luxemburg ; 
the  younger  was  wicked  and  dissolute, 
but  in  consequence  of  the  prayers  of  his 
pious  mother,  he  was  converted.  Many 
other  instances  of  her  good  influence  on 
individuals  who  knew  her  are  recorded 
in  her  Life,  also  her  prophecies,  tempta- 
tions, and  miracles.  Once  she  ardently 
desired  to  receive  the  Holy  Communion, 
and  begged  the  priest  to  give  it  to  her. 
He  refused,  and  she  fell  asleep,  and  the 
Apostle  St.  John  appeared  to  her  and 
gave  her  the  Holy  Sacrament.  She  told 
this  to  her  confessor,  who  only  revealed 
it  after  her  death.  She  died  in  her  cell 
close  to  the  Lazaret  at  Huy. 

AA.SS.,  from  a  contemporary  Life  by 
a  monk  who  knew  her  well.  Cahier, 
Ermite.  Collins,  Cistercian  Legends. 
Menard.  Henriquez. 

St.  I wy,  Ewe,  or  Eve,  a  Cornish  saint, 
perhaps  same  as  Ia  (3).  Eckenstein. 
Baring-Gould. 

B.  Izdislava,  V.,  O.S.D.,  of  thV 
family  of  the  Barons  of  Berkensium, 
gave  money  to  build  a  Dominican  mon- 
astery.   Le  Mire,  Bebus  Bohemicis. 


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ST.  JA 


St.  Ja,  Aug.  4  (Ia,  Ie\  M.  c.  360. 
One  of  a  band  of  Roman  captives  brought 
from  a  place  on  the  frontier  which  Sapor, 
king  of  Persia,  had  conquered  from  the 
Romans.  After  a  year's  imprisonment 
and  other  torments,  St.  Ja  was  con- 
demned to  death  by  the  chief  magicians 
because  she  had  converted  their  wives 
to  Christianity,  which  they  thought  she 
must  have  done  by  magic.  She  was 
bound  with  cords  until  her  bones  creaked 
and  cracked,  then  scourged  nearly  to 
death,  and  finally  beheaded,  giving 
thanks  to  the  last.  There  was  an  old 
church  of  St.  Ja  at  Constantinople  in  the 
time  of  J ustinian,  who  rebuilt  it.  AA.SS. , 
from  a  Greek  MS.  in  the  Vatican  Library. 
Men.  Basil    Tillemont,  Hist.  Eccl. 

St.  Jabhthena  or  Gabtina,  July  11, 
an  Irish  V.  AA.SS.,  Preeter.  Mart,  of 
Tallaght. 

St.  Jadwidz,  Hedwig. 

St  Jaegra,  Nov.  15,  V.  M.  at  Toledo. 
Her  story  will  be  given  by  the  Bollandists 
in  AA.SS.  when  they  come  to  her  day. 

St.  Jamnica,  Gamnite.   (See  Blan- 

DINA.) 

St.  Jane  (1),  Joanna,  wife  of  Chuza. 
B.  Jane  (2),  Jan.  16,  Feb.  12,  May  1. 
V.  of  Bagno,  in  Tuscany,  +  1105. 
Giovanna  of  Fonte  Chiusi  was  first  a 
lay-sister  and  then  a  nun  in  the  Carnal- 
dolese  convent  of  St.  Lucy  at  Bagno,  a 
place  of  resort  for  medicinal  waters.  At 
her  death,  all  the  bells  in  the  town  rang 
without  human  interference.  Some  time 
afterwards  a  pestilence  was  arrested  by 
her  intercession,  and  in  gratitude  the 
people  set  up  an  altar  to  her  honour  in 
their  church.  Her  convent  was  after- 
wards called  by  her  name — Santa 
Giovanna.  A.B.M.,  Feb.  12.  Bollandus, 
AA.SS.,  gives  a  life  of  her  by  Razzi  and 
another  by  Ferrarius.  Bucelinus. 

•  B.  Jane  (3)  Spirinx,  Dec.  4.  Lay- 
sister  at  Beaupre,  near  Mont  Gerard,  in 
Belgium.  Her  parents,  who  were  of  the 
noble  class,  made  some  difficulty  about 
letting  her  become  a  nun,  and  among 
other  stipulations  bargained  that  she 
should  do  no  dirty  work ;  but  she  chose 
to  make  herself  the  lowest  of  the  nuns 


and  to  help  in  cleaning  out  the  stable. 
After  her  death,  one  of  her  sisters  had  a 
vision  in  which  she  saw  Jeanne  clothed 
in  brilliant  light  on  account  of  her 
humility.  The  sister  superior  asked  her 
to  open  her  hand.  She  declined  because 
she  held  in  it  a  jewel  of  such  splendour 
that  it  would  instantly  blind  any  mortal. 
She  told  them  it  had  been  given  to  her 
for  the  menial  work  which  she  had 
willingly  done.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Jane  (4),  May  9,  Aug.  4,  2.  End 
of  12th  century.  Juana  de  Aza,  some- 
times called  Juana  Guzman,  was  the 
mother  of  the  great  St.  Dominic,  founder 
of  the  Order  of  Preachers.  She  and  her 
husband  were  of  noble  Spanish  families. 
He  is  generally  said  to  have  been  a 
Guzman,  but  this  is  denied.  The  birth 
of  her  third  and  most  famous  son  was 
foretold  as  follows:  Late  in  the  year 
1169,  Juana,  who  was  very  pious  and 
saintly,  was  making  a  novena  in  the 
monastery  of  St.  Domingo  de  Sylos  (4- 
1153),  near  Calaruega  in  Old  Castile. 
On  the  seventh  night  of  the  novena,  as 
she  was  watching  in  the  sepulchre  of  the 
holy  monk,  he  appeared  to  her  and  told  her 
God  would  give  her  a  son.  From  thence- 
forth she  became  more  devout  than  ever. 
Some  months  before  the  birth  of  this 
child,  she  dreamt  that  she  brought  forth 
a  dog,  carrying  in  his  mouth  a  burning 
torch  which  set  the  world  on  fire.  St. 
Dominic  (in  Spanish,  Domingo)  was 
born  at  Calaruega,  1170,  and  called  by 
the  name  of  his  patron  saint,  Dominic 
de  Sylos,  whose  fame  is  lost  in  that  of 
the  son  of  Juana.  She  was  buried  in 
the  convent  of  San  Pedro  de  Gumiel, 
until  about  1350,  when  the  Infant  Don 
Juan  Emanuel,  moved  by  the  virtues  of 
this  servant  of  God,  his  relation  by 
blood,  procured  the  solemn  translation 
of  her  relics,  carrying  the  bier  on  his 
shoulder  from  Gumiel  to  the  Dominican 
convent  of  Fenafiel,  where  a  chapel  was 
built  in  her  honour,  and  where  she  still 
receives  public  veneration.  In  1828, 
Ferdinand  VII.  of  Spain — heir  of  the 
devotion  of  his  ancestors  towards  their 
blessed  relative — entreated  the  holy  see 


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to  approve  the  immemorial  worship  of 
the  B.  Juana  de  Aza;  which  was  con- 
firmed by  the  Congregation  of  Kites  the 
following  year.  She  is  called  "Saint" 
by  the  Dominicans. 

A.  B.M.,  Ang.  2.  Hernando  del  Cas- 
tillo, Hist.  Qen.  de  S.  Domingo.  Hurter, 
iii.  chap.  25.  Butler.  Diario  di  Roma, 
1828. 

B.  Jane  (5),  Dec.  5,  countess  of 
Flanders,  +  1244.  Daughter  of  Coun 
Baldwin,  who  became  Emperor  of  the 
East.  She  married  (1)  Ferdinand,  son 
of  King  Sancho  of  Portugal ;  (2)  Thomas, 
brother  of  the  Count  of  Savoy.  She 
ruled  the  county  of  Flanders  very  wisely 
and  benevolently.  She  built  the  Cister- 
cian convent  of  Marquette.  With  her 
husband's  consent,  she  took  the  veil  there. 
A  few  days  afterwards  she  died.  Lechner, 
Benedictine  Mart. 

B.  Jane  (6),  or  Satntb  Jeanne,  the 
Recluse,  May  4.  Tradition  says  she  was 
a  recluse  for  twenty  years  near  Arrivoir. 
In  1246,  her  body  was  brought  on  this 
day  to  the  celebrated  Cistercian  monas- 
tery of  Arrivoir  (diocese  of  Troyes).  In 
the  middle  of  the  17th  century  the 
monks  had  no  knowledge  of  her  history 
and  no  special  service  in  her  honour; 
but  it  was  customary  to  ring  the  bells 
repeatedly  in  memory  of  her  on  the 
anniversary  of  her  translation  thither. 
AA.SS.    Mas  Latrie. 

B.  Jane  (7)  of  Orvieto,  July  23, 
+  1308,  3rd  O.S.D.  Giovanna,  com- 
monly called  Vanna,  was  a  native  of 
Carnajola,  near  Orvieto  in  Tuscany. 
She  was  left  an  orphan  very  young,  but 
by  taking  St.  Michael  the  Archangel  for 
her  guardian  and  patron,  she  preserved 
her  baptismal  innocence  and  was  remark- 
able for  her  piety  and  industry.  She 
became  a  nun  of  the  third  order  at 
Orvieto.  When  she  meditated  on  the 
martyrdom  of  a  saint,  she  used  uncon- 
sciously to  follow  the  movements  of  the 
martyr.  Once  on  the  festival  of  SS.  Peter 
and  Paul,  she  meditated  first  on  the 
martyrdom  of  St.  Peter,  and  falling  into 
an  ecstasy,  she  was  found  extended  in 
the  form  of  a  cross  with  her  head  down, 
as  it  is  recorded  that  that  apostle  suffered. 
Passing  on  to  the  subject  of  the  martyr- 
dom of  St.  Paul,  she  fell  to  the  ground 


with  her  head  stretched  out  as  if  waiting 
for  the  executioner's  stroke.  When  she 
had  been  twelve  years  in  the  convent,  on 
Good  Friday,  as  she  meditated  on  the 
crucifixion,  she  became  stiff  and  rigid  in 
the  form  of  a  cross,  and  after  a  time,  fell 
to  the  ground  with  a  great  noise,  as  if 
all  her  bones  were  broken  and  all  her 
joints  dislocated,  and  thus  she  remained 
until  night.  This  mercy  was  granted 
to  her  every  Good  Friday  for  ten  years. 
On  the  feast  of  the  Assumption  of  the 
B.  y.  Mary,  she  was  raised  more  than  a 
yard  from  the  ground,  and  continued  so 
for  an  hour  with  her  hands  outstretched 
towards  heaven.  She  performed  miracu- 
lous cures  before  and  after  her  death, 
which  occurred  in  1308,  at  the  age  of 
forty-two.  Mart.  FF.  Prsedicatorum. 
Pio.    Hernando  del  Castillo. 

B.  Jane  (8),  June  11,  14th  century. 
Jeanne  or  1)iank  do  Villeneuve.  Car- 
thusian nun.  Aunt  and  instructress  of 
St.  Bossbline,  and  mentioned  in  her 
Life.  AA.SS. 

St  Jane  (9)  of  Signa,  April  23, 
Nov.  9.  +  1307  or  1348.  B.  Giovanna 
da  Siona.  Secular  hermit.  Represented 
keeping  sheep  beside  the  Arno.  She 
was  one  of  a  family  of  labourers  at  the 
village  of  Signa  on  the  Arno,  seven  miles 
from  Florence,  towards  Pisa.  She  is 
claimed  by  various  orders,  but  did  not 
belong  to  any.  She  used  to  keep  her 
father's  sheep  and  sit  under  a  great  oak. 
In  her  childhood  she  spread  her  cloak 
on  the  waters  of  the  Arno  when  it  was 
in  flood,  and  walked  over  dry-shod. 
When  she  was  keeping  sheep  with  other 
shepherds,  a  frightful  storm  came  on. 
She  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  the 
sheep,  and  not  only  did  they  sustain  no 
damage,  but  not  one  of  the  men  or  beasts 
was  even  wet.  She  built  herself  a  hermit- 
age in  the  valley  of  Signa.  Guerin 
says  she  died  of  the  plague  in  1 348,  after 
performing  miracles  of  charity  to  other 
victims.  Brocchi  places  her  death  several 
years  earlier.  Her  oak  was  held  sacred, 
and  whoever  tried  to  cultivate  the  ground 
under  it  had  no  luck;  either  the  oxen 
died,  or  some  other  mishap  occurred. 
Once  a  wood-cutter,  although  warned, 
said, "  Beata  o  non  Beata — voglio  tagli- 
are"  and  jumping  into  the  tree  with  a 


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very  sharp  axe,  raised  his  arm  to  out  a 
bough.  He  fell  to  the  ground  with  such 
force  that  he  was  seriously  hurt  and  the 
edge  of  his  axe  was  found  to  have  grown 
quite  thick  and  broad.  She  performed 
many  miracles  of  healing.  Brocohi, 
Santi  Fiorentini.  Cahier.  Prayer-book 
and  Calendar  of  the  Franciscans. 

St.  Jane  (10),  March  30,  Sept.  1, 
Oct.  27,  1301-1367.  B.  Giovanna 
Soderini,  born  at  Florence,  was  a  nun  of 
the  3rd  Order  of  Servants  of  the  B.  V. 
Mart,  called  Mantellate,  and  disciple  of 
St.  Juliana  Falconibri,  their  founder. 
Feliciana  Tamia,  her  pious  governess, 
being  near  death,  indicated  St.  Juliana 
Falconieri  as  the  fittest  person  to  edu- 
cate Giovanna,  who  thenceforward  became 
her  devoted  disciple,  and  under  her 
guidance,  dedicated  herself  to  God  and 
the  Virgin  Mary,  at  the  age  of  twelve. 
She  was  the  first  to  discover  the  miracu- 
lous mark  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  like  a 
seal,  on  the  heart  of  her  dead  mistress, 
also  that  Juliana's  hair  shirt  had  grown 
into  the  flesh.  She  aspired  to  walk  in 
the  steps  of  Juliana,  and  emulate  her 
penance  and  holiness.  She  was  chosen 
directress  of  the  Mantellate  and  survived 
her  mistress  twenty-six  years.  She  was 
honoured  as  a  saint  in  her  own  order 
from  the  time  of  her  death,  and  this 
veneration  spread  to  other  orders  and 
countries  long  before  any  recognized 
authority  had  sanctioned  her  worship. 
A.R.M.,  Sept.  1.   AA.SS.,  Oct.  27. 

B.  Jane  (11)  or  Juana,  Deo.  8,  abbess 
of  the  Cistercian  monastery  of  St.  Bene- 
dict de  Castris,  near  Evora  in  Portugal, 
+  1383.  She  was  of  royal  Portuguese 
descent.  In  1383,  during  a  war  between 
Portugal  and  Castile,  soldiers  broke  into 
the  house,  took  the  ornaments  from  the 
church,  and  seized  the  nuns.  The  priests 
endeavoured  in  vain  to  protect  them. 
The  abbess  having  tried  to  convert  the 
soldiers,  they  dragged  her  about  the 
town,  tore  her  clothes  off,  and  left  her 
for  dead ;  nobody  interfered.  The  monks 
of  St.  Francis  took  her  up  to  bury  her 
in  their  church,  although  neither  they 
nor  any  one  else,  but  only  this  one 
woman,  had  dared  to  reprove  the  soldiers 
for  their  sacrilege  and  brutality.  The 
same  day  that  she  was  killed  the  people 


burst  in  to  murder  the  nuns  calling 
them  Castillians.  They  were  struck 
blind,  and  thus  the  nuns  escaped.  For 
two  hundred  years  afterwards  no  abbess 
ever  died  in  the  exercise  of  the  dignity 
in  that  convent ;  each  one  had  to  resign 
on  account  of  serious  illness  or  some 
insurmountable  cause.  Henriquez,  LUia. 

BB.  Jane  (12)  and  Mary  (52),  or 
BB.  Juan  a  and  Maria,  Aug.  9,  W.  MM. 
c.  1400.  Two  sisters  of  Torreximeno,  a 
village  near  Granada,  which  then  be- 
longed to  the  Moors.  They  were  of 
poor  but  honest  parents.  They  used  to 
wash  clothes  at  a  fountain.  One  day 
they  were  seized  by  Moors  and  carried 
to  Granada,  where,  after  some  changes 
of  masters,  they  became  the  property  of 
two  Moors  who  held  important  offices 
about  the  court.  The  two  Moors  wanted 
to  marry  these  very  pretty  girls,  but 
could  not  on  account  of  their  religion ; 
so  they  tried  by  every  possible  artifice 
to  induce  them  to  apostatize.  Jane  and 
Mary  instead  laughed  at  the  Moham- 
medan faith  and  blasphemed  the  prophet. 
At  last  the  love  of  the  two  Moors  was 
worn  out  by  so  many  refusals,  so  that 
they  began  to  hate  their  captives,  and 
took  them  before  the  cadi  and  accused 
them  of  blasphemy.  The  cadi  took  the 
young  women  apart  from  their  masters 
and  represented  to  them  the  advantages 
they  would  derive  from  adopting  the 
religion  of  Mahomet  and  being  married 
to  these  knights ;  but  as  they  vehemently 
refused  to  abandon  their  faith,  he  thought 
himself  compelled  to  make  an  example 
of  them.  He  ordered  them  to  be  dragged 
to  the  common  place  of  execution  and 
there  beheaded.  Accordingly,  they  were 
taken  from  the  heights  of  the  Alhambra 
to  a  place  called  by  the  Moors  Macahan 
— the  burial-place  of  the  accursed — 
where  now  stands  the  Church  of  St. 
Gregory  near  the  Darro.  There  they 
were  beheaded  in  presence  of  a  great 
multitude  of  people.  It  appeared  that 
their  martyrdom  was  accepted  by  Christ, 
for  their  bodies  remained  kneeling, 
instead  of  falling  to  the  ground  when 
their  heads  were  cut  off,  and  a  light 
shone  round  them  brighter  than  the 
noonday  sun,  which  was  then  at  its 
height. 


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This  story  was  preserved  among  the 
*  Moors,  and  the  descendants  of  the  wit- 
nesses of  the  miracle  confirmed  the 
information  juridica  (1560),  which  is 
preserved  in  the  archives  of  Granada. 
That  city  has  a  special  devotion  to  these 
martyrs.  Their  statnes  are  placed  on 
the  altar  of  the  Church  of  St.  Gregory, 
but  on  the  pedestals  the  names  of  Cathe- 
rine and  Lucy  (Catalina  and  Lucia)  are 
placed  by  mistake.  On  one  side  of  the 
high  altar  are  four  bas  reliefs  represent- 
ing four  principal  scenes  in  the  life  of 
the  sisters.  Bilches. 

St.  Jane  (13),  Maby  (53)  de  Maillac. 

St.  Jane  (14),  May  12,  1452-1490. 
The  Infanta  Juana  of  Portugal.  Patron 
of  Aveiro.    Daughter  of  Alfonso  V., 
king  of  Portugal,  and  Isabel  his  wife. 
Isabel  was  her  husband's  first  cousin, 
both  being  grandchildren  of  John  I., 
king  of  Portugal.    The  queen  died  in 
1456,  a  few  days  after  the  birth  of  a 
prince,  afterwards  John  II.    Tho  king 
had  her  establishment  kept  up  as  it  was 
in  her  lifetime  for  the  Princess  Juana 
and  her  infant  brother.    When  Juana 
was  only  fifteen,  she  was  tall  and  looked 
twenty;  but  her  mental  powers  and 
acquirements  were  even  more  in  advance 
of  her  age  than  her  bodily  gifts.  Her 
fervent  piety  showed  itself  in  all  that  she 
did.  Her  chaplain  translated  the  prayers 
called  "  Hours  "  for  her,  from  Latin  into 
Portuguese,  that  she  might  recite  them 
with  more  understanding  and  devotion. 
She  withdrew  herself  as  much  as  her 
rank  permitted  from  the  pomps  and 
vanity  of  the  world,  and  spent  certain 
hours  of  the  day  alone  in  her  oratory. 
She  persuaded  her  servants  to  procure 
for  her  the  coarsest  of  garments,  which 
she  wore  secretly  under  the  silk  and 
embroideries  in  which  she  was  obliged 
to  appear  in  public.    Then  she  took  to 
wearing  a  hair  shirt  made  as  roughly  as 
possible  from  the  hair  of  horses  and 
cows.    After  being  obliged  to  appear  in 
gorgeous  raiment  at  some  publio  function 
with  her  father  and  brother,  she  would 
shut  herself  into  her  oratory  and  pray. 
At  night,  instead  of  resting  in  the  lux- 
urious bed  prepared  for  her,  she  spent 
hours  in  prayer,  tearing  her  tender  flesh 
with  a  scourge,  especially  on  those 


festivals  which  commemorate  more  par- 
ticularly the  Bufferings  of  Christ  She 
never  changed  her  coarse  woollen  under- 
garment until  it  became  so  swarming 
with  vermin  as  to  be  quite  unbearable. 
Her  apartment  had  two  divisions:  one 
was  a  sort  of  cellar  under  the  other ;  and 
there  she  had  a  bed  placed  nominally  for 
her  secretary,  but  really  for  herself. 
This  bed  was  as  hard  and  uncomfortable 
as  it  could  be  made  ;  it  had  a  coarse 
mattress  stuffed  with  bark  of  trees,  a 
woollen  pillow,  and  old  ragged  clothes 
instead  of  blankets.  This  penitential 
bedding  was  preserved  and  sent  as  a 
great  treasure  to  the  prioress  of  the 
convent  where  Juana  ultimately  took  the 
veil. 

Meantime,  the  fame  of  the  beauty, 
wisdom,  and  holiness  of  the  Infanta  was 
spread  through  all  the  courts  of  Europe, 
so  that  nearly  every  sovereign  aspired  to 
win  her  either  for  himself  or  for  some 
prince  of  his  house.  One  of  these  was 
Louis  XI.  of  France,  who  asked  her  in 
marriage  for  his  brother  Charles.  The 
Infanta,  seeing  her  father  bent  upon  this 
alliance,  and  herself  wishing  to  lead  an 
exclusively  religious  life,  pleaded  youth 
and  lack  of  experience  in  the  world. 
Another  of  her  suitors  was  Maximilian, 
afterwards  king  of  the  Romans,  son  of 
the  Emperor  of  Germany. 

Juana  visited  the  Cistercian  convent 
of  St.  Dionysius,  at  Odivellas,  and  learnt 
all  particulars  of  the  rule  there,  as  well 
as  in  the  Dominican  convents.  Soon 
after  this,  when  she  was  eighteen  and 
her  brother  fifteen,  the  king  determined 
to  cross  over  to  Africa  with  a  great 
army,  to  fight  against  the  infidels,  for  the 
glory  of  God.  Pope  Paul  II.  granted 
indulgences  to  all  who  should  join  the 
expedition.  The  Infant  Don  John  was 
a  weak  and  delicate  boy,  so  that  Juana 
was  looked  upon  by  many  as  heiress  of 
the  kingdom.  The  prince,  however, 
went  with  his  father  and  the  other 
crusaders,  and  received  the  cross  with 
great  devotion  from  the  hands  of  tho 
Archbishop  of  Lisbon,  who  gave  the  in- 
dulgence to  all  who  went  for  it,  at  the 
same  time  fastening  the  holy  badge  on 
the  breast  or  shoulder  of  each,  and  de- 
claring him  bound  to  proceed  to  the 


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sacred  war.  The  king  told  his  daughter 
all  his  plans,  consulted  her  on  religions 
and  other  subjects,  and  appointed  her 
regent,  with  her  tutor  Didacius  Suarius 
of  Albergaria  to  assist  and  advise  her. 
Juana  left  off  her  gay  clothing  and 
wore  black :  she  busied  herself  in  look- 
ing after  the  many  matrons  and  maids 
of  her  household.  She  arranged  advan- 
tageous marriages  for  some,  in  many 
cases  providing  dowries.  She  divided 
all  her  valuable  clothes  and  jewellery, 
giving  liberally  to  priests  and  the  cause 
of  religion.  She  prayed  for  the  success 
of  her  father's  army.  Consequently  he 
soon  took  two  towns,  Tangiers  and 
Algiers.  When  the  joyful  tidings  came 
that  the  king  was  returning  victorious, 
Juana  determined  to  take  advantage  of 
the  hour  of  triumph  to  obtain  his 
sanotion  to  her  retirement  from  the 
world.  She  had  some  difficulty  in  pro- 
curing garments  suitable  for  a  festal 
occasion,  especially  as  all  the  merchant 
ships  were  being  used  in  the  war.  At 
last  her  messengers  succeeded  in  getting 
her  a  green  silk,  the  colour  expressive 
of  her  faith  and  hope.  She  adorned  her 
head  and  neck  with  jewels,  but  under  all 
this  gay  apparel  she  wore  a  hair  shirt 
and  the  coarsest  woollen  clothing.  Thus 
attired,  she  went  forth  to  meet  her  father, 
accompanied  by  her  mother's  sister 
Filippa  and  all  the  principal  ladies  and 
gentlemen  of  the  court.  When  she  had 
saluted  the  king  and  his  nobles,  she 
astonished  them  all  by  saying — 

"  Your  Majesty  knows  that  it  was  the 
custom  of  the  kings  and  emperors  of  the 
ancient  world,  that  when  they  had  ob- 
tained a  great  victory  they  returned 
thanks  and  offered  the  most  precious 
gifts  to  their  gods.  Some  of  them  even 
offered  their  daughters  to  serve  in  the 
temples.  How  much  more  should  a 
victorious  Christian  king  make  such  an 
offering  to  the  true  and  merciful  God, 
who  has  enabled  him  to  conquer  an 
innumerable  host  of  barbarians  in  so 
short  a  time,  and  with  so  little  trouble 
and  danger  to  himself  and  his  people." 
She  added  that  he  had  not  far  to  look 
for  a  sacrifice,  as  his  daughter  stood 
there,  not  only  willing  but  desiring  to 
be  consecrated  to  God,    Therefore  she 


asked  that  no  project  of  marriage  should 
ever  be  mentioned  to  her  again,  and  that  4 
she  should  be  allowed  to  retire  to  some 
convent,  there  to  offer  herself  a  living 
sacrifice  to  Christ*  The  king,  being  a 
fervent  Catholic,  could  not  refuse,  how- 
ever unwilling  to  part  with  his  daughter. 
His  consent  was  received  with  murmurs 
from  the  crowd,  who  protested  against  the 
loss  of  the  princess  as  heir  to  the  throne. 

Juana  remained  several  months  in  the 
palace,  taking  her  place  in  the  world  so 
cheerfully  and  graciously  that  the  people 
began  to  hope  she  had  forgotten  her 
wish  to  take  the  veil.  In  March,  1472, 
a  celestial  sign  appeared  over  the  con- 
vent of  Aveiro.  Every  night  from 
sunset  until  dawn  an  enormous  comet 
was  seen,  even  if  the  sky  was  so  cloudy 
that  no  other  star  was  visible ;  it  stood 
exactly  over  the  place  where  the  Infanta 
afterwards  erected  the  new  buildings. 

Juana  obtained  her  father's  consent  to 
enter  for  a  time  the  Convent  of  Odivellas, 
of  the  rule  of  St.  Bernard.  She  had  to 
go  by  night  lest  the  people  should 
interfere  to  prevent  her  leaving  the 
palace.  She  took  none  of  her  maids  with 
her,  except  two  old  and  faithful  servants. 
Great  grief  and  lamentation  prevailed 
when  it  was  found  that  she  had  really 
gone.  Her  aunt  Filippa  visited  her  at 
the  convent,  and  her  father  and  brother 
did  all  they  could  to  turn  her  from  her 
purpose.  Seeing  at  last  that  nothing 
would  shake  her  determination,  the  king 
consented  to  her  entering  a  convent,  but 
stipulated  that  it  should  be  one  where 
she  would  be  treated  with  the  deference 
due  to  her  station,  and  where  there  were 
ladies  of  high  rank.  He  chose  the  Con- 
vent of  St.  Clara  at  Coimbra,  and  set  off 
thither  with  Juana,  from  Lisbon,  in  June, 
1472.  When  they  had  nearly  reached 
Coimbra,  Juana  renewed  her  entreaties 
to  the  king,  to  be  allowed  to  go  to  the 
poor  Dominican  convent  at  Aveiro  in- 
stead ;  and  at  last,  his  many  objections 
being  overcome,  the  party  proceeded 
there.  On  Aug.  4,  St.  Dominic's  Day, 
Juana  entered  the  Convent  of  Jesus,  and 
was  joyously  received  by  the  Prioress 
Beatrice  de  Leitona  and  some  of  the 
elder  nuns.  That  night  the  comet  did 
not  appear ;  nor  was  it  ever  seen  again. 


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ST.  JANE 


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The  king  gave  her  the  town  of  Aveiro 
and  some  lands  adjoining  as  a  dowry. 
The  convent  was  a  poor  House,  but  its 
best  rooms  were  given  to  Juana.  She 
had  a  small  house  built  for  herself  in 
the  garden,  so  that  she  could  go  to  chapel 
without  disturbing  the  sisters.  Her 
brother,  Prince  John,  often  came  to  see 
her,  and  never  ceased  telling  her  that 
he  and  the  nobles  would  never  consent 
to  her  taking  the  veil.  She  lived  for 
nearly  three  years  in  her  own  apartments 
before  receiving  the  religious  habit  of  a 
novice,  which  she  did,  without  the  con- 
sent of  her  father,  on  Jan.  25,  1475. 
Her  beautiful  hair  was  cut  off,  and  with 
her  secular  dress  she  gave  up  the  only 
ornaments  she  possessed — an  emerald 
ring,  a  golden  cross,  and  an  Agnus  Dei, 
containing  a  piece  of  the  true  cross  of 
Christ;  this  had  belonged  to  her 
mother,  and  had  worked  miracles.  After 
this  ceremony,  she  insisted  on  living  like 
the  humblest  of  novices,  and  would  allow 
no  distinction  of  rank.  She  was  called 
Sister  Infanta  Juana,  as  the  prioress  said 
that  God  had  called  her  to  be  a  princess 
first  and  then  a  nun. 

When  it  was  known  throughout  the 
kingdom  that  the  princess  had  really 
taken  the  veil,  the  people  were  indignant, 
but  the  prioress  said  should  the  time 
come  when  they  could  prove  that  it  was 
necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  kingdom 
that  Juana  should  marry  and  provide 
heirs  to  the  throne,  she  should  have  full 
permission  to  leave  the  convent.  Prince 
John  was  furious,  and  went  at  once  to 
Aveiro,  first  to  entreat  and  then  to 
threaten  his  sister. 

In  time  the  rigorous  fasts  which  Juana 
observed  and  the  use  of  coarse  woollen 
clothes  instead  of  linen,  so  affected  her 
health  that  she  became  a  prey  to  disease, 
and  was  threatened  with  leprosy ;  and 
when  the  time  came  for  her  to  take  per- 
petual vows,  it  was  decided  that  her 
health  rendered  her  quite  unfit  to  become 
a  nun.  She  submitted,  seeing  that  it 
was  evidently  the  will  of  God  that  she 
should  bear  this  disappointment;  and 
reverently  took  off  her  religious  garb, 
kissed  it,  and  laid  it  on  the  altar  of  her 
oratory,  saying  that,  as  she  was  not  a 
nun,  she  had  no  right  to  wear  it. 


King  Alfonso  died  in  1481.  Prince 
John  had  two  sons :  one  of  them  legiti- 
mate. His  second  son  he  sent,  with 
permission  of  the  Pope  and  the  Master 
of  the  Dominicans,  to  be  brought  up  in 
the  convent  by  his  aunt  Juana,  who 
devoted  herself  to  his  training  and 
education,  and  arranged  that  he  should 
be  no  trouble  to  the  nuns. 

Many  proposals  of  marriage  were  made 
for  her,  some  of  them  accompanied  by 
threats  of  war  in  case  of  refusal.  The 
king  urged  her  strongly  to  marry  the 
King  of  France,  saying  that  she  would 
be  a  traitress  to  her  king  and  country  if 
she  would  not  do  what  they  so  much 
desired.  At  last,  she  said  she  would 
consent,  provided  King  Louis  XI.  were 
still  alive.  Eight  days  afterwards,  mes- 
sengers arrived  to  announce  his  death 
(1483). 

About  this  time  a  pestilence  broke 
out  at  Aveiro,  and  raged  there  with  such 
violence  that  the  king  ordered  the 
Prioress  Beatrice  Leitona  to  take  Juana 
and  his  little  son  to  Oporto.  Beatrice 
was  taken  ill  on  the  way,  and  died,  and 
was  buried  at  Abrantes.  Juana  pro- 
ceeded to  Oporto,  accompanied  (by  special 
permission  of  the  Pope)  by  two  nuns 
from  Aveiro — Clara  and  Catherine  de 
Silva.  Besides  her  two  old  servants,  she 
had  two  Moorish  maidens,  whom  she 
had  brought  up  from  their  infancy,  to 
wait  on  her,  and  a  negress  to  cook  for 
her. 

While  at  Oporto,  Juana  was  summoned 
by  her  brother  to  meet  him  and  her 
aunt  Filippa,  at  Alcobaza,  as  he  had  an 
affair  of  much  importance  to  discuss  with 
her.  On  their  journey,  Juana  and  her 
nuns  travelled  in  litters,  in  which  they 
remained  when  they  came  to  inns,  so  that 
they  should  not  be  looked  at,  but  preserve 
as  far  as  possible,  the  privacy  of  the 
convent. 

King  John's  project  was  to  entreat 
Juana  to  marry  the  King  of  England, 
Richard  III. :  an  alliance  desirable  for 
her  family  and  country.  On  her  refusal, 
he  flew  into  a  rage,  and  threatened  to 
send  her  by  force  to  England.  Juana 
was  much  perplexed  and  distressed,  but 
that  night  she  was  comforted  by  a  vision, 
in  which  her  Lord  appeared  and  said, 


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ST.  JANE 


"Fear  not,  this  one  also  is  dead." 
Within  six  days  a  messenger  came  to 
King  John,  from  the  English  ambassador 
at  Lisbon,  saying  that  news  of  the  king's 
death  had  jast  come  from  England 
(1483). 

John  was  now  filled  with  admiration 
for  his  sister,  who  begged  that  in  the 
future  he  would  look  upon  her  as  con- 
secrated to  God,  assuring  him  that  as  it 
had  been  with  these  two  suitors,  so  it 
would  be  with  others,  or  else  her  own 
death,  which  she  desired,  would  prevent 
the  marriage. 

After  this  interview,  the  king  returned 
to  Lisbon,  and  Juana  to  Aveiro,  where 
she  spent  the  rest  of  her  life.  She  made 
a  solemn  vow  of  perpetual  virginity 
before  the  altar  of  the  convent.  Two 
years  before  her  last  illness,  she  began 
to  execute  her  favourite  project  of  re- 
building the  convent ;  but  she  did  not 
live  to  complete  the  work. 

Juana  was  very  kind  and  attentive  to 
all  nuns  who  were  ill,  and  was  specially 
anxious  for  the  conversion  of  sinners. 
She  had  repeatedly  tried  to  convert  and 
restrain  by  kindness  and  persuasion 
certain  women  who  were  living  in  mortal 
sin,  and  at  last  had  them  removed  from 
where  they  lived ;  but  they  were  not 
converted,  and  secretly  vowed  to  take 
revenge  on  her.  One  hot  day,  in  a 
place  where  she  did  not  fear  any  danger, 
she  asked  for  a  drink  of  water,  which 
she  had  no  sooner  drunk  than  she  was 
seized  with  grievous  pains  and  sickness ; 
so  that  many  thought  the  water  had  been 
poisoned.  Although  she  lived  for  some 
months,  she  never  recovered,  and  suffered 
much.  Several  of  the  nuns  had  dreams 
and  visions  portending  the  death  of  the 
princess.  During  her  last  months  on 
earth,  she  strove  to  approach  nearer  to 
perfection.  Everything  possible  was 
done  for  her  by  doctors  and  nurses. 
Throughout  the  kingdom,  prayers  and 
processions  were  made  for  her  recovery. 
Her  brother  and  many  of  the  chief 
persons  of  the  kingdom  hearing  that  her 
case  was  hopeless,  came  to  visit  her. 
Though  racked  with  pain  and  sickness, 
she  set  her  affairs  in  order.  She  caused 
a  deed  of  manumission  to  be  drawn  up, 
by  which  she  liberated  all  her  slaves  of 


both  sexes.  She  left  the  bulk  of  her 
property  to  the  Convent  of  Jesus. 

There  were  many  signs  and  wonders 
before  and  at  her  death,  which  took  place 
May  12,  1490.  Soon  after  it,  the  saint 
appeared  in  dreams  to  several  of  the 
nuns.  Papebroch  recounts  a  great  many 
miracles,  described  in  the  process  of  her 
canonization  (1626).  The  story  of  her 
life  is  written  by  Margarita  Pinneria,  a 
lay-sister  who  served  her  constantly, 
and  solemnly  asserts  that  she  witnessed 
most  of  what  she  relates ;  the  rest  she 
heard  at  the  time  from  persons  worthy 
of  all  credit. 

A.  BM.  AA.SS.  Lopez,  Hist,  general 
de  Sancto  Domingo. 

B.  Jane  (15),  July  9,  1428-1491. 
Giovanna  Scopelli  was  a  Carmelite  nun 
of  noble  family,  founder  of  the  Convent 
of  Sta.  Maria  del  Popolo  at  Reggio,  in 
the  duchy  of  Modena.  She  was  remark- 
able for  her  austerities,  visions,  tempta- 
tions, and  miracles.  By  her  prayers,  she 
obtained  husbands  for  her  two  sisters, 
and  many  other  temporal  and  spiritual 
advantages  for  various  persons.  Her 
immemorial  worship  was  approved  by 
Clement  XIV.  for  the  whole  Carmelite 
Order  and  for  all  the  clergy  of  the 
duchy  of  Modena.  A.BM.  AA.SS., 
from  her  Life  by  Muth. 

St.  Jane  (16),  Feb.  4,  1464-1505. 
Queen  of  France.  Duchess  of  Orleans. 
Wifeof  LouisXII.  (1498-1515).  Founder 
of  the  Annonciades.  Sometimes  repre- 
sented with  three  crowns  and  a  palm. 

Jeanne  de  Valois  was  the  elder 
daughter  of  Louis  XI.,  king  of  France 
(1461-1483),  by  his  second  wife,  Char- 
lotte of  Savoy.  From  her  childhood, 
this  princess,  who  had  neither  beauty, 
ability,  nor  health,  was  always  eclipsed 
by  her  younger  sister  Anne,  a  beautiful, 
selfish,  unscrupulous  person.  As  Jeanne 
early  perceived  that  her  father  had  no 
affection  for  her,  she  avoided  meeting 
him  when  possible,  and  trembled  in  his 
presence.  This  fear  of  him  increased 
his  dislike  to  her.  She  had  little  taste 
for  pomps  and  vanities  in  which  she  was 
unfit  to  shine,  and  one  of  the  greatest 
pleasures  that  came  into  her  sad  young 
life  was  the  visit  of  St.  Francis  of  Paula 
to  her  father's  court.   He  sympathised 


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ST.  JANE 


429 


with  her  simple  pious  soul ;  she  became 
deeply  interested  in  his  charities,  and 
he  continued  to  be  a  friend  and  comforter 
to  her  for  many  years.  She  had  hardly 
emerged  from  childhood  when  Louis  XI. 
compelled  the  Duke  of  Orleans  (after- 
wards Louis  XII.)  to  marry  her.  The 
young  duke  wept  when  he  was  com- 
manded to  come  to  the  chateau  of  Mon- 
trichard  to  be  married  to  the  king's 
daughter— the  first  lady  in  France.  He 
attempted  to  rebel,  but  the  king  threat- 
ened to  make  a  priest  of  him,  or  if  that 
were  not  a  hard  enough  fate,  to  sew  him 
up  in  a  sack  and  throw  him  into  the 
river.  Jeanne  adored  him,  but,  painfully 
conscious  of  her  own  defects,  she  said  to 
one  of  her  friends,  "  Alas,  I  am  no  match 
for  this  beautiful  prince  1 "  There  was 
not  even  a  friendly  alliance  between  the 
newly  wedded  pair ;  Orleans  was  barely 
civil  to  his  bride;  he  absented  himself 
as  much  as  he  dared.  By  the  express 
command  of  the  king,  he  visited  her  five 
or  six  times  a  year,  for  ten  or  twelve 
days  at  a  time,  and  pretended  a  certain 
amount  of  conjugal  attention,  because 
his  life  was  threatened.  He  thought  of 
leaving  France  altogether  and  going  to 
live  on  his  Italian  estates,  but  his  mother 
dissuaded  him  from  this  step,  and  his 
suspicious  father-in-law  kept  him  a 
prisoner  in  his  duchy  and  intercepted 
his  letters.  They  had  been  married 
about  six  years,  when,  in  1483,  Louis  XI. 
on  his  death-bed,  stormed  at  St.  Francis 
of  Paula,  and  insisted  that,  as  he  had 
wrought  other  miracles,  he  might  and 
should  keep  him  alive.  Francis  per- 
suaded him  into  a  phase  of  resignation 
and  penitence,  and  was  considered  to 
have  procured  for  him  a  Christian  death. 
This  increased  St.  Jane's  veneration  for 
the  holy  man. 

Charles  VIII.  succeeded  to  the  throne, 
and  Madame  Anne  de  Beaujeu,  his  and 
Jeanne's  sister,  made  mischief  all  round  : 
she  governed  Charles ;  she  was  the  im- 
placable foe  of  Orleans.  Contemporary 
historians  insinuate  that  she  loved  the 
duke  before  she  hated  him,  but  he  was 
afraid  of  so  meddlesome  and  domineering 
a  woman  and  rejected  her  advances.  It 
was  in  consequence  of  her  intrigues  that, 
in  1488,  Louis  of  Orleans  went  over  to 


the  Duke  of  Brittany,  who  was  at  war 
with  the  King  of  France.  In  July  of 
that  year  he  was  taken  prisoner.  He 
was  imprisoned  very  strictly,  removed 
from  fortress  to  fortress,  and  finally  shut 
up  in  the  great  Tower  of  Bourges,  where 
he  remained  for  three  years.  From  day 
to  day  his  friends  and  his  foes  expected 
to  hear  that  his  life  was  forfeited.  Many 
of  his  old  friends  interceded  in  vain  for 
him.  His  neglected  wife  entreated  her 
sister,  who  ruled  the  king,  to  procure 
his  pardon,  and  reproached  her  with  her 
cruelty  and  injustice.  She  obtained 
leave  to  visit  him  in  his  prison,  and 
offered  to  share  his  captivity,  but  he 
declined  her  company.  During  this 
anxious  and  unhappy  time,  she  sought 
consolation  in  charity  and  prayer,  and 
one  day  the  B.  V.  Mary  appeared  to  her, 
and  said,  "  Daughter  Jane,  be  comforted, 
for  before  you  die  you  will  found  a 
religious  order  in  my  honour." 

At  last,  in  1491,  at  Plessis-les-Tours, 
Charles  VIII.  woke  up  to  the  fact  that 
he  was  king,  and  was  not  obliged  to  be 
always  ruled  by  Anne  de  Beaujeu.  Just 
then  some  of  the  friends  of  Orleans  dis- 
posed Charles  to  take  a  more  lenient 
view  of  his  conduct,  and  at  a  favourable 
moment,  Jeanne,  bathed  in  tears,  came 
and  threw  herself  at  his  feet.  Straight 
from  her  loyal  heart  came  a  very  different 
explanation  of  her  husband's  actions 
from  that  put  upon  them  by  her  sister. 
She  proved  that  Orleans  had  never 
rebelled  against  his  king,  and  that  he 
had  been  driven,  solely  in  self-defence, 
by  his  deadly  enemy,  Madame  Anne,  to 
the  disastrous  course  he  had  taken. 
Charles  the  Affable  granted  Jeanne's 
petition.  "  Sister,"  he  said,  "  I  will  do 
what  you  ask  me,  but  God  grant  that 
you  may  not  have  laboured  for  your  own 
injury."  He  set  out,  the  same  day,  for 
Montrichard,  as  if  on  a  hunting  expe- 
dition, and  sent  for  Louis  to  meet  him  at 
Baragon.  They  embraced,  and  explained 
all  the  misunderstandings  that  had  kept 
them  apart,  and  were  friends  until  the 
death  of  Charles  in  1498,  when  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  succeeded  him  as  Louis 
XII.  He  proved  to  be  one  of  the  best 
kings  who  had  ever  sat  on  the  French 
throne,  and  was  called  "  the  father  of  his 


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ST.  JANE 


people."  Jeanne  had  little  pleasure 
either  as  queen  of  France  or  as  the  wife 
of  the  man  she  loved,  for  he  had  married 
her  against  his  inclination,  and  all  her 
amiable  qualities  during  twenty  years  of 
devotion  had  so  entirely  failed  to  win 
his  regard,  that  the  first  and  only  favour 
he  had  to  ask  of  her  was  his  liberty,  and 
the  first  use  he  made  of  his  royal  power 
was  to  sue  for  a  divorce.  Alexander  VI. 
was  the  Pope,  and,  to  incline  him  to 
grant  the  decree,  Louis  heaped  gifts  and 
honours  on  his  son,  the  infamous  Crosar 
Borgia.  The  case  was  to  be  tried  at 
Tours,  and  thither  the  unhappy  princess 
was  summoned  to  answer  for  herself. 
For  the  petitioner,  consanguinity  and 
sundry  other  pleas  were  set  up,  but 
chiefly  that  he  had  been  married  against 
his  will  and  in  fear  of  his  life.  Jeanne 
knew  that  she  must  yield.  Nevertheless, 
she  made  a  dignified  defence,  which  met 
with  universal  sympathy.  Great  autho- 
rities in  law  and  theology  pronounced 
the  marriage  void,  but  the  people  con- 
sidered that  she  was  the  rightful  queen 
and  that  the  king  owed  his  crown  to  her. 
Sundry  portents  were  believed  to  show 
the  displeasure  of  Heaven.  A  dense 
crowd  was  assembled  in  the  cathedral 
where  the  solemnity  was  held.  Sud- 
denly a  thick  darkness  came  on;  the 
decree  could  not  be  read ;  torches  were 
brought.  Then  the  plague  appeared  at 
Tours,  and  the  whole  court,  with  all  the 
functionaries,  removed  to  Amboise.  The 
people  pointed  at  those  who  promoted 
the  divorce  and  pronounced  the  decree. 
"There  goes  Caiaphas  I "  they  said. 
"Look  at  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate; 
they  have  given  their  judgment  against 
the  holy  lady  and  ruled  that  she  is  no 
longer  Queen  of  France."  Throughout 
the  kingdom,  many  of  the  clergy,  in 
spite  of  threats,  protested  against  the 
measure.  Meanwhile  the  king  spoke  of 
her  as  his  cousin.  He  said  she  should 
have  such  state  and  means  as  became  the 
daughter  and  sister  of  kings  of  France. 
He  gave  her  the  duchy  of  Berri, 
Chatillon-sur-Indre,  and  Pontoise,  and  as 
soon  as  the  Pope's  dispensation  could  be 
procured  he  married  Anne,  duchess  of 
Brittany,  the  widow  of  the  late  king. 
Jeanne  took  up  her  residence  at  Bourges, 


where  she  led  a  secluded  life  under  the 
direction  of  her  friend  St.  Francis  of 
Paula.  There  the  people,  especially  the 
poor,  without  waiting  for  her  death, 
regarded  her  as  a  saint. 

In  1 500,  two  years  after  her  divorce, 
she  founded  the  Order  of  the  Nuns  of 
the  Annunciation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  called  Annonciades,  in  honour  of 
the  ten  virtues  of  the  mother  of  God. 
The  superior  is  called  Ancilla,  in  token 
of  humility.  These  nuns  must  not  be 
confounded  with  the  Annonciades 
Celestes,  who  were  founded  a  century 
later.  Her  order  was  approved  by 
Alexander  VI.,  the  same  Pope  who  had 
granted  her  divorce.  She  took  the  veil 
but  would  never  accept  the  post  of 
Mother  Ancilla.  She  died  Feb.  4, 1 505 ; 
was  worshipped'  at  Bourges,  and  called 
"  Saint "  from  the  time  of  her  death.  She 
was  canonized  in  1738  by  Clement  XII. 

AA.SS.  Butler.  Baillet.  Lacroix, 
Louis  XII.  et  Anne  de  Bretagne. 

St.  Jane  (17)  of  the  Cross,  May  3, 
1481-1534.  Juana  Vazquez  was  a 
peasant  girl  of  Cubas  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Toledo,  sent  into  the  world  by 
the  B.  V.  Mary  to  restore  her  convent  of 
Sta.  Maria  de  la  Cruz,  of  the  3rd  Order 
of  St.  Francis.  The  child  showed  great 
piety  and  asceticism  from  her  infancy. 
She  was  so  bent  on  becoming  a  nun,  that, 
to  escape  all  opposition,  she  fled  from 
her  home,  disguised  as  a  man.  When 
she  arrived  at  the  convent,  the  V.  Mary 
gave  her  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  nuns 
and  they  received  her  as  cook.  She 
eventually  became  superior  of  the  house. 
She  was  thirty-eight  years  in  the  order, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-three,  in 
1534,  on  the  day  of  the  Finding  of  the 
Cross,  May  3.  Many  miracles  are  re- 
corded of  her  in  life  and  after  death. 
She  is  one  of  the  many  saints  said  to 
have  been  married  with  a  ring  to  the 
Infant  Saviour.  Her  body  was  found  in 
perfect  preservation  seventy  years  after 
her  death,  and  Mass  was  said  in  front  of 
her  coffin  in  presence  of  a  great  concourse 
of  people.  She  is  called  "Saint"  and 
"  Blessed  "  in  her  own  order  and  about 
Cubas,  but  has  never  been  so  pronounced 
by  the  authority  of  the  Church.  The 
Congregation  of  Kites,  in  1664,  under 


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ST.  JANE 


431 


Alexander  VII.,  declared  that  the  indul- 
gences granted  to  the  rosaries  and  beads 
of  the  venerable  Jane  of  the  Cross  were 
apocryphal  and  were  to  be  so  considered, 
and  that  it  was  not  to  be  believed  as 
undoubted  fact  that  the  beads  were  taken 
to  heaven  and  blessed  by  God  there  and 
smelt  sweet  from  the  touch  of  His  hands. 
Her  Life  was  written  by  one  of  her  nuns, 
Sister  Mary  Evangelista,  Daza,  Historia 
de  la  Vida  y  Milagros  de  Santa  Juana  de 
la  Cruz.  Saragoca,  1611.  Analecta,  iv. 
col.  1142.    Bagatta,  Admiranda. 

B.  Jane  (18)  de  l'Estonnac,  or  de 
Lestonnac,  Feb.  2,  1550-1640,  marquise 
de  Montferrant-Landiras  and  founder  of 
the  Order  of  Daughters  of  the  B.  V.  Mary, 
called  nuns  of  Notre  Dame.  Her  father 
was  a  counsellor  in  the  parliament  of 
Bordeaux,  and  came  of  the  ancient  and 
distinguished  family  of  Lestonnac.  Her 
mother,  Jeanne  Deyquem  de  Montaigne, 
was  sister  of  the  famous  philosopher  of 
that  name ;  she  either  was  a  Protestant, 
or  had  leanings  towards  Calvinism,  and 
encouraged  her  daughter  to  associate 
with  some  Calvinistic  girls  of  her  own 
age,  but  young  Jeanne  was  true  to  the 
faith  of  her  father.  At  seventeen  she 
married  Gaston,  marquis  of  Montferrant- 
Landiras,  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
families  of  Guienne.  She  had  been  a 
happy  wife  for  more  than  twenty-four 
years  when  the  marquis  died.  Jeanne 
resolved  to  retire  from  the  world,  but 
waited  until  her  four  surviving  children 
were  settled  in  life.  She  married  one  of 
her  daughters  to  the  Baron  d'Arpaillant ; 
two  others  became  nuns.  In  1603 
Jeanne  entered  the  convent  of  the 
Feuillantines  at  Toulouse.  She  had 
been  there  only  six  months  when  the 
unaccustomed  austerities  of  the  cloister 
affected  her  health  so  seriously  that  she 
had  to  give  up  the  idea  of  becoming  a 
nun  there,  and  she  returned  to  her 
relations  at  Bordeaux.  While  she  was 
overwhelmed  with  disappointment  at  the 
failure  of  her  plan,  she  conceived  the 
idea  of  founding  a  new  order  for  edu- 
cational purposes.  She  spent  some  time 
in  prayerful  seclusion,  near  her  son's 
chateau  at  Landiras,  and  then  she 
founded  the  institute  of  Daughters  of 
our  Lady,  which  was  annexed  to  the 


Order  of  St.  Benedict.  The  new  order 
was  established  by  a  decree  of  Paul  Y. 
in  1607.  Jeanne  and  her  first  few 
disciples  took  the  veil  in  the  following 
year,  in  their  house  near  the  port  in 
Bordeaux.  Many  convents  of  the  order 
have  been  established  since  then  and 
have  taken  an  active  part  in  the  edu- 
cation of  the  young.  She  died  Feb.  2, 
1640,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four.  She 
was  at  once  regarded  as  a  saint,  and 
articles  which  had  belonged  to  her  were 
preserved  as  inestimable  treasures.  Her 
canonization  was  talked  of  from  the  time 
of  her  death,  but  it  was  only  in  Sept., 
1900,  that  she  was  solemnly  beatified  by 
Leo  XIII.  Guerin,  P.2?.,  Supplement. 
Analecta,  ii.  1234  and  v.  454.  Diario 
di  Boma,  Sept.  27,  1834,  Dec.  14,  1841. 
Tablet,  Oct.  6,  1900. 

St.Jane(19)  or  Ste.  Chantal,D6C.  13, 
1572-1641,  baroness  of  Chantal.  Patron 
of  Annecy  and  Moulins ;  of  Nevers  (with 
Cyr,  son  of  Julitta  (2)  ).  Founder  and 
first  superior  of  the  Visitandines,  or 
Order  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Visitation. 

Jeanne  Francoise  Fremyot  was  born 
at  Dijon,  Jan.  23,  1572.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Benigne  Fremyot,  president 
of  the  parliament  of  Burgundy.  Her 
mother  was  Marguerite  de  Berbisey, 
descended  from  St.  Humbelina,  sister  of 
St  Bernard  of  Clairvaux.  From  her 
earliest  childhood,  Jeanne  Francoise  was 
remarkable  for  her  piety,  charity,  and 
devotion  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
at  that  time  disturbed  by  the  Reforma- 
tion. 

In  1592,  she  married  Christophe  de 
Rabutin,  baron  de  Chantal.  France  was 
then  distracted  by  civil  wars,  so  for 
safety  the  marriage  took  place  at  Bour- 
billy,  a  strongly  fortified  castle  belong- 
ing to  the  de  Chantal  family.  Here  the 
young  couple  lived  for  three  months, 
and  here  Jeanne  Francoise  was  left  to 
manage  household  and  estates  when 
her  husband  was  summoned  by  King 
Henri  IV.  to  join  his  army.  She  set  a 
good  example  in  her  house,  adhering 
herself  to  the  rules  she  made,  rising 
early,  working  with  her  maids,  assembling 
her  household  to  daily  prayer  in  the 
private  chapel  and  then  to  Mass  in  the 
parish  church,  and  losing  no  opportunity 


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ST.  JANE 


of  speaking  on  tho  subject  of  religion. 
Her  influence  was  felt  beyond  the  castle 
walls:  during  the  frequent  absences  of 
her  husband,  to  whom  she  was  devoted, 
she  managed  his  estates  with  great  judg- 
ment, farmers  and  managers  coming  to 
her  once  a  month  for  orders.  She  was 
not  only  obeyed  but  loved  by  all  beneath 
her,  especially  by  the  poor  and  sick, 
whom  she  visited  and  nursed  with  great 
devotion.  She  afterwards  spoke  of  this 
time  as  one  in  which  her  soul  was  luke- 
warm towards  God,  and  said  that  only 
when  her  husband  was  absent  did  she 
turn  with  any  zeal  to  God;  but  her 
friends  and  all  who  knew  her  thought 
her  then  extremely  pious  and  charitable. 

St.  Jeanne  had  six  children  ;  three  of 
whom,  a  son  and  two  daughters,  survived 
their  father,  who  was  shot  accidentally 
while  boar-hunting  in  1600. 

On  her  husband's  death,  she  went  to 
live  at  Monthelon  with  her  father-in-law, 
the  Baron  de  Chantal,  who  threatened 
that  unless  she  did  so,  he  would  dis- 
inherit her  children.  She  lived  there 
seven  years,  and  did  all  she  could  to 
convert  the  wicked  old  baron  and  to 
counteract  his  bad  influence.  She  suffered 
much  from  the  behaviour  of  an  insolent 
and  ignorant  servant,  mother  of  the 
baron's  illegitimate  children  ;  but  she 
did  her  duty  faithfully,  educating  these 
children  with  her  own,  and  bettering 
their  condition  in  many  ways. 

In  1604,  St.  Francis  de  Sales  became 
her  spiritual  director.  By  his  advice, 
she  remained  with  her  children,  control- 
ling their  tastes  and  inclinations,  and 
turning  their  growing  affections  towards 
God.  She  continued  also  her  work  among 
the  poor,  performing  the  meanest  services, 
nursing  them  in  loathsome  diseases, 
washing  and  laying  out  dead  bodies. 
She  was  called  by  these  poor  people,  La 
Sainte  Baronne.  It  was  during  this 
period  that  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
of  St  Francis's  letters  were  written 
to  her. 

At  this  time  the  Church  contained 
no  order  that  could  admit  the  sick  and 
weak.  St  Francis  saw  that  one  was 
wanted  to  include  them,  and  also  those 
who  might  occasionally  have  to  revisit 
the  world  and  occupy  themselves  with 


secular  business  in  the  interests  of  their 
children.  To  meet  this  need,  Madame 
de  Chantal,  with  the  assistance  of  St 
Francis,  founded  the  Order  of  the  Visita- 
tion in  1610.  Mortification  of  the  will 
was  to  take  the  place  of  maceration  of 
the  body;  and  weak  health  to  be  no 
obstacle  to  attaining  the  greatest  heights 
of  sanctity.  St  Francis  says  of  the  nuns 
of  the  Visitation  :  "  They  have  few  rules 
for  their  outward  life,  few  austerities, 
few  ceremonies.  ...  As  there  is  less 
rigour  for  the  body  than  in  other  orders, 
there  must  be  more  meekness  of  the 
heart.  .  .  .  Their  hands  are  only  occu- 
pied in  gathering  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross 
the  little  virtues  of  humility,  meekness, 
and  simplicity  that  grow  there,  and 
which  are  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of 
their  Beloved,  fixed  as  He  is  within  their 
hearts  as  with  nails  on  the  Cross.  They 
comfort  the  sick,  the  sullen,  the  ill 
tempered." 

The  time  had  now  come  when  Jeanne 
felt  she  had  done  her  duty  in  the  world 
and  by  her  children,  so  she  decided  to 
take  the  veil  at  Annecy,  where  the  first 
convent  of  the  new  order  was  being 
built.  She  gained  the  consent  of  her 
father  to  this  step,  but  the  Baron  de 
Chantal,  now  eighty  years  of  age,  opposed 
her  wishes. 

Before  going  to  Annecy,  she  went  to 
Dijon  to  take  leave  of  her  father  and  her 
only  son.  The  young  baron  threw  him- 
self at  her  feet  and  entreated  her  with 
much  eloquent  reasoning  to  give  up  her 
project  and  remain  at  home.  Failing  to 
persuade  her,  when  she  rose  to  go  he 
threw  himself  down  at  the  threshold  of 
the  door  and  she  stepped  over  him. 
This  is  called  by  one  of  her  biographers 
her  generous  conduct  in  leaving  her 
country  and  family  to  go  where  God 
called  her. 

As  head  of  the  new  order  at  Annecy, 
she  was  now  called  La  Mere  de  Chanted, 
and  she  and  some  of  its  first  members 
were  remarkable  for  extraordinary  holi- 
ness. In  order  that  the  vow  of  poverty 
should  be  observed  with  the  greatest 
strictness,  the  nuns  changed  their  beds, 
crosses,  rosaries,  eta,  every  year,  that 
no  sister  should  consider  anything,  how- 
ever trifling,  her  own. 


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ST.  JANE 


Jeanne's  eldest  daughter,  Mario  Aymee, 
was  married  while  very  young,  to  Ber- 
nard de  Sales,  baron  de  Thorens,  brother 
of  St.  Francis.  The  arrangement  of 
this  marriage  was  followed  by  proposals 
for  that  of  Madame  de  Chantal.  A 
nobleman  of  Burgundy,  very  rich  and 
distinguished  and  an  intimate  friend  of 
President  Fremyot,  asked  his  daughter's 
hand  in  marriage.  The  president  and 
all  the  relations  of  the  pious  widow 
ardently  desired  that  this  marriago  should 
be  arranged,  and  St.  Jeanne  was  the 
more  pressed  to  assent  because  of  the 
worldly  advantages  she  would  gain  for 
her  family  by  this  step.  The  temptation 
to  yield  was  very  strong,  she  had  to 
fight  against  her  own  heart.  She  could 
not  but  be  touched  by  the  merits  of  her 
suitor,  and  the  benefits  her  family  would 
derive  from  the  marriage.  But  God 
saved  her  from  breaking  the  promises 
which  she  had  so  often  made,  that  she 
would  be  His  alone.  The  gentleman 
withdrew  his  suit,  and  the  holy  widow, 
to  seal  by  her  blood  the  vow  she  now 
renewed  never  again  to  listen  to  a  similar 
proposal,  had  the  courage  to  brand  the 
name  of  Jesus  on  her  heart  with  a  red 
hot  iron. 

In  1(517,  while  Madame  de  Thorens 
was  on  a  visit  to  her  mother  at  the  con- 
vent at  Annecy,  she  heard  of  the  death 
of  her  husband.  The  shock  brought  on 
an  illness,  her  child  was  born  prema- 
turely, and  lived  just  long  enough  to  be 
baptized  by  his  grandmother  Ste.  Jeanne. 
The  young  widow  never  recovered.  On 
her  death-bed  she  was  received  into  the 
Order  of  the  Visitation. 

Jeanne's  second  daughter,  Francoise, 
became  Comtesse  de  Toulonjon,  and  is 
described  in  the  letters  of  her  niece, 
Mme.  de  Sevigne,  as  brilliant,  warm- 
hearted, and  imperious. 

Jeanne's  only  son  died  in  the  flower 
of  his  age,  before  his  mother.  His 
daughter  was  afterwards  the  famous 
Mme.  de  Sevigne. 

Jeanne  ruled  her  convent  wisely  and 
well ;  she  was  frequently  asked  to  reform 
religious  houses  of  other  orders.  Twice 
she  returned  to  the  world  to  put  her 
affairs  in  order,  on  the  deaths  of  her 
father  and  father-in-law.    During  her 


lifetime  eighty  convents  of  the  Visitation 
came  into  existence.  In  1622,  St. 
Francis  de  Sales  died,  and  she  was  in- 
strumental in  procuring  his  canonization. 
She  also  set  herself  to  collect  all  the 
writings  of  the  holy  bishop,  and  it  was 
due  to  her  labours  that  his  letters,  medi- 
tations, sermons,  and  book,  U  Amour  de 
Dieu9  were  made  public. 

A  few  months  before  Jeanne's  death, 
Anne  of  Austria,  queen  of  France,  sent 
for  the  aged  saint  to  the  court  of  St. 
Germains,  and  made  her  bless  her  son, 
afterwards  Louis  XIV. 

Jeanne  died  at  Moulins,  Deo.  13, 1641. 
She  was  buried  near  St.  Francis  in  the 
Church  of  the  Visitation  at  Annecy. 
Each  saint  was  placed  in  a  crystal  coffin 
above  a  golden  altar. 

Jeanne  was  considered  a  saint  during 
her  life.  Pieces  of  her  dress  and  cloth- 
ing were  treasured  as  relics.  Several 
miracles  are  recorded  of  her.  During 
the  famine  which  devastated  France, 
especially  Burgundy,  1600-1,  she  dis- 
tributed such  quantities  of  food  to  the 
poor  that  her  own  servants  began  to 
grumble  and  to  fear  that  there  would  be 
none  left  for  the  household,  should  the 
famine  continue.  Madame  de  Chantal 
went  to  the  granary  to  see  whethor  there 
was  any  foundation  for  their  alarm,  and 
found  only  one  cask  of  flour,  and  a  small 
quantity  of  rye  remaining.  It  was  the 
middle  of  winter  and  the  number  of 
paupers  increased  daily.  She  ordered 
the  servants  to  take  without  measuring, 
and  give  without  counting,  which  was 
done  for  six  months;  and  in  summer, 
when  she  went  again  to  the  granary,  the 
little  store  had  not  diminished.  The  saint 
herself  always  attributed  this  miracle  to 
the  prayers  of  Dame  Jeanne,  a  good  old 
servant. 

Jeanne  Francoise  was  canonized  by 
Clement  XIII.,  in  1767. 

B.M.  L'Abbe  Bougaud,  Vic  de  Ste. 
Chantal.  Modern  Saints.  Lady  Lovat, 
Seeds  and  Sheaves. 

St.  Jane  (20)  of  St.  Joseph,  June  7, 
1591-1651,  V.  Abbess  of  Tart.  Jeanne 
de  Courcelle  de  Fourlan,  daughter  of  the 
Baron  de  Fourlan,  was  educated  in  the 
Abbey  of  Notre  Dame  de  Tart,  the  first 
Cistercian  nunnery.    She  took  the  veil 

2  F 


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ST.  JANE 


at  Migette,  a  convent  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Clara.  After  she  had  spent  ten  years 
there,  the  Abbess  of  Tart  resigned  her 
office,  and  Jeanne  de  Fonrlan  was  con- 
strained by  her  superiors  to  become  her 
successor. 

The  first  fervour  of  the  Cistercian 
Order  had  long  ceased  to  animate  this 
community,  and  its  discipline  was  seri- 
ously relaxed.  The  nuns  had  abandoned 
the  appointed  abstinence  and  religious 
exercises  of  their  rule.  They  dressed 
in  silks,  with  gold  and  silver  lace  and 
jewellery.  They  held  intercourse  with 
secular  persons  and  entertained  them, 
until  their  abbey  had  become  almost  an 
hotel.  They  were  anxious  only  to  admit 
ladies  of  noble  blood. 

The  new  abbess  was  determined  to 
see  these  abuses  remedied.  With  dis- 
cretion and  patience  she  enforced  the 
observance  of  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict ; 
but  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  were 
almost  insuperable.  The  abbey  had  no 
cloister,  no  grille,  no  private  choir.  The 
nuns  rebelled  against  her  strictness,  and 
were  supported  by  their  noble  relatives 
and  even  by  ecclesiastics  of  the  order. 
She  was  tempted  to  give  up  the  struggle 
in  despair,  but  at  this  crisis  the  Bishop 
of  Langres  came  to  her  assistance.  His 
eloquence,  joined  to  the  efforts  of  the 
abbess,  won  over  to  the  side  of  reform 
five  of  the  inmates  of  the  abbey.  In 
May,  1023,  these  all  removed  to  the 
neighbouring  town  of  Dijou.  They  left 
at  Tart,  eight  nuns  still  opposed  to 
reform,  of  whom  three  afterwards  joined 
the  little  band  of  reformers. 

The  bishop  wished  to  unite  this 
community  with  that  of  Port-Royal, 
which  observed  the  same  rule,  and  the 
Abbess  Jeanne  spent  five  years  at  Port- 
Royal.  Troubles,  however,  arose  when 
her  superiors  tried  to  appoint  her  Abbess 
of  Port-Royal,  and  she  returned  to  Dijon 
in  1635,  where  she  was  three  times  re- 
elected abbess.  She  had  herself  been 
the  means  of  making  the  office  triennial. 
She  died  May  8,  1051,  at  the  age  of 
sixty. 

Helyot.  Migne,  Die.  des  Ordres  Beli- 
gieux.  Guerin. 

St.  Jane  (21)  of  Denmark,  17th 
century.  BSguine  in  1662.  Represented 


with  a  crucifix  and  a  rosary.  Gueuebault. 
Stadler. 

B.  Jane  (22),  Feb.  22,  March  1  and 
6,  +  1670.  Giovanna  Bonomi,  a  native 
of  Vicenza,  nun  in  the  Benedictine 
monastery  at  Bassano,  was  remarkable 
for  humility  and  miracles.  Her  Life  by 
Garzadorowas  published  at  Padua,  1675. 
A.B.M.  Migne. 

St  Janilla,  Jonilla. 

St.  Januaria  (l),  July  17,  +  200. 
One  of  the  twelve  Scillitan  martyrs, 
seven  of  whom  were  men  and  five  were 
women ;  the  other  women  were  Generosa 
(2),  Vestina  or  Vestigia,  Don  at  a,  and 
Secunda.  They  lived  at  Scillita,  a  town 
of  proconsular  Africa,  and  were  brought 
prisoners  to  Carthage  to  be  tried  as 
Christians  in  the  reign  of  Severus,  before 
the  great  general  persecution  begun  by 
him  in  202.  Their  acts  were  transcribed 
from  the  public  registers,  and  are  said, 
both  by  Cuperus  the  Bollandist  and  by 
Butler,  to  be  of  undoubted  authenticity. 
They  contain  no  long  speeches  and  no 
miracles.  St.  Speratus  spoke  for  them 
all,  saying  they  had  not  broken  the  laws 
or  defrauded  the  revenues  or  committed 
any  crime,  but  that  they  were  Christians 
and  willing  to  die  for  their  faith  rather 
than  renounce  it.  The  women  were 
asked  severally  whether  they  were  de- 
termined to  adhere  to  their  religion. 
They  were  all  offered  a  delay  of  some 
days  to  decide,  but  they  declined  and 
were  put  to  the  sword.  Januaria  and 
Generosa  were  not  natives  of  Scillita, 
although  reckoned  among  the  Scillitan 
martyrs,  because  tried  and  executed  with 
them.    R.M.  AA.SS.  Butler. 

SS.  Januaria  (2-30),  MM.  in  various 
places  during  the  persecutions  in  the 
early  centuries. 

St  Januariana  or  Januaria,  Oct. 
20,  M.  at  Pozzuoli.  AA.SS. 

St  Januarissa,  June  3.  Roman 
martyr.  AA.SS. 

Janviere,  French  for  Januaria. 

St.  Jappa,  Fappa. 

St.  Jeanne,  Jane. 

St.  Jehohanan,  Joanna,  wife  of 
Chuza. 

St.  Jeonilla,  Jonilla. 

St.  Jeremia,  Hieremia  (2). 

St  Jeronyma,  Girolama. 


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VEN.  JOAN 


435 


St.  Jerusalem,  July  25,  a  holy 
woman  honoured  in  the  Greek  Church. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Joan  or  Joanna,  Jane. 

Ven.  Joan,  1412-1431  (Jeanne  or 
Jehane  d'Arc,  la  Pucelle,  the  Maid  of 
Orleans,  often  erroneously  called  in 
England  Joan  of  Arc).  Her  father  was 
Jean  d'Arc,  a  peasant  of  Domremy.  She 
was  a  strong-built,  hard-working,  dutiful 
girl.  In  1425  the  Archangel  Michael 
appeared  to  her  and  commanded  her  to 
deliver  her  country.  Voices  of  other 
angels  and  saints  encouraged  and  in- 
structed her  from  time  to  time.  In  1428 
the  English  had  possession  of  a  great 
part  of  France  and  were  besieging 
Orleans,  the  last  stronghold  left  to 
Charles  VII.,  king  of  France.  His 
treasury  was  empty,  a  complete  demorali- 
zation had  set  in  amongst  his  friends 
and  subjects,  and  he  was  preparing  to 
seek  an  asylum  in  Scotland  or  Spain, 
when  Joan  announced  her  mission. 
Many  difficulties  and  delays  were  thrown 
in  her  way,  but  at  last  she  sent  a  summons 
to  Henry  VI.,  king  of  England,  the 
Eegent  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  their 
lieutenants,  to  give  up  the  keys  of  all 
the  towns  they  held  in  France,  and  go 
home  to  their  own  country.  On  April 
28,  1429,  she  rode  into  Orleans,  and 
at  once  everything  changed.  She  was 
wounded  by  an  arrow,  and  the  English 
thought  she  was  killed.  When  they 
saw  her  leading  a  new  assault  they 
began  to  think  she  had  some  unearthly 
aid.  Meantime,  merely  human  and 
very  feminine,  she  had  wept  with  pain 
and  fear  while  the  wound  was  being 
dressed.  The  siege  had  lasted  seven 
months  ;  in  one  week  she  raised  it.  On 
the  last  day  she  ordered  that  the  English 
should  not  be  attacked  unless  they  began 
the  fight.  Immediately  they  moved  off. 
In  a  short  time  she  took  from  them 
several  towns  without  any  difficulty,  for 
at  the  sight  of  her  banner  the  soldiers 
were  seized  with  panic.  Those  newly 
levied  in  England  deserted  in  great 
numbers,  4C  for  feare  of  the  mayde,"  before 
they  arrived  at  the  port  of  embarkation. 
The  saints  had  sent  her  to  raise  the  siege 
of  Orleans  and  to  have  the  king  crowned 
at  Bheims.    After  a  hard  fight  against 


his  indolence  and  vacillation  and  the 
jealousy  and  dishonesty  of  the  courtiers, 
she  induced  Charles  to  come  to  Bheims, 
and  stood  beside  him  while  he  was 
anointed  and  crowned  by  the  archbishop. 
In  May,  1430,  she  was  at  Compiegne, 
where  the  English  and  Burgundians 
were  still  making  a  stand.  In  a  sortie 
that  she  made  on  the  24th  her  troop  lost 
courage  and  fled  to  the  town.  Some  of 
the  enemy  were  pushing  it  with  the 
retreating  French  ;  and,  whether  by 
treachery  or  blind  panic,  the  gates  were 
shut,  and  Joan  was  taken  prisoner  by  a 
soldier  in  the  service  of  John  of  Luxem- 
burg. Within  two  days  the  Vicar- 
general  of  the  Inquisition  sent  a  message 
to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  requiring  him 
to  deliver  up  Joan  to  the  justice  of  the 
Church,  and  the  University  of  Paris 
wrote  to  him  to  the  same  effect.  The 
English  desired  her  death.  They  felt 
they  should  have  no  success  while  she 
lived  ;  they  believed  no  mere  mortal 
could  make  their  soldiers  flee  before  the 
French,  so  they  were  glad  to  join  the 
Church  in  counting  her  a  sorceress. 
Pierre  Cochon,  bishop  of  Beauvais,  was 
the  chief  organ  of  the  university.  He 
made  favour  with  the  English  in  the 
hope  of  getting  the  bishopric  of  Bouen 
for  himself.  The  Archbishop  of  Bheims 
announced  to  his  people  that  la  Pucelle 
had  been  taken,  and  that  it  was  a  just 
judgment  of  God,  because  she  had  obeyed 
her  own  inspirations  instead  of  putting 
herself  under  the  direction  of  the  clergy. 
She  was  taken  to  Bouen  in  the  last  days 
of  1430.  There  she  was  treated  with 
every  indignity  and  injustice.  Traps 
were  set  to  make  her  contradict  or  in- 
criminate herself.  France  moved  not  a 
finger  to  help  her.  She  was  burned  in 
the  market-place  at  Bouen  as  a  heretic 
and  magician.  Scarce  had  her  soul  left 
her  body  than  an  Englishman  who  had 
helped  to  pile  the  faggots  for  her  execu- 
tion, exclaimed,  "  God  have  mercy  .on  us, 
we  have  burnt  a  saint  I "  (Wallon,  Jeanne 
d'Arc  d'apres  les  monumens  contemporains). 
There  is  a  mass  of  literature  about  her 
in  English  and  French,  both  Catholic 
and  Protestant.  All  the  writers  agree 
in  admiring  her  character.  There  is 
some  controversy  as  to  the  proportion  of 


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ST.  JOANNA 


guilt  to  be  assigned  to  the  Church  who 
accomplished  this  judicial  murder,  the 
enemies  who  rejoiced  at  her  death,  and 
the  friends  who  deserted  her  in  her 
utmost  need.  Pius  X.  has  declared 
her  Venerable,  and  it  is  reported  that 
her  canonization  is  imminent. 

St.  Joanna,  May  24,  June  27  (Joane; 
Hebrew,  Jehohanan  ;  Syriac,  Juchan), 
1st  century.  One  of  the  Unguentifene 
or  Myrophores,  i.e.  ointment-bearers. 
Patron  of  the  cellarers  or  caterers  of 
convents.  Wife  of  Chuza,  the  steward 
of  Herod  Antipas,  tetraroh  of  Galilee. 

Represented  holding  a  vase,  a  purse 
with  several  divisions  in  it,  or  a  basket 
containing  bread  and  other  provisions; 
sometimes  with  bottles  beside  her,  or 
carrying  them  in  a  basket 

Our  Lord,  as  He  journeyed,  preaching 
the  gospel,  was  followed,  not  only  by 
the  apostles,  but  also  by  "  certain  women, 
which  had  been  healed  of  evil  spirits 
and  infirmities  .  .  .  which  ministered 
unto  Him  of  their  substance."  The  customs 
of  the  country  allowed  them  to  show 
their  gratitude  and  friendship  in  this 
way.  Among  these  was  Joanna.  She 
was  one  of  those  who  brought  spices  and 
ointments  to  embalm  His  body,  and  who 
carried  the  tidings  of  His  resurrection 
to  the  apostles.  She  has  been  honoured 
as  a  saint  since  the  9th  century,  and  is 
mentioned  in  the  ancient  Latin  and 
modern  Roman  marty rologies  on  May  24. 
The  Martiloge  of  Salisbury  calls  May 
24  "The  feest  also  of  saynt  Joane  y* 
was  wfye  unto  Chusi  Herodes  proctour 
that  sent  unto  her  husbond  (as  is  re- 
membred  in  y°  gospell)  that  he  sholde 
not  medle  agaynst  Chryst." 

In  the  Greek  Church  all  the  holy 
women  who  went  to  Christ's  sepulchre 
are  honoured,  with  Joseph  of  Arimathea, 
on  the  second  Sunday  after  Easter. 

Joanna  is  mentioned  twice  by  name 
in  the  Bible,  St.  Luke  viii.  3  ;  xxiv.  10. 
B.M.  AA.SS.  Smith,  Die.  of  the  Bible, 
"  Joanna."  M'Clintock,  Cyclopaedia  of 
Biblical  Literature.  Gill,  Exposition  of 
the  New  Testament.  Baillet,  Vies, "  Sainte 
Jeanne."  Martinov,  Grseco  -  Slavonian 
Calendar,  June  27.  Cahier. 

St.  Jocunda  (1),  May  10,  M.  at 
Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 


St.  Jocunda  (2),  June  2,  one  of  a 
list  of  227  Roman  martyrs  commemorated 
by  St.  Jerome.  AA.SS. 

St.  Jocunda  (3),  M.  with  St.  Julia 

OF  TROYE8. 

St.  Jocundianilla,  July  2,  M.  at 
Rome  or  in  Mesopotamia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Johanna,  Jane. 

Joheleth,  Yoland  (3). 

St.  Jolana  or  Oeolana,  Yoland  (1). 

B.  Jolenta  (1),  the  Penitent,  Oct  9, 
Dec.  10,  +  before  1246,  a  nun  at 
Moustier-sur-Sambre,  near  Namur  in 
Belgium,  where  the  discipline  was  lax. 
Desiring  a  stricter  rule,  she  joined  the 
Cistercians  at  Aquiria.  After  her  death, 
she  appeared  in  glory  to  St.  Lutgard. 
Bucelinus,  Dec  10.  AAJSS.,  Prseter, 
Oct.  9. 

B.  Jolenta  (2),  April  23,  June  16, 
10,  24  (Helena,  Hellen,  Yoland),  4- 
1296  or  1299.  Daughter  of  Bela  IV., 
king  of  Hungary,  consequently  niece  of 
St.  Elisabeth  op  Hungary  and  sister 
of  St.  Einga  or  Cunegund  (4).  Jolenta 
was  married,  in  1256,  to  Boleslas  the 
Pious,  duke  of  Galicia  in  Poland.  They 
founded  a  nunnery  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Francis  at  Gnesn.  They  had  an  only 
daughter  Hedwig,  who  married  Ladislas, 
called  Loktek,  duke  of  Cujava,  and  was 
mother  of  Casimir,  famous  as  the  first 
king  who  gavo  Poland  settled  laws. 
Jolenta  lived  some  time  at  the  court  of 
Kinga  and  her  husband.  The  two  holy 
sisters  became  widows  in  1279,  and  both 
took  the  veil  in  the  Franciscan  convent 
of  Sandecz  founded  by  Einga.  Jolenta 
was  buried  at  Sandecz.  Although  her 
tomb  was  honoured  with  miracles,  it  was 
expressly  ordered  that  she  should  not 
be  worshipped,  as  the  authority  of  the 
Church  had  not  been  given  to  do  so. 
However,  in  1827,  her  immemorial 
worship  was  confirmed  by  the  Congre- 
gation of  Bites.  Bomano  Seraphic  Mart. 
in  B.M.  Appendix.  AA.SS.,  Prseter^ 
July  24,  April  23.  Diario  Bomano,  Sept. 
28,  1827.  Franciscan  Breviary,  Lessons 
for  her  office. 

Jolenta  (3),  Yoland  (3). 

St.  Jonella,  Jonilla. 

St.  Jonilla,  Jan.  17  (Contlla,  Fo- 
nilla,  Janilla,  Jeonilla,  Jonella,  Jo- 
villa,  Junilla,  Tunilla),  sister  and 


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ST.  JULIA 


437 


fellow-martyr  of  St.  Leonilla.  Jonilla 
was  converted  by  seeing  the  bodies  of 
the  three  holy  brothers  remain  unhurt 
by  the  fire.  She  left  her  husband  and 
two  little  children  and  became  a  Christian. 
She  was  taken  by  the  heathen  and  hung 
up  by  her  hair,  and  at  last  beheaded  with 
her  sister.  AAJSS.  Natalis,  Catalogue 
Sanctorum. 

St.  Josepha,  March  21,  M.  at  Alex- 
andria.   Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Jotte,  Oda  (4).   Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Jovilla,  Jonilla. 

St.  Jubitana,  Feb.  24,  M.  at  Nico- 
media,  with  a  great  many  others,  of 
whose  names  about  156  are  given  by 
Henschenius  from  the  old  martyrologies. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Jucunda  (1),  Nov.  25,  V.  at 
Rhegium,  in  iEmilia,  a  province  of  Italy. 
B.M. 

St.  Jucunda  (2),  July  27,  M.  at 
Nicomedia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Jucunda  (3),  July  27,  M.  with 
SS.  Julia  and  Felix,  at  Nola.  B.M. 

SS.  Judith  (1),  Ruth,  and  Hester, 
queens,  Sept.  14,  are  commemorated  this 
day  in  the  Martyrology  of  Salisbury,  but 
not  in  the  Roman  Martyrology.  Ruth 
is  callod  queen  and  widow ;  the  former 
title  is,  no  doubt,  in  honour  of  her  being 
the  grandmother  of  King  David  and 
direct  ancestress  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  See  the  books  called  by  their 
several  names  in  the  Old  Testament  and 
Apocrypha. 

St.  Judith  (2)  or  Juthid,  May  6,  M. 
at  Milan,  with  many  others,  under 
Maximian.  AA.SS. 

St.  Judith  (3),  Jutta  (3). 

St.  Judith  (4),  Jutta  (5). 

St.  Juditta,  Jutta. 

St.  Juette,  Ivetta. 

St.  Jui,  Julia  or  Julttta.  Cahier. 

St.  Julia  (1),  one  of  the  martyrs  of 
Lyons  who  died  in  prison.  (See  Blan- 
dina.) 

St.  Julia  (2),  one  of  the  martyrs  of 
Lyons  beheaded,  being  a  Roman  citizen, 
instead  of  being  killed  by  the  beasts  of 
the  circus.    (See  Blandina.) 

St.  Julia  (3),  June  4,  one  in  a  list  of 
martyrs  commemorated  in  several  old 
martyrologies.  The  place  of  their  death 
is  so  variously  written  as  to  leave  it 


doubtful  whether  it  was  Nevors,  Noyon, 
Nogent,  or  Nineveh.  AA.SS. 

St.  Julia  (4),  May  8,  M.  at  Con- 
stantinople with  St.  Acacius.  (See 
Agatha  (2).)  AA.SS. 

SS.  Julia  (5-18).  Besides  the  above 
there  are,  commemorated  among  the 
martyrs  in  the  early  persecutions,  five 
Julias  who  suffered  martyrdom  at  Borne, 
two  at  Nicomedia,  two  at  Carthage,  one 
at  Ancyra,  and  three  in  uncertain  places. 
There  is  also  one  among  the  supposed 
companions  of  St.  Ursula. 

St.  Julia  (19),  Feb.  20,  Dec.  10, 
V.  M.  at  Merida.  Companion  of  St. 
Eulalia  (1),  and  insisted  on  accompany- 
ing her  to  martyrdom.  B.M.,  Dec.  10. 
AA.SS.,  Feb.  26. 

SS.  Julia  (20)  and  Jucunda,  July 
27,  honoured  at  Nola  with  St.  Felix,  the 
fifth  of  that  name  worshipped  in  this 
place.  Their  names  are  in  the  Roman 
and  sundry  other  martyrologies,  and 
their  memory  has  been  in  veneration 
from  very  early  times  at  Nola  in 
Campania.  B.M.  Andrea  Ferraro, 
Cimiterio  d%  Nola,  p.  70. 

St.  Julia  (21),  July  21,  V.  of  Troyes, 
M.  about  275.  A  nan  of  the  city  of 
Troyes  was  carried  captive  by  Claudius, 
a  chief  of  barbarians.  As  she  was  very 
pretty,  Claudius  was  going  to  promote 
her  to  be  one  of  his  wives,  but  she 
warned  him  that  she  was  protected  by 
an  angel  of  the  Lord,  to  whom  she  was 
espoused  and  who  would  take  instant 
vengeance  for  any  harm  done  to  her. 
Claudius  asked  her  the  name  of  her 
husband,  who  seemed  to  be  a  greater 
chief  than  himself,  and  able  to  protect 
her  against  him  in  his  own  territory. 
She  said  her  Lord  was  Jesus  Christ. 
Claudius  had  heard  of  the  Christians, 
and  as  soon  as  he  knew  that  she  was  one 
of  them,  he  treated  her  with  the  greatest 
respect,  and  gave  her  an  apartment  where 
no  one  was  allowed  to  enter,  and  he 
ordered  the  women-servants  to  obey  her 
in  all  things.  She  was  very  grateful 
and  spent  her  time  in  devotion. 

After  a  time  Claudius  was  going  to 
war  and  requested  Julia  to  pray  for  his 
success.  She  bade  him  go  in  peace,  and 
promised  to  pray  for  his  safety  until  he 
came  back.    He  gained  a  great  victory 


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ST.  JULIA 


over  his  enemies ;  and  on  his  return  he 
treated  Julia  as  if  he  was  her  slave  and 
not  she  his. 

When  she  had  been  in  captivity 
twenty-eight  years,  she  had  a  vision,  in 
which  the  Lord  told  her  to  return  to  her 
native  country,  to  receive  the  crown  of 
martyrdom.  Next  day  she  told  her 
dream  to  Claudius,  and  bade  him  detain 
her  there  no  longer.  He  said  he  could 
not  stay  there  without  her  as  his  enemies, 
from  whom  he  had  been  kept  safely  by 
her  prayers,  would  come  and  kill  him. 
So  they  went  together  to  Troyes,  where 
the  Emperor  Anrelian  then  was. 

His  prefect  Elidius  very  soon  had  Julia 
apprehended,  and  as  she  confessed  that 
she  was  a  Christian,  he  ordered  her  to 
be  stretched  with  trocleas  and  to  have 
hot  coals  put  on  her  back.  The  exe- 
cutioners, as  soon  as  they  had  stretched 
her  out,  were  struck  blind  so  that  they 
could  not  go  on  with  the  torture,  and 
they  implored  Julia  to  help  them. 
Others  were  ordered  to  scourge  her,  but 
their  arms  became  powerless.  The 
emperor,  who  was  present,  commanded 
her  to  sacrifice  to  his  gods,  threatening 
her  with  immediate  death  in  case  of 
refusal.  She  said  she  was  ready  to  die 
and  would  on  no  account  sacrifice  to  his 
gods.  So  he  sentenced  her  to  be  be- 
headed. 

Claudius  presented  himself  to 
Anrelian,  saying,  "  Order  me  also  to  be 
beheaded  with  her,  for  I  am  her  dis- 
ciple." Anrelian  asked  who  he  was,  and 
he  answered,  "  I  am  Claudius  the  king, 
who  took  her  captive  when  I  fought 
against  the  Bomans,  and  her  God  has 
given  me  many  blessings  for  her  sake, 
during  eight  and  twenty  years  that  I 
have  served  and  honoured  her.  A  short 
time  ago  her  God  told  her  to  return  to 
Troyes,  to  receive  the  martyr's  crown, 
and  I  said  I  would  not  let  her  go  unless 
I  might  come  with  her.  She  told  me  to 
leave  all  I  had,  and  give  my  goods  to 
the  poor  and  come  with  her,  and  her  God 
would  give  me  the  crown  of  everlasting 
life,  so  I  have  come  with  her,  and  I  will 
die  with  her."  Anrelian  said,  "  You  are 
not  a  Christian,  so  how  can  you  die  for 
Christ's  sake  ?  "  Claudius  answered,  "  I 
think  that  if  I  shed  my  blood  for  Jesus 


Christ,  I  shall  be  a  Christian.  He  will 
accept  me  for  the  sake  of  His  blessed 
martyr  Julia."  Then  Anrelian  ordered 
him  to  be  put  to  death  outside  the  walls 
of  the  city.  Twenty  other  Christians 
offered  themselves  to  Anrelian  and  were 
put  to  death  at  their  own  request,  and 
buried  in  the  same  place  where  Julia 
and  Claudius  were  killed  and  buried. 

RM.  AA.SS.,  from  her  acts  collected 
by  Canisius  and  Surius. 

The  story  is  almost  the  same  as  that 
of  St.  Aucega,  and  is  perhaps  a  duplicate 
of  it.    (See  Luceja.) 

St.  Julia  (22)  or  Julius,  April  16, 
M.  303,  was  one  of  nineteen  martyrs  at 
Saragossa,  celebrated  by  Prudentius,  in 
his  book  of  crowns,  in  which  he  con- 
gratulates Saragossa  on  having  more 
martyrs  to  Christ  than  any  other  town 
in  Spain.  His  hymn  on  the  subject  is 
given  by  Papebroch  in  AA.SS.  R.M. 

St.  Julia  (23),  Oct.  1,  M.  with  her 
brother  and  sister,  SS.  Yerissimus  and 
Maxima,  at  Lisbon,  probably  303.  R.M. 
AAJSS. 

St.  Julia  (24)  of  Resaphe,  Oct  7, 
V.  M.  early  in  the  4th  century.  Put  to 
death  under  Marcian,  governor  of 
Augusta  Euphratesia  or  Resaphe,  in 
Syria,  soon  after  the  martyrdom  of  SS. 
Sergius  and  Bacchus,  and  buried  near 
them.  The  place  was  afterwards  called 
Sergiopolis.  It  is  in  the  diocese  of 
Hierapolis.    R.M.    AA.SS.  Butler. 

St.  Julia  (25),  Eu8tochium. 

St.  Julia  (26)  of  Egypt,  July  29,  is 
perhaps  the  nun  who  is  mentioned  in  the 
Life  of  St.  Euphrasia  (8). 

St.  Julia  (27),  May  22,  V.  M.  in 
Corsica.  Patron  of  Brescia  and  Bergamo. 

On  the  taking  of  the  city  of  Carthage, 
either  by  the  Vandals  in  439,  or  the 
Persians  in  625,  St.  Julia  was  among 
the  captives,  and  fell  to  the  lot  of  a  man 
named  Eosebius,  whom  she  served 
according  to  the  apostolical  precept,  not 
with  eye-service,  but  as  unto  the  Lord, 
and  her  leisure  she  devoted  to  reading 
or  to  prayer.  Moreover,  she  fasted  con- 
tinually, save  only  on  the  day  of  the 
Lord's  resurrection.  Her  wan  face  and 
wasted  limbs  showed  the  severity  of  her 
self-discipline;  she  was  pale  as  the 
violets  of  abstinence,  white  as  the  lilies 


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of  chastity.  Her  master,  Eusebius,  who 
was  a  Syrian,  in  the  course  of  a  voyage 
to  Gaul,  with  precious  merchandise, 
touched  at  Corsica,  and  there  took  part 
in  a  pagan  sacrifice.  It  was  presently 
discovered  by  some  of  the  chief  inhabi- 
tants that  he  had  a  Christian  maiden  on 
board,  who  despised  their  pagan  gods 
and  took  no  part  in  their  sacrifices. 
Eusebius  was  called  upon  to  produce 
her,  but  he  said  that  her  obstinate  ad- 
herence to  her  own  superstition  would 
not  yield  either  to  menace  or  persuasion, 
and  that  finding  her  the  most  faithful  of 
his  slaves,  he  had  ceased  to  persecute 
her  on  that  account.  He  was  then 
offered  four  other  slaves  in  her  stead, 
or  bidden  to  name  his  price  for  her,  and 
he  should  have  it.  But  he  said  that  if 
they  would  give  him  their  whole  fortune 
he  would  not  part  with  her.  They  now 
had  recourse  to  stratagem.  Eusebius 
was  invited  to  a  banquet  and  plied  with 
wine  till  he  sank  into  a  heavy  sleep.  A 
crowd  of  pagans  then  hastened  to  the 
ship,  dragged  forth  the  maiden,  promis- 
ing her  freedom  if  she  would  sacrifice  to 
their  gods.  She  replied  that  the  service 
of  Christ  was  her  freedom.  Blows  and 
torture  failed  to  shake  her  constancy, 
and  infuriated  by  opposition,  they  cruci- 
fied her.  Eusebius  awoke  from  his  wine 
only  in  time  to  witness  the  last  struggle 
of  her  victorious  faith.  Angels  supported 
her  in  her  last  moments,  and  a  dove 
issuing  from  her  mouth,  winged  its  way 
beyond  the  stars.  Angels  bore  tidings 
of  her  martyrdom  to  a  congregation  of 
monks  who  abode  in  the  island  of  Gor- 
gona.  They  forthwith  set  sail  for 
Corsica;  the  wind  was  favourable,  and 
they  found  all  as  the  angels  had  told 
them.  So  they  took  down  the  body  of 
the  holy  martyr  from  the  cross,  placed  it 
in  their  ship,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
wind  was  against  them,  returned  with 
all  speed  to  Gorgona.  They  there 
wrapped  the  body  in  spices  and  laid  it 
in  a  sepulchre  with  great  joy. 

It  is  said  that  other  brethren  from  the 
island  of  Capraja  seeing  the  ship  return 
from  Corsica  in  full  sail  and  in  die  teeth 
of  the  wind,  marvelled  what  virtue  she 
could  have  in  her  that  she  flew  to  wind- 
ward like  a  bird*   So  they  came  and 


heard  the  whole  tale ;  asked  and  received 
the  blessing  of  their  brethren,  and 
departed. 

Some  two  hundred  years  afterwards, 
Queen  Anna,  wife  of  Desiderius,  king  of 
the  Lombards,  inspired  by  God  with  a 
desire  for  the  remains  of  St.  Julia,  had 
the  body  brought  to  Brescia  with  all 
reverence,  and  there  raised  a  convent  in 
her  honour. 

B.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Julia  (28)  or  Juliana,  Oct.  11,  V. 
Abbess  of  Pavilly  near  Bouen.  Middle 
of  8th  century.  She  was  refused  ad- 
mission to  the  Benedictine  Convent  of 
Pavilly  (Pauliacum),  on  account  of  her 
obscure  birth  and  poverty ;  but  one  day, 
at  the  festival  of  St.  Austrebebta,  the 
founder,  Julia  took  fast  hold  of  the 
saint's  tomb  and  protested  she  would 
not  move  from  thence  till  she  received 
the  habit  The  abbess  was  angry,  and 
ordered  her  to  be  removed  by  force,  but 
she  had  hardly  given  the  order  when  she 
was  seized  with  fever  and  felt  the  ap- 
proach of  death.  She  addressed  her 
prayers  to  St.  Austreberta,  vowing  if 
she  recovered,  to  adopt  the  poor  girl 
into  the  community  and  do  for  her  more 
than  she  asked.  No  sooner  was  this 
resolve  formed  than  the  abbess  was 
restored  to  health.  She  kept  her  promise, 
and  was  so  well  rewarded  by  Julia's 
piety  that  after  her  death,  her  prottgie 
was  elected  to  succeed  her  as  abbess. 
AA.SS.    Migne.  Bucelinus. 

B.  Julia  (29)  della  Bena,  Feb.  25, 
Dec.  20,  O.SA.,  +  1367  or  1372,  popu- 
larly called  Ullia,  was  born  at  Certaldo 
in  Tuscany.  Although  of  noble  birth, 
she  resolved  to  be  a  servant  in  the  house 
of  Tinolfi  at  Florence.  She  afterwards  be- 
came a  recluse  at  Certaldo,  living  in  a  cell 
near  the  parish  church  of  St.  Michael. 
She  took  no  thought  for  food  or  clothing, 
knowing  that  some  one  would  put  the 
necessaries  of  life  through  the  hole  in 
her  cell  for  that  purpose.  She  gave,  as 
a  reward  to  those  who  supplied  her  with 
what  she  needed,  lovely  flowers  at  all 
seasons.  She  lived  thus  for  thirty  years, 
and  after  death  was  found  kneeling :  a 
sweet  odour  pervaded  the  place.  The 
neighbours  gave  her  a  funeral  worthy  of 
the  general  opinion  of  her  sanctity  an 


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ST.  JULIANA 


miracles.  In  1821,  Pius  VII.  approved 
her  worship.  A.R.M.,  Feb.  25.  Her 
story  is  in  Torelli,  Secoli  Agostiniani,  vi. 

St.  Juliana  (1),  Ang.  17,  May  21  in 
the  Greek  Church,  M.  with  her  brother, 
St.  Paul  and  others,  under  Aurelian  or 
Valerian,  at  Ptolemais  in  Palestine. 
R.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Juliana  (2),  Nov.  7,  M.  with  St. 
Syrenia,  at  Tarsus,  under  Maximian. 
R.M.    (See  Cyrena.) 

St  Juliana  (3),  Aug.  18,  M.  at 
Myra  in  Lycia  or  at  Strobylum.  Hon- 
oured with  St.  Leo,  who  was  killed  at 
the  seaside  near  Myra.    R.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Juliana  (4),  March  20,  M.  at 
Amisus  with  St.  Alexandra  (3).  R.M. 

SS.  Juliana  (5),  Sanctia,and  Senti- 
ana,  May  25,  MM.  with  St  Vincent  at 
Blera,  between  Viterbo  and  the  sea. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Juliana  (6).  (See  Memmia.) 

SS.  Juliana  (7-14),  MM.  at  different 
dates  and  places. 

St.  Juliana  (15)  or  Julia,  July  27, 
V.  of  Barcelona,  M.  c.  303.  Patron  of 
Mataro.  Commemorated  with  her  com- 
panion, St.  Sempronia,  V.  M.  They 
were  inhabitants  of  Barcelona  and  dis- 
ciples of  St.  Cucufas,  July  25,  who  is 
also  called  Cougat,  Quiquenfat,  and 
Guinefort.  They  visited  and  ministered 
to  him  in  prison  and  buried  him,  for 
which  act  of  piety  they  were  themselves 
denounced  as  Christians  and  put  to 
death.  AA.SS. 

Cahier  says  the  two  virgin  martyrs 
are  represented  together,  and  gives  Aug. 
13  as  their  day. 

St  Juliana  (16),  Feb.  16,  25,  Dec. 
21  (Greek  Church),  V.  M.  c.  304  or  311. 
Patron  of  Cum»  and  of  Santillana 
(Santa  Juliana).  She  is  invoked  against 
contagion.  She  was  a  young  lady  of 
Nicomedia,  betrothed  from  her  childhood 
to  Evilasius.  At  eighteen,  as  she  said 
she  would  not  marry  him  unless  he  were 
made  prefect,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining 
that  rank.  She  then  told  her  father  she 
could  not  marry  the  prefect  unless  he 
was  baptized.  After  some  argument  her 
father  had  her  cruelly  beaten  and  sent 
to  Evilasius,  who  said  he  would  do  any- 
thing to  please  her  if  she  would  only 
sacrifice  to  the  go  Is  and  marry  binj. 


She  said  no  torment  should  induce  her 
either  to  sacrifice  or  to  marry  any  man 
not  a  Christian.  He  said,  "  I  cannot  be 
a  Christian,  for,  if  the  emperor  heard  of 
it,  he  would  cut  off  my  head."  She 
answered,  "  If  you  fear  your  perishable 
emperor,  you  cannot  wonder  that  I  dare 
not  forsake  the  Emperor  of  Heaven, 
who  lives  for  ever."  As  she  persisted 
in  her  refusal  to  marry  him,  he  and  her 
father  put  her  in  prison.  There  the 
devil  appeared  to  her  in  the  form  of  an 
angel,  and  advised  her  to  sacrifice  to  the 
gods  that  she  might  escape  from  torture. 
But  by  signing  him  with  the  cross,  she 
compelled  him  to  tell  who  he  was.  He 
said  he  was  Jopher  the  Black,  the  son 
of  Beelzebub,  and  that  none  of  the 
prophets  or  patriarchs  nor  even  the 
apostles  had  given  him  more  trouble 
than  Juliana.  After  undergoing  the 
most  horrible  tortures  she  was  beheaded. 
One  hundred  and  thirty  persons  were 
converted  by  the  spectacle  of  her  suffer- 
ings and  courage,  and  were  immediately 
beheaded  by  order  of  the  emperor. 
When  peace  was  restored  to  the  Church, 
a  certain  senatress,  named  Sophronia, 
passing  through  Nicomedia  and  hearing 
of  the  glorious  miracles  of  Juliana,  took 
her  body  away.  She  was  driven  by  a 
tempest  on  shore  at  Puteoli,  about  nine 
miles  from  Naples,  where  she  built  a 
church  in  honour  of  St.  Juliana,  whose 
relics  are  Bpread  all  over  the  world. 
R.M.    AA.SS.    Legqendario.  Baillet. 

St.  Juliana  (17),  V.M.  with  Bar- 
bara (1),  Dec.  4,  or  with  Juliana  (16), 
Dec.  21.  One  story  is  that  Juliana  (17) 
was  the  foster-sister  of  Barbara ;  another, 
that  she  was  merely  one  of  a  crowd  of 
spectators  of  her  tortures,  and  so  filled 
with  pity  and  horror  that  she  burst  into 
tears,  and  was  therefore  made  a  sharer 
of  her  sufferings  and  death.  AA.SS. 
Orseco-Slavonic  Mart 

St.  Juliana  (18)  of  Turin,  Feb.  13. 
Matron.  4th  century.  When  St.  Solutor 
was  slain  with  the  sword,  a  certain  vener- 
able Christian  woman,  named  Juliana, 
hid  the  martyr's  body.  She  received 
the  persecutors  at  her  house,  gave  thorn 
food  and  drink,  and  obtained  from  them 
the  information  that  SS.  Adventor  and 
Octavius  were  killed  in  the  onvirons  of 


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441 


Turin.  So  this  pious  woman  made  them 
very  drunk,  and  when  they  were  sound 
asleep,  she  put  St.  Solutor  in  her  chariot 
and  went  to  the  city  of  Turin  in  haste. 
As  she  had  to  cross  a  river,  it  divided 
before  her,  and  she  passed  through  on 
dry  ground.  Then  she  took  the  bodies 
of  Adventor  and  Ootavius,  buried  them 
with  that  of  Solutor,  and  built  a  chapel 
on  the  spot,  where  afterwards  St.  Victor, 
bishop  of  Turin,  built  a  large  church. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Juliana  (19)  of  Florence,  widow. 
4th  century.  Eulogized  by  St.  Ambrose 
in  his  sermon  preached  at  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  Basilica  of  St.  Lorenzo,  called 
also  Ambrosiana,  which  was  built  by 
Juliana  and  afterwards  entirely  rebuilt 
by  Cosmo  and  Lorenzo  do  Medici.  She 
is  perhaps  the  same  St.  Juliana  who 
built  a  church  in  Bologna,  433.  A 
fragment  of  an  inscription,  found  in  the 
subterranean  part  of  the  church,  is  sup- 
posed to  indicate  her  burial-place.  B.M. 
AA.SS.  Brocchi,  SS.  and  BB.  Fioren- 
tini,  considers  them  to  be  two  different 
saints. 

St.  Juliana  (20),  Julia  (28). 

St.  Juliana  (21),  April  5, 1193-1258. 
Prioress  of  the  Cistercian  house  of  Mont 
Cornillon.    Patron  of  Liege. 

Bepresented  (1)  praying  before  the 
tabernacle,  an  angel  points  to  a  dark 
spot  on  the  moon,  indicating  a  blot  or 
want  among  the  festivals  of  the  Church  ; 
(2)  in  a  cow-house ;  (3)  one  of  a  group 
of  three,  the  others  being  her  sister 
Agnes  and  their  teacher  B.  Sapientia. 

Juliana  was  born  at  Betinne,  near 
Liege.  She  and  her  sister  were  brought 
up  by  the  nuns  of  Mont  Cornillon,  whose 
chief  occupation  was  the  care  of  lepers. 
They  placed  the  children  at  their  farm, 
under  the  charge  of  B.  Sapientia.  Al- 
though a  liberal  allowance  was  paid  for 
their  education  and  maintenance,  Juliana 
insisted  on  doing  the  hardest  and  lowest 
of  the  work  and  denying  herself  in  every 
way.  She  volunteered  to  clean  the  cow- 
house, and  soon  had  the  chief  manage- 
ment of  the  cows,  which  throve  particu- 
larly well  under  her  care.  As  her 
education  progressed,  her  favourite  study 
was  the  works  of  St.  Augustine,  and  next 
to  those,  St.  Bernard's  Commentary  on 


the  Song  of  Solomon.  She  succeeded  B. 
Sapientia  as  prioress  in  1222.  Her  devo- 
tion to  the  Holy  Sacrament  was  so  great 
that  about  1230  she  procured  by  her 
representations,  that  a  special  office  and 
festival  should  be  instituted  in  honour 
of  it.  Notwithstanding  her  strong  desire 
and  a  vision  which  she  had  twenty  years 
before  this,  she  had  been  withheld  by 
humility  from  presuming  to  suggest 
this  alteration  in  the  custom  of  the 
Church.  She  consulted  her  most  es- 
teemed nuns,  some  of  whom  at  first  dis- 
couraged her.  The  festival  was  first 
solemnized  at  LiSge  in  1 240,  and  it  was 
made  general  throughout  the  Church  in 
the  time  of  Urban  IV.,  while  Juliana 
was  suffering  persecution  and  exile ;  for, 
being  too  good  not  to  have  enemies,  she 
was  driven  out  of  the  convent  she  had  en- 
riched with  her  own  fortune,  and  was  living 
on  charity  with  a  few  of  her  devoted 
adherents.  They  lived  for  some  time 
among  the  Beguines  of  Namur,  and  in 
different  religious  houses,  until  B.  Imaine, 
half-sister  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne, 
insisted  that  the  house  which  retained 
Juliana's  property  should  make  her  an 
allowance  sufficient  to  procure  the  neces- 
saries of  life. 

She  died  in  the  convent  of  Fosse,  and 
was  buried  by  her  own  wish  at  Villers. 

Four  of  her  nuns  are  accounted 
Blessed  ;  three  of  these  died  before  their 
mistress:  Agnes,  who  is  perhaps  her 
own  sister;  Isabel,  who  was  already 
distinguished  as  a  very  holy  woman  at 
Huy  before  she  came  to  Mont  Cornillon ; 
and  Ozilia.  B.  Eve,  who  had  been  a 
recluse  at  Liege,  before  joining  Juliana, 
survived  her. 

Juliana  is  called  "Saint"  in  many 
martyrologies ;  "  Blessed  "  in  others. 

About  fifty  years  after  her  death,  the 
feast  she  had  invented  was  made  obli- 
gatory throughout  the  Church,  by  the 
name  of  Corpus  Christi  or  the  Feast  of 
the  Holy  Sacrament,  and  fixed  for  the 
Thursday  after  Trinity  Sunday. 

Her  name  is  in  the  Cistercian  Ap- 
pendix to  the  B.M.  Her  contemporary 
Life,  written  first  in  French,  is  given  in 
Latin  in  the  AA.SS.  Baillet.  Collin 
de  Plancy,  LJgendes  du  Calendrier. 
Biograjthie  Nationale  Beige. 


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B.  JULIANA  COLLALTO 


B.  Juliana  (22)  Collalto,  Sept.  l, 
V.,  1186-1262.  Abbess  and  founder  of 
the  Benedictine  convent  of  SS.  Blasins 
and  Cataldus  at  Venice,  invoked  against 
migraine  at  Venice. 

Juliana  was  born  in  the  territory  of 
Padua,  of  a  noble  family  of  German 
origin,  and  took  the  veil  in  the  con- 
vent of  St.  Margaret  at  Solaras,  near 
the  castle  of  Este.  In  the  same  convent, 
in  1220,  B.  Beatrice,  princess  of  Este, 
took  the  habit,  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 
Two  years  afterwards  Juliana  removed 
with  Beatrice  and  nine  other  nuns  to 
Demola,  a  deserted  convent  which  Azo 
II.,  marquis  of  Este,  restored  for  them, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  Bishop  of 
Padua. 

After  the  death  of  Beatrice  in  1226, 
St.  Blasius,  bishop  of  Sebaste,  appeared 
to  Juliana  and  told  her  to  remove  to 
Venice,  to  the  island  then  called  Capo, 
or  Spina  Longa,  afterwards  Ponta  della 
Zuecca,  where  she  built,  in  honour  of 
SS.  Blasius  and  Cataldus,  a  convent  and 
church  and  a  hospice  presided  over  by 
monks.  Here  she  lived  in  great  sanctity. 
Once  she  supplied  the  nuns  with  bread 
by  a  miracle,  and  once  in  their  presence, 
an  angel  brought  the  Infant  Christ  and 
placed  Him  in  Juliana's  arms.  Other 
miracles  are  recorded  of  her. 

Perier,  in  AA.SS.  Cahier.  According 
to  Molmenti,  Storia  di  Venezia  nella  vita 
privata,  one  of  the  few  remaining  me- 
dieval Venetian  castles  on  the  mainland 
is  that  of  San  Salvador,  which  the  Counts 
of  Collalto  built  and  fortified,  in  Juliana's 
time,  on  a  hill  which  they  acquired  from 
the  Bonaparti  of  Treviso.  It  has  three 
rows  of  wall,  saracinesque  towers  and 
loop-holes. 

St.  Juliana  (23)  Falconieri,  June 
19,  1270-1341.  First  superior  of  the 
3rd  Order  of  the  Servites,  called  Man- 
tellate.    Patron  of  the  Servitea 

Bepresented  (1)  in  a  print  in  which 
she  is  entitled  "  Sta.  Giuliana  Falconieri, 
Fondatrice  del  terz'  ordine  de  Servi  di 
Maria  Vergine,"  in  the  dress  of  her 
order,  pointing  to  a  large  star  on  her 
breast,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  a  round 
mark  like  a  seal  or  coin,  bearing  the 
letters,  C.H.S. ;  an  angel  carrying  a  lily 
in  his  left  hand,  with  the  right  holds  a 


circle  over  her  head  ;  (2)  with  a  slit  in 
her  gown,  showing  a  mark  thus,  over 
her  heart,  a  rosary  in  her  hand,  a  skull 
and  a  lily  at  her  feet. 

She  came  of  an  ancient  and  illustrious 
family  in  Florence.  Her  parents  were 
an  aged  couple  who  had  for  many  years 
been  childless.  Her  father  was  the 
founder  of  the  church  of  the  Annunziata 
and  other  religious  buildings  ;  her 
mother's  name  was  Biguardata.  J  uliana's 
first  words  were  "Jesus"  and  "Mary." 
She  never  looked  in  a  glass  in  her  life 
and  never  looked  a  man  in  the  face.  She 
amused  herself  by  building  and  adorning 
little  altars  to  the  B.  V.  Mart.  When 
she  dressed  her  hair,  she  arranged  the 
pins  so  that  they  should  prick  and 
torment  her. 

When  she  was  fourteen,  her  mother 
was  very  anxious  that  she  should  marry 
Falco,  the  most  eligible  of  many  suitors ; 
but  as  she  was  bent  on  a  celibate  life,  Bi- 
guardata, although  disappointed,  yielded 
to  her  vocation.  In  the  same  year, 
Juliana  was  received  by  St.  Philip  Benizi, 
general  of  the  Servites,  as  a  member  of 
the  3rd  Order.  He  and  her  uncle,  B. 
Alexis  Falconieri,  were  two  of  the  seven 
founders  of  the  Order  of  Servants  of 
Mary,  commonly  called  Servites;  and 
St.  Philip  afterwards  had  a  great  esteem 
for  her  sanctity  and  for  the  power  of  her 
prayers. 

She  was  the  first  woman  who  was 
admitted  into  the  order,  and  her  pro- 
fession was  the  same  as  that  of  the  friars, 
as  no  rule  had  been  made  for  women. 
The  3rd  Order  was  instituted  to  serve 
the  sick  and  for  other  offices  of  charity. 
Like  women  of  other  3rd  Orders  they 
were  called  Mantellate.  They  had  no 
convent ;  some  lived  in  their  homes  ; 
some,  in  separate  buildings  attached  to 
the  monasteries  of  brethren  of  the  order. 

About  1306,  Father  Andrea,  successor 
of  St.  Philip  Benizi  and  sixth  general  of 
the  Servites,  wishing  to  stablish  and 
strengthen  the  sisters  of  the  3rd  Order, 
desired  them  to  choose  a  superior.  They 
elected  B.  Juliana,  who  was  then  thirty- 
six  years  old. 

Her  charity  was  so  great  that  she 
sucked  the  wounds  of  some  of  her 
patients ;  relieving  them  of  the  poison, 


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B.  JULIANA 


443 


and  curing  them  without  the  aid  of  a 
knife. 

She  instituted  the  office  for  the  sisters, 
and  her  office  and  mass  were  eventually 
granted  to  the  whole  Order  of  Servites 
of  both  sexes.  She  is  regarded  as  the 
founder  of  the  Sisters  of  the  B.  V. 
Mary. 

The  miracle  of  the  Eucharist,  which 
makes  her  so  famous,  is  thus  described 
in  the  Life  of  her  disciple  B.  Jane 
Sodkrini,  AA.SS.,  Oct.  27:  When 
Juliana  was  near  her  death,  seventy 
years  of  asceticism  had  so  destroyed  her 
health  that  she  could  not  swallow  any 
food,  or  if  swallowed,  could  not  keep  it 
a  moment  in  her  stomach ;  therefore  the 
priests  refused  her  the  Sacrament.  She 
begged  that  the  piz,  containing  the  con- 
secrated wafer,  should  be  brought  into 
her  room.  When  this  was  done,  she 
wanted  to  kiss  it,  but  the  priest  forbade 
it,  to  her  great  distress.  She  then 
begged  that  a  cloth  might  be  spread  on 
her  breast  and  the  host  laid  on  that. 
This  was  granted,  and  the  host  dis- 
appeared and  never  could  be  found ;  but 
the  saint's  face  assumed  an  expression 
of  rapture,  and  she  expired  and  was  be- 
lieved to  have  taken  it  to  heaven  with 
her  soul.  Many  persons  doubted  the 
fact  at  the  time,  but  the  nuns,  Jane  and 
Elizabeth,  when  they  washed  her  after 
her  death,  found  on  her  heart  a  mark  as  of 
a  seal,  on  which  a  crucifix  was  engraved. 

B.M.  Modern  Saints,  edited  by  the 
Fathers  of  the  Oratory.  Helyot,  part  iii. 
chap.  41.  Cahier. 

St.  Juliana  (24),  Dec.  21,  +  c.  1406. 
Wife  of  Simeon  Mstislav,  prince  of  Vi- 
azma,  friend  and  fellow-exile  of  Youri 
(George),  duke  of  Smolensk.  Youri  hav- 
ing tried  in  vain  to  seduce  the  beautiful 
and  virtuous  Juliana,  invited  her  with 
her  husband  to  a  feast  in  his  palace  at 
Torzok  or  Torjek,  the  government  of 
which  had  been  given  him,  as  a  provision 
in  his  misfortunes,  by  Yassili,  prince  of 
Moscow,  son  of  St.  Euphrosyne  (12). 
During  the  entertainment  he  stabbed 
Simeon,  hoping  to  possess  himself  of 
Juliana,  who  he  thought  would  be  stupe- 
fied with  terror;  she  seized  a  knife  to 
kill  him,  he  turned  it  aside,  but  received 
a  wound  in  the  hand.  Anger  now  super- 


seded his  former  passion,  he  drew  his 
sword,  pursued  Juliana,  overtook  her  in 
the  court  of  the  palace,  hewed  her  in 
pieces,  and  threw  her  into  the  river.  All 
his  friends  and  followers  were  so  horrified 
at  his  crime  that  he  dared  not  show  his 
face  among  the  Bussians  but  fled  to  the 
Horde,  and  after  wandering  in  deserts — 
an  outcast  like  Cain — he  finally  died  in 
a  monastery  in  the  principality  of  Bezan. 
Juliana  was  buried  at  Torzok.  Her 
worship  is  uncertain.  Grmco-Slavonian 
Calendar.    Earamsin,  v.,  219. 

St.  Juliana  (25),  Jan.  27,  May  14, 
O.S.B.,  1343-1443.  Recluse  at  Norwich. 
She  had  probably  been  for  several  years 
a  nun  before  she  was  built  up  in  a  cell 
in  the  churchyard  of  St.  Julian's  at 
Norwich,  where  she  lived  for  more 
than  seventy  years.  This  church  was 
popularly  supposed  to  be  dedicated  in 
honour  of  Juliana,  but  in  fact  it  took  its 
name  from  St.  Julian,  bishop  of  Mans 
(end  of  3rd  century),  whose  worship  was 
popular  in  England  under  the  Norman 
kings. 

J uliana,  although  considered  and  called 
a  saint,  never  had  any  recognized  wor- 
ship. Butler,  "St.  Julian  of  Mans." 
Petite  Bottandistes.  Vies  des  Saintes 
Femmes,  by  several  ecclesiastics.  In  her 
thirtieth  year,  while  living  in  the  her- 
mitage, she  had  revelations  which  were 
written  down  and  have  been  published 
under  the  name  of  Bevelations  of  Divine 
Love;  there  is  one  edition  by  Cressy 
(R.F.G.)  and  one  by  H.  Collins. 

B.  Juliana  (26)  of  Busto  Arsitio 
near  Varese,  Oct.  23,  Aug.  14,  O.S.A., 
1427-1501,  lay-sister  in  the  abbey  of 
Sta.  Maria  di  Sacro  Monte  sopra  Varese, 
in  the  duchy  of  Milan.  Before  her  en- 
trance into  this  convent,  she  used  to  work 
in  the  fields  and  long  to  be  admitted  as 
a  disciple  of  B.  Catherine  Morigia,  who 
was  living  on  the  hill  as  a  recluse.  Her 
father  ill-treated  her  because  she  would 
not  marry.  At  last  he  consented  to  her 
going  up  the  mountain  to  Catherine, 
who  accepted  her  as  a  companion,  and 
they  lived  together  for  twenty-two  years. 
In  1471  they  were  joined  by  B.  Bene- 
dicta  (17)  ;  then  by  her  sister  Francesca 
Bimia ;  and  then  by  Paula  de  Amuzi  di 
Busto.    It  now  appeared  as  if  these  five 


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444 


ST.  JULIANA 


women  were  following  a  new  religious 
rule  without  being  under  any  constituted 
authority,  so  they  obtained  permission 
from  Pope  Sixtus  IV.  to  assume  the  rule 
of  St.  Ambrose  ad  Nemus,  a  branch  of 
the  Augustinians,  instituted  at  Milan  for 
men  about  a  hundred  years  before. 
Catherine  was  the  first  prioress ;  Juliana 
was  a  lay-sister,  i.e.  servant  to  the 
others;  Benedicta  Bimia  was  elected 
prioress  on  the  death  of  Catherine  in 
1478.  Juliana  was  venerated  as  a  saint 
from  tbe  time  of  her  death;  she  was 
beatified  by  Clement  XIV.  in  1770. 
She  invented  a  new  devotion  called  the 
Kobe  of  the  Virgin  Mary:  it  consisted 
of  saying  100,000  Ave  Marias  in  the 
year.  A.R.M.,  Augustinians.  AA.SS. 
Her  body  is  preserved  flexible  and 
entire  with  that  of  B.  Catherine  Morigia 
in  the  Church  of  St.  Ambrose.  Helyot, 
iv.  9. 

St.  Juliana  (27),  July  6,  V.  princess, 
died  between  1530  and  1550  at  the  age 
of  sixteen.  She  was  daughter  of  George, 
duke  of  Olsan,  of  the  line  of  the  Grand- 
dukes  of  Lithuania.  Her  body  was 
found  in  the  church  at  Eief  in  1705, 
undecayed  and  much  adorned  with  gold 
and  gems.    Grseco-Slavonian  Calendar. 

St.  Juliana  (28)  of  Murom,  Jan  2, 
+  1013.  She  was  of  noble  birth ;  her 
husband's  name  was  Gregory.  After  his 
death  she  took  the  veil,  gave  all  her 
property  to  the  poor,  and  lived  like  a 
pauper ;  she  was  always  very  cheerful. 
She  is  only  worshipped  in  the  village  of 
Lazarevskoi,  in  the  island  of  Murom,  in 
the  lake  of  Onega  in  Eussia,  where  St. 
Lazarus  (March  24)  founded  a  monastery 
in  the  14th  century.  Grseco-Slavonian 
Calendar.  She  is  enumerated  among 
the  Saints  of  Muromia  in  a  MS.  of  the 
17th  century  quoted  by  Muravieff. 

St.  Juliot,  Julitta  (2). 

St.  Julitta  (1),  July  30,  M.  early  4th 
century.  Perhaps  patron  of  Villejuive. 
By  the  edicts  of  Diocletian  the  Chris- 
tians were  debarred  from  the  privileges 
of  citizens  and  protection  of  the  laws, 
and  many  covetous  persons  took  ad- 
vantage of  this  state  of  things  to  rob 
them  of  their  property.  A  rich  and 
powerful  man  of  Caesarea,  in  Cappadocia, 
took  possession  of  great  part  of  St. 


Julitta's  estate,  and  as  he  continued  tak- 
ing more  and  more  from  her,  she  appealed 
to  the  praetor.  Her  adversary  said  she 
was  a  Christian  and  therefore  not  in  a 
position  to  bring  an  action  against  him. 
The  pwetor  immediately  ordered  fire 
and  incense  to  be  brought  that  Julitta 
might  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  and  on  her 
courageous  and  decided  refusal,  she  was 
condemned  to  be  burnt.  She  cheerfully 
mounted  the  pile.  The  smoke  soon 
suffocated  her,  but  her  body  was  unin- 
jured and  was  buried  by  the  Christians. 
On  the  spot  of  its  interment,  a  fountain 
of  delicious  water  sprang  up,  which  was 
the  only  good  water  in  the  place,  all  the 
rest  being  brackish.  B.M.  AA.SS. 
Butler.  Baillet,  from  her  panegyric  by 
St.  Basil  the  Great. 

St.  Julitta  (2)  or  Juliot,  June  16, 
+  c.  325.  Julitta  and  her  son  St.  Cyr 
(called  also  Cierx,  Gurec,  Quiricus,  etc.) 
are  patrons  of  Issoudun  and  of  dyers  at 
Liege,  and  Cyr  is  patron  of  Nevers.  She 
is  perhaps  patron  of  Villejuive  (originally 
Villa  Julitta).  Julitta  and  Cyr  have 
dedications  in  Cornwall  and  Devon,  and 
there  her  name  is  spelt  Juliot.  She  is 
represented  as  a  young  woman  with  a 
sword  and  palm  in  her  left  hand ;  a 
child  on  her  right  arm  holds  a  small 
palm. 

Julitta  was  descended  from  the  ancient 
kings  in  Asia  Minor.  To  avoid  the 
persecution  at  Iconium  in  Lycaonia,  she 
fled  to  Seleucia,  taking  her  little  boy, 
not  yet  three  years  old,  and  two  maids. 
Finding  an  equally  cruel  persecution 
raging  there,  she  continued  her  flight  to 
Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  There  she  was  arrested 
as  a  Christian.  Her  two  servants  fled 
from  her,  but  she  took  her  son  in  her 
arms,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  avow  her 
religion.  While  she  was  being  ques- 
tioned, Alexander,  the  governor,  took 
the  little  boy  on  his  lap  and  caressed 
him,  but  the  child  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on 
his  mother,  struggling  to  go  to  her. 
Irritated  at  this  return  for  his  intended 
kindness,  the  governor  took  Cyr  by  one 
foot  and  dashed  him  down.  His  head 
struck  the  edge  of  a  step  of  the  judgment- 
seat  and  he  was  killed.  His  mother 
praised  God  that  he  had  received  the 
crown  of  martyrdom.  She  was  beheaded. 


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ST.  JUSTA 


445 


Their  Acta,  carefully  compiled  from 
authentic  records,  in  the  reign  of  Justi- 
nian, are  followed  by  Suriua,  etc.,  and 
are  quite  different  from  the  extravagant 
story  condemned  by  St.  Gelasins,  the 
Pope,  and  supposed  to  be  forged  by 
Manichaeans  in  support  of  their  heresy. 
These  spurious  Acts  contain  long  argu- 
ments between  St.  Julitta  and  her  judge, 
and  are  enriched  with  numerous  miracles 
and  conversions.  They  place  the  martyr- 
dom in  the  reign  of  Diocletian ;  but  in 
fact  it  took  place  after  his  abdication. 
B.M.  A  A.S.S.  Baillet.  Cahier.  Neale, 
Victories  of  the  Saints.  Legenda  Aurea. 
Chatelain. 

SS.  Julitta  (3)  and  Cyriacus, 
June  16,  MM.  at  Antioch  with  404 
others.  Papebroch,  AA.SS.,  says  they 
must  not  be  confounded  with  the  better 
known  saints  of  the  same  name. 

St.  Julitta  (4),  Juno  14,  honoured 
by  the  Greeks.  Unknown  whether 
martyr  at  Caesar ea  or  died  in  peace. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Julitta  (5),  May  18,  V.  M.  with 
St.  Thkcusa.  B.M. 

St.  Junella,  Jonilla. 

St.  Junia,  May  17.  1st  century. 
Wife  of  St.  Andronicus.  They  are  both 
mentioned  by  St.  Paul  in  Kom.  xvi.  7. 
In  the  Menology  of  the  Emperor  Basil 
Junia  is  said  to  have  been  a  worthy 
help  to  St.  Andronicus,  with  whom  she 
travelled  into  many  countries  converting 
the  heathen,  casting  out  devils,  and 
curing  incurable  diseases.  She  was  a 
Christian  before  the  conversion  of  St. 
Paul,  consequently  she  is  honoured  in 
the  Eastern  Church  as  the  "Equal  of 
the  Apostles,"  Isapostolos.  AA.SS. 

St.  Junilla  (1),  Jonilla. 

SS.  Junilla  (2,  3),  Jan.  17,  Feb.  16, 
MM.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Junula,  March  3,  M.  in  Africa, 
with  Gaiola  and  many  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Justa  (1),  May  14,  V.  M.  2nd 
century.  A  town  in  Sardinia  is  called 
after  her  and  placed  under  her  protection. 
She  is  honoured  with  her  fellow-martyrs, 
the  holy  VV.  Justina  (2)  and  Henedln  a. 
Some  accounts  say  that  Justa  was  a 
young  woman  of  rank,  persecuted  by 
her  mother  Cleodonia,  and  that  Justina 
and  Henedina  were  her  servants.  They 


are  otherwise  said  to  be  threo  sisters, 
brought  up  at  Cagliari  by  pious  Christian 
parents,  and  put  to  death  in  the  great 
persecution  under  Diocletian.  B.M. 
AA.SS. 

SS.  Justa  (2)  and  Rufina,  July  10. 
Patrons  of  Seville.  End  of  3rd  or  4th 
century.  Represented  with  earthen  pots 
or  jugs  on  the  ground  beside  them. 
Daughter  and  niece  of  a  potter  at  Seville, 
they  sold  earthenware  in  the  market. 
Poor  themselves,  they  gave  away  all  they 
could.  The  priestesses  of  the  heathen 
goddess  Salambo  (Venus)  passed  by, 
carrying  her  image  and  asking  of  every 
person  some  gift  for  the  goddess.  Justa 
and  Rufina  refused  to  give  or  sell  vessels 
for  the  purpose  of  sacrificing  to  idols. 
The  worshippers  of  Venus  broke  all  the 
crockery  the  saints  had,  and  they  avenged 
themselves  by  breaking  the  image  of 
Venus  and  throwing  the  pieces  into  the 
road.  Accused  of  sacrilege  and  put  to 
the  torture,  Justa  died  on  the  rack  and 
Rufina  was  strangled.  The  story  is 
given  with  a  little  difference  in  several 
histories.  One  says  that  after  many 
tortures,  the  judge  ordered  that  wherever 
he  went  they  should  follow  barefooted  ; 
that  Justa  died  in  prison  after  tho  tor- 
tures, and  Rufina  had  her  skull  broken. 
Local  tradition  says  the  tower  of  the 
Giralda  was  once  shakon  crooked  by  an 
earthquake  and  these  saints  set  it  straight 
again.  B.M.  AA.SS.  Mrs.  Jameson. 
Cahier.    Flos  Sanctorum.  Leggendario. 

St.  Justa  (3)  of  Sipontum  (now  Man- 
fredonia),  Aug.  1,  V.  M.  probably  in  the 
time  of  Diocletian.  Called  also  of  Aquila 
and  of  Bazzano,  from  the  place  of  her 
martyrdom  and  that  of  her  first  burial. 

SS.  Florentius,  Justinus,  and  Felix 
were  three  Christian  brothers,  living  at 
Sipontum  on  the  western  shore  of  the 
Adriatic.  Florentius  dedicated  his 
daughter  Justa  by  a  vow  to  God  before 
her  birth,  and  had  her  baptized  in  her 
infancy,  by  his  brother  St.  Justinus, 
who  was  a  priest.  As  she  grew  up,  her 
piety  was  so  well  known  that  a  man 
came  to  her  to  cure  his  child  of  blind- 
ness ;  which  she  did. 

Justinus  persistently  repeated  to  his 
brothers  the  words  of  Christ,  "  Go  ye 
into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel 


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ST.  JtfSTA 


to  every  creature"  (St.  Mark  xvi.  15), 
until  at  last  they  leu  their  native  town 
and  their  possessions,  and  travelled  along 
the  western  shore  of  the  Adriatic,  accom- 
panied by  Justa.  They  came  to  Theate 
and  stayed  there  six  months,  daring 
which  Jnstinus  constantly  preached  to 
the  people  of  the  town  and  neighbour- 
hood. They  then  went  to  Furconium, 
where  they  found  crowds  of  people  col- 
lected for  a  great  sacrifice  to  Jupiter. 
A  certain  Christian,  named  Hilarius, 
lived  in  a  suburb  of  Furconium,  called 
Offidius  (now  Bazzano).  He  was  chari- 
table and  hospitable,  and  when  he  saw 
the  saints  near  his  gate,  weary  from 
their  journey,  he  brought  them  into  his 
house  and  refreshed  them.  Next  morn- 
ing, very  early,  they  began  to  teach  the 
faith  of  Christ  to  numbers  of  people. 
It  was  soon  told  to  the  heathen  priests 
that  Hilarius  harboured  three  men,  who 
despised  the  gods  and  taught  a  new 
religion,  and  orders  were  given  that 
they  should  be  compelled  to  sacrifice  to 
Jove,  or  else  put  to  death. 

Meantime,  a  rich  and  powerful  young 
man,  named  Aurelius,  fell  in  love  with 
Justa,  and  tried,  first  by  fair  means,  to 
induce  her  to  become  his  wife;  but 
finding  his  persuasions  vain,  he  planned 
to  carry  her  off  by  force.  With  this  in- 
tention, he  one  day  followed  her  to  the 
fountain  where  she  had  gone  with  two 
women  to  draw  water.  When  she  saw 
him,  she  was  frightened,  and  leaving  her 
pail  of  water  and  letting  fall  her  shoes, 
which  she  was  holding  in  her  hand,  into 
the  fountain,  she  fled  to  the  foot  of  the 
hill  of  Offidius.  Some  persons  who  tried 
to  take  her  thence  by  force,  were  struck 
blind.  Aurelius  collected  a  great  many 
people  and  ordered  them  to  search  the 
hill  in  every  direction ;  but  his  trouble 
was  in  vain,  for  all  the  pursuers  of  Justa 
lost  the  power  of  speech  and  of  walking, 
so  that  they  could  neither  pursue  her 
nor  give  information  concerning  her. 
The  mountain  opened  and  received  Justa 
into  a  cavern,  where  an  angel  ministered 
to  her,  and  at  her  intercession,  restored 
their  faculties  to  her  pursuers  and  enabled 
them  to  return  to  their  homes,  giving 
glory  to  the  God  of  Justa. 

She  then  returned  to  Hilarius's  house. 


One  of  the  women,  who  was  with  her  at 
the  fountain,  found  her  shoo  quite  dry  in 
the  water,  and  gave  it  to  the  people  to  kiss. 

The  keepers  of  the  idols  now  arrived 
from  Borne,  accompanied  by  a  band  of 
soldiers,  to  take  the  Christians.  J ustinus 
and  two  other  priests  fled  to  the  Mount 
Tubenna  and  lived  for  a  week  among 
the  shepherds,  whom  they  converted  and 
baptized;  whence  the  hill  was  called 
the  Mount  of  Christ. 

Florentius  and  Felix,  steadfastly  re- 
fusing to  worship  Jupiter,  were  con- 
demned to  be  beheaded,  and  as  they 
were  led  to  execution,  Justa  exclaimed, 
"Alas,  holy  Father,  why  do  you  leave 
me  behind  ?  Why  am  I  not  allowed  to 
die  with  you?"  Florentius  answered, 
"  Wait  a  little,  you  are  reserved  for  a 
greater  conflict."  The  two  saints  were 
beheaded,  and  Justinus  came  by  night 
and  carried  their  bodies  to  the  Mountain 
of  Christ  and  buried  them.  Justa  was 
then  put  in  prison  for  five  days,  after 
which  she  raised  a  dead  man  to  life. 

Aurelius  repented  of  his  wickedness, 
and  Justa  assured  him  that  he  was  for- 
given. Justa  was  next  thrown  into  a 
burning  fiery  furnace,  where  she  re- 
mained for  three  days,  the  flames  all  the 
time  being  kept  off  her  by  a  great  wind 
and  blown  against  any  of  the  heathen 
who  attempted  to  come  near.  Seeing 
this,  they  shot  her  with  spears  and 
arrows.  A  great  earthquake  shook  the 
place  within  an  hour  of  her  death.  Many 
of  the  heathen  were  killed,  and  some 
were  converted. 

The  Christians  buried  Justa  in  the 
cave  of  Mount  Offidius,  where  she  had 
taken  refuge  from  the  pursuit  of  Aurelius. 
Justinus  survived  to  a  great  age,  and 
died,  Dec.  31 ;  but  is  honoured  with  his 
brothers  and  niece.  AA.SS, 

St.  Justa  (4),  one  of  the  martyrs  of 
Lyons,  who  died  in  prison.    {See  Blan- 

DINA.) 

SS.  Justa  (5-14),  MM.  at  sundry 
times  and  places. 

St.  Justilla,  Aug.  28,  M.  at  Rome. 

AA.SS. 

St.  Justina  (1),  with  St.  Thecla  (2). 

SS.  Justina  (2)  and  Henedina, 
May  14,  VV.  MM.  in  Sardinia,  with 
Justa  (1).  EM. 


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ST.  JUSTINA 


St.  Justina  (3),  Nov.  30,  V.  M.  at 
Carmena  in  Carpetana,  between  Toledo 
and  Torrijos,  in  the  time  of  Diocletian. 
B.M. 

St.  Justina  (4)  of  Trieste,  Jnly  13, 
V.  M.  289.  A  girl  of  fourteen,  who  was 
tortured  on  account  of  her  religion. 
Zeno,  one  of  the  companions  of  the 
governor,  was  standing  by  during  her 
trial,  and  said  to  her  in  derision  of  her 
hopes  of  immortal  happiness,  "  Spouse 
of  Christ,  send  me  some  fruit  from  your 
husband's  paradise."  When  she  was 
led  to  the  place  where  she  was  to  be 
beheaded,  she  gave  her  handkerchief  to 
a  child,  saying,  "  Take  this  to  Zeno  and 
say  to  him,  'Justina,  the  servant  of 
Christ,  sends  you  the  fruit  which  you 
asked  for  from  her  husband's  paradise/  " 
When  Zeno  received  the  handkerchief, 
he  said  it  would  do  to  wipe  his  face 
with  ;  and  as  he  did  so,  he  was  converted 
and  began  to  praise  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  governor  had  him  scourged 
to  death  with  leaded  whips,  and  he  is 
commemorated  with  Justina.  A  similar 
story  is  told  of  St.  Dorothea  and  Theo- 
philus ;  and  Sollerius  seems  to  think  it 
possible  this  may  be  the  same  story  with 
the  names  changed.  AA.SS. 

St.  Justina  (5),  June  1,  M.  c.  303. 
Patron  of  Pergola,  in  the  duchy  of 
Urbino.  Sister  of  St.  Agapitus,  of  noble 
Spanish  birth,  and  beheaded  at  the  same 
timo  that  he  and  St.  Secundus  were  put 
to  death  in  the  persecution  under  the 
Emperors  Maximian  and  Diocletian. 
Eudoxia,  a  good  Christian  woman  with 
whom  Secundus  lodged  at  the  time  of 
his  arrest,  buried  them  at  Engubium 
(Gubbio) ;  they  are  patrons  of  that  and 
some  other  neighbouring  towns.  AA.SS. 

St  Justina  (6)  of  Padua,  Oct.  7, 
V.  M.  303.  Patron  of  Padua,  Venice, 
Piacenza,  and  the  Congregation  of  the 
O.S.B.  of  Northern  Italy.  Represented 
with  a  unicorn,  the  emblem  of  virginity, 
and  with  a  dagger  in  her  breast. 
Daughter  of  King  Vitalicino,  who  re- 
ceived baptism  from  a  disciple  of  St. 
Peter.  After  her  father's  death  Justina 
was  condemned  as  a  Christian  by  the 
Emperor  Maximian,  and  pierced  through 
the  breast  with  a  sword.  At  Venice  a 
stone  was  long  preserved,  bearing  the 


print  of  hor  knees,  where  she  prayed 
after  her  flight  from  the  governor  who 
pursued  her  for  her  wealth  and  beauty. 
Her  Acts  are  not  authentic  and  her  real 
history  is  not  known.  B.M.  AA.SS. 
Cahier.  Baillet.  Martin.  Mrs.  Jame- 
son. 

St.  Justina  (7),  Sept.  26,  patron  of 
Placentia.  SS.  Cyprian,  the  magician, 
and  Justina  of  Antioch,  are  always 
commemorated  and  represented  together. 
They  Buffered  martyrdom  in  the  early 
part  of  the  4th  century.  After  studying 
magic  in  Greece,  Phrygia,  and  Egypt, 
Cyprian  went  to  Babylon  to  learn  the 
mysteries  there.  He  was  obliged  to 
renounce  meat,  wine,  and  women.  As 
long  as  he  did  so,  he  had  a  certain 
success  with  his  divinations ;  but  he  had 
only  studied  magic  in  order  to  indulge 
himself  the  better. 

Justina  was  the  daughter  of  a  heathen 
priest,  became  a  Christian,  and  converted 
her  parents.  A  young  nobleman  of 
Antioch,  named  Aglaides,  applied  to 
Cyprian  to  enable  him  to  win  the  love 
of  J ustina.  Cyprian,  however,  employed 
all  his  spells  and  spirits  to  win  her  for 
himself,  and  finding  all  his  arts  in  vain 
and  Justina's  heart  protected  by  a 
greater  Spirit  than  any  at  his  command, 
he  resolved  to  abandon  his  witchcraft 
and  serve  the  God  of  the  Christians. 
He  became  remarkable  for  his  humility 
and  piety.  Justina  was  very  glad  of  his 
conversion,  made  a  thank-offering  of  her 
beautiful  hair,  and  burnt  a  lamp  before 
the  altars.  During  the  last  great  perse- 
cution of  the  Christians  under  Diocletian, 
the  governor  of  Antioch  threw  Cyprian 
and  Justina  into  a  caldron  of  boiling 
pitch.  They  escaped  unhurt,  and  the 
governor  fearing  the  sympathy  of  the 
people,  sent  them  to  Nicomedia,  where 
the  emperor  lay  sick.  He  at  once 
ordered  them  to  be  beheaded.  For  six 
days  no  one  dared  to  bury  them. 
Finally  they  were  taken  by  night,  shipped 
to  Italy,  and  buried  in  a  farm  belonging 
to  a  noble  lady  called  Eusina.  Thence 
their  bodies  were  taken  to  Eome  and 
afterwards  to  Placentia, 

BM.  AA.SS.  Baillet.  Flos  Sanc- 
torum. Villegas.  Mrs.  Jameson.  The 
story  of  Cyprian  and  Justina  is  the 


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ST.  JUSTINA 


subject  of  the  most  famous  of  Calderon's 
sacred  dramas — The  Wonder  -  working 
Magician. 

St.  Justina  (8),  June  16,  V.  M. 
c.  407  or  451.  Sister  of  St.  Aureus, 
bishop  of  Maintz.  Massacred  by  Attila, 
king  of  the  Huns.  So  says  Papebroch, 
but  he  gives  also  an  old  legend  from 
a  MS.  at  Heiligenstadt,  which  does  not 
mention  any  woman,  but  only  J ustin,  a 
deacon,  as  the  companion  of  the  martyr- 
dom of  St.  Aureus.  The  two  martyrs 
were  arrested  by  the  King  of  the  Huns, 
and  his  guards  were  ordered  to  keep 
them  until  next  day.  The  guards  were 
converted  and  let  them  escape.  They 
were  overtaken  at  Bustenfeld  and 
brought  back;  and  after  preaching  to 
the  barbarian  monarch  aud  enduring 
many  tortures,  they  were  beheaded.  A 
great  number  of  martyrs  of  both  sexes  are 
commemorated  with  them.  B.M.  AA.SS. 
Tillemont,  Empereurs  ("Honore,"  Art. 

XXV.). 

B.  Justina  (9)  of  Arezzo,  March  12, 
+  1319.  Giustina  Bezzola  Francuccia, 
supposed  to  be  of  a  noble  family 
of  Arezzo,  took  the  veil  at  the  age  of 
thirteen  in  the  Benedictine  convent  of 
St.  Mark.  A  white  dove  was  seen  by 
many  persons  to  fly  round  her  head 
when  she  entered  the  convent.  She 
remained  there  four  years,  but  the  nuns 
were  so  much  annoyed  and  frightened 
by  robbers  that  they  were  then  obliged 
to  remove  to  the  Convent  of  Ogni  Santi. 
Soon  afterwards  Justina,  with  permission 
of  her  superiors,  left  the  convent  and 
went  to  live  in  a  very  small,  low  hut, 
with  Lucy,  a  pious  woman.  They  spent 
their  whole  time  in  prayer  and  medita- 
tion, until  Lucy  fell  ill.  Justina  tended 
her  with  great  devotion  for  a  year. 
Lucy  died.  Justina,  loft  alone,  suffered 
much  from  her  terror  of  the  wolves 
which  used  to  get  on  the  top  of  her 
little  dwelling  and  howl  at  night.  She 
thought  they  were  evil  spirits.  Threat- 
ened with  blindness  occasioned  by  her 
fasts  and  vigils,  she  by-and-by  joined  a 
community  of  religious  women.  She 
soon  became  totally  blind.  She  cured 
the  danghter  of  Croce,  count  of  Aretino, 
of  blindness,  and  wrought  other  miracles. 
AAJSS. 


Justina  (10),  Jan.  13,  nun  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Martha  at  Milan.  15th 
century.  At  her  death,  B.  Veronica  of 
Binasco,  in  the  same  convent,  saw  her  in 
heaven  among  the  martyrs.  She  feared 
a  delusion  of  the  devil,  as  Justina  had 
died  a  natural  death  and  lived  amid 
pious  persons  in  no  way  disposed  to 
make  her  suffer  for  her  religion.  It  was 
revealed  to  Veronica  that  Justina  had 
suffered  martyrdom  during  her  thirty 
years'  illness,  which  she  bore  with 
patience  for  Christ's  sake.  Afterwards 
her  head  was  found  separate  from  her 
body  and  bleeding,  and  was  placed 
among  the  relics  of  the  saints.  AA.SS., 
"  B.  Veronica." 

St.  Juthid,  Judith  (2)  of  Milan. 

St.  Juthwara  or  Inthwara,  July  13, 
Aug.  1,  V.  M.  c.  700.  Sister  of  SS. 
Eadwara,  Willgith  or  Wulvela,  and 
Sidwella  ;  also  said  to  be  sisters  of  St. 
Paul,  bishop  of  Leon  in  Brittany. 
Juthwara's  brother,  in  a  fury  at  a  false 
accusation  brought  against  her  by  her 
step-mother,  cut  off  her  head :  where  it 
fell  there  sprang  up  a  well  and  a  tree. 
She  carried  her  head  in  her  hands  into 
the  church  where  many  other  miracles 
attested  her  holiness.  Her  Acts  are 
published  by  Capgrave.  Brit.  Sancta. 
Mart,  of  Salisbury.  Horstman,  Lives  of 
the  Women  Saints  of  our  Contrie  of  Eng- 
land. SUmton,Menology.  Bees.  Stanton 
and  Stubbs  think  all  these  names  are  Cel- 
tic, but  Kerslake  thinks  they  are  Saxon. 

Jutta  sometimes  stands  for  Judith  ; 
sometimes  for  Oda,  and  sometimes  for 
Odilia. 

St.  Jutta  (1)  with  SS.  Ghiselind  and 
Herwio. 

St.  Jutta  (2),  Juditta  or  Ida  ((>), 
Dec.  22,  V.  recluse,  +  1136.  Sister  of 
Count  Meginhar d  of  Spanheim .  Superior 
of  the  recluses  on  the  Diesenberg  at 
Bingen.  Teacher  of  St.  Hildegard. 
Guerin.  Lechner,  Mart.  Ben.  Menard, 
in  his  revision  of  Wion. 

St.  Jutta  (3)  or  Judith,  recluse  with 
St.  Salome,  in  the  10th  or  11th  century, 
in  Bavaria. 

St.  Jutta  (4),  Ivetta. 

St.  Jutta  (5),  Judith,  or  Otta,  May 
5,  +  1264.  Patron  of  Prussia  and 
Masovia. 


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B.  JUTTA 


440 


Bepresented  (1)  in  a  grey  habit  tied 
with  a  black  cord  or  strap  round  the 
neck  and  waist  and  with  long  sleeves; 
(2")  sucking  the  wound  in  the  Saviour's 
side,  in  allusion  to  one  of  her  visions ; 
(3)  in  the  same  picture  with  B.  Dorothy 
(6),  who  is  often  associated  with  her  as 
patron  of  Prussia. 

Jutta  was  of  the  noble  family  of 
Sangerhausen  in  Saxony.  She  married 
young,  and  her  husband  died  on  a  pil- 
grimage to  Palestine.  She  had  several 
children,  all  of  whom  embraced  a  re- 
ligious life,  in  various  Orders.  After  the 
death  of  her  husband,  Jutta  devoted 
herself  for  a  time  to  the  care  of  tho  sick, 
especially  lepers,  and  was  favoured  with 
visions.  At  that  time  Poland  was  over- 
run by  Tartars,  Rutheni,  and  Lithua- 
nians. They  burnt  Cracow,  Sendomiria, 
and  other  cities,  and  twice  within  ten 
months  choked  up  the  river  Vistula  with 
Christian  corpses.  Prussia  was  next 
devastated.  The  Crucifers  with  difficulty 
saved  their  lives  and  liberties  by  taking 
refuge  in  the  fortresses  they  held  against 
the  barbarians ;  while  the  natives  who 
had  but  recently  been  baptized  relapsed 
into  paganism,  joined  the  invaders,  and 
massacred  the  priests  and  other  Chris- 
tians who  dwelt  amongst  them.  The  aid 
the  Christians  sent  for  from  Germany 
was  long  in  coming.  It  pleased  God 
that  Prussia  and  the  adjacent  province 
of  Masovia  should  at  this  time  receive  a 
special  protector  and  patron  from  Ger- 
many, in  the  person  of  St.  Jutta.  She 
came  to  Prussia  in  12G0,  to  lead  a  soli- 
tary and  austere  life  in  its  thick  and  dark 
forests,  while  Boleslaw  the  Chaste  and 
St.  Cunegund  were  reigning  in  Poland. 
She  chose  for  her  dwelling  a  ruined 
building,  not  far  from  Culm,  near  a  great 
pond  or  marsh  called  Bielczna.  The 
neighbours  observed  that  she  was  some- 
times lifted  up  from  the  earth  and  sus- 
pended in  the  air  while  she  prayed,  and 
that  when  she  went  to  the  new  church  at 
Culm,  she  sometimes  went  through  the 
wood  a  long  way  round,  by  the  edge  of 
the  lake,  and  sometimes  she  walked 
straight  across  the  water  by  a  path  which 
could  still  be  seen  after  her  death.  She 
lived  in  great  sanctity  in  the  forest  for 
four  years,  and  died  in  1264.  Her  friend 


and  confessor,  Henry,  bishop  of  Culuza, 
wanted  to  bury  her  quietly  according  to 
her  own  inclination,  but  he  could  not 
prevent  an  immense  concourse  of  people 
assembling  from  the  surrounding  country, 
so  that  such  a  multitude  had  never  been 
seen  in  Culuza  before.  Thirteen  priests 
were  present  at  the  funeral,  a  great  number 
at  that  time,  when  none  but  missionaries 
had  settled  there,  and  most  of  those  had 
been  massacred  by  the  barbarians. 

She  was  buried  in  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Trinity.  Fifteen  years  afterwards, 
steps  were  taken  for  her  canonization, 
in  consequence  of  her  great  renown  for 
sanctity  and  the  numerous  miracles 
wrought  at  her  tomb.  Papebroch  gives  - 
these  and  other  details  from  her  Life  by 
Schembek,  a  Jesuit,  translated  from  Polish 
by  another  Jesuit  priest,  for  the  Bollandist 
collection.  B.  Matilda  of  Magdeburg 
had  a  great  admiration  for  Jutta,  and 
mentions  her  as  a  woman  she  had  known 
to  teach  Christianity  to  the  heathen, 
both  by  preaching  and  example.  Matilda 
at  one  time  wished  to  imitate  her  in  this 
respect. 

AA.SS.  Preger,  Deutsche  Mystik. 
Papebroch  mentions,  only  to  contradict 
it,  a  legend  that  St.  Jutta  was  the  wife  of 
theConnt  of  Querfurt ;  that  she  had  seven 
children  at  a  birth  and  doomed  them  all 
to  death ;  the  count,  however,  preserved 
them,  and  one  was  afterwards  Meingold 
or  Meingard,  master  provincial  of  the 
Crucifers  in  Prussia;  during  his  rule 
there,  Jutta,  as  penance  for  the  sin  of 
contriving  the  death  of  her  children, 
founded  the  cathedral  of  Chelmza  or 
Culm,  under  Heidenricus,  second  bishop 
of  that  place.  This  is  not  Culm  on  the 
Vistula,  but  another  town  in  the  same 
province,  farther  from  the  Polish  fron- 
tier. The  cathedral  was  founded  before 
Jutta  was  born. 

B.  Jutta  (6),  Oct.  31,  V.  Nun  at 
Bethbuer.  Her  brother,  a  clerk,  was 
displeased  at  her  levity.  Although 
guilty  of  no  great  offence,  she  was  not 
so  serious,  pious,  and  modest  as  he  wished 
to  see  her.  He  took  up  a  stone  and  said, 
"  This  stone  shall  sooner  split  in  my  hand 
than  my  sister  shall  be  steady  and  a  nun." 
It  split.  She  was  so  impressed  by  the 
miracle  that  she  changed  her  ways,  took 


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450 


ST.  JtTVENCULA 


the  veil  at  Bethbuer,  and  wrought  mira-  with  Faustinas.    Mentioned  in  an  old 

cles  there.    Bucelinns.  copy  of  Jerome's  Mar tyrology, brought  from 

St.  Juvencula,  March  9,  M.  in  Britain  to  Belgium,  probably  by  St. 

Africa,  with  several  others.    A  A.  S8.  Willibrod,  in  the  8th  century.  AA.SS. 

St.  Juventia,  Feb.  16,  M.  in  Britain, 


K 


St.  Kairecha,  Feb.  9  (Cairecha, 
Chinreacha  Dercain),  V.  abbess.  At 
her  monastery  she  received  a  visit  from 
St.  Eneas  or  Angus,  abbot  of  Clonma- 
cnoise,  and  washed  his  feet  ;  St.  Ita 
(1)  held  part  of  the  towel  and  shared  the 
honour  of  ministering  to  the  venerable 
guest.  Kairecha  is  wrongly  confounded 
with  Cunera  or  Kunera.  Kirreque  or 
Chindreacha,  mentioned  by  Guerin  on 
Nov.  5,  is  probably  Kairecha.  O'Hanlon. 
Mart,  of  Tallaght. 

Karen,  Kari,  Karin,  Catherine. 

St.  Kebennia  or  Kebenina,  Nov.  28, 
July  7,  V.,  +  942  or  958.  The  servant 
of  Viborada,  who  went  with  her  to  Con- 
stance and  to  St.  Gall.  After  Viborada' s 
death, Kebennia  was  servant  to  Kaciiilda. 
After  Bachilda's  death,  Kebennia  became 
a  nun.  Honoured  at  St.  Gall.  Stadler. 
Guerin. 

St.  Kenberg,  or  Kenebubga,  Kyne- 

BURGA  (2). 

St.  Kenneit,  V.  M.  "A  Scotis- 
woman  and  ane  of  ye  11,000  virginis 
martyred  at  Coloigne,  under  Valontinian, 
450  "  (Adam  King).  Possibly  the  name 
is  a  mistake  for  Kenneth,  or  for  Cairmech, 
Irish  holy  men. 

St.  Kennere  (Cainder,  Cainner, 
Cineria,  Cunera).  Forbes,  Kalendars, 
Appendix. 

St.  Kennocha,  March  13,  V.,  + 
1007.  Of  a  royal  family  of  Scotland, 
she  was  very  beautiful,  endowed  with 
every  virtue,  and  desirous  to  consecrate 
herself  a  spouse  to  Christ.  Meeting 
with  great  opposition  from  her  parents 
and  worldly  friends,  she  underwent  on 
that  account  many  persecutions  and 
hardships,  which  she  overcame  by 
patience  and  constancy.  She  led  an 
angelical  life  for  many  years,  and  went 
to  our  Lord  in  a  good  old  age,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  11th  century.  She 
was  buried  in  a  church,  called  from  her, 


St.  Kinnoch's,  now  commonly  known  by 
the  name  of  Kyle.  She  is  honoured 
among  the  Scots.  Butler  says  she  made 
her  profession  in  a  great  nunnery  in 
Fife,  and  that  a  church  in  Glasgow  is 
still  called  St.  Kennock's  Kirk.  AA.SS. 
Brit  Sancta.  Canisius.  Adam  King. 
Butler.  Mr.  Gam  mack  says  the  same  as 
Kennotha  and  Kevoca. 

St.  Kennotha,  March  13,  V.,  + 
1007.  A  nun  at  Brechin,  who  worked 
miracles  before  and  after  her  death. 
Bishop  Forbes,  in  the  Appendix  to  his 
Scottish  Kalendars,  seems  to  think  Ken- 
notha may  bo  a  mistake  for  Kenneth,  an 
Irish  bishop  in  the  6th  century  (Oct.  11). 
Dempster,  Brev.  Scot.  Smith  and  Wace. 
Mr.  Gammack  makes  her  the  same  as 
Kennoca  and  Kevoca. 

St.  Kentigerna,  Jan.  7,  Oct.  13 

(CiENTIGERN,  CAINTIGERNA,  CaNTIGERNA, 

Cos n tigern a,  Quintigerna).  Probably 
8th  century ;  but  she  has  been  placed  in 
the  6th,  also  9th.  Daughter  of  Ceallach, 
king  of  Leinster.  Sister  of  St.  Comgan. 
Wife  of  Feradach,  prince  of  Monchestree. 
Mother  of  St.  Fillan,  besides  several 
other  children.  Fillan  was  born  with  a  dis- 
figurement, which  gave  him  the  appear- 
ance of  having  a  large  stone  in  his  month, 
and  his  father  ordered  him  to  be  thrown 
into  the  neighbouring  lake  as  a  monster. 
His  mother  commended  him  with  tears 
to  Divine  pity.  St.  Ibar  saw  him  at  the 
bottom  of  the  lake,  playing  with  angels, 
who  brought  him  safe  to  shore,  and  Ibar 
christened  him.  When  Kentigerna  was 
a  widow  she  left  Ireland,  with  her  brother 
Comgan  and  her  son  Fillan.  They 
settled  at  Strathfillan  in  Perthshire.  In 
her  old  age  she  desired  to  give  herself 
entirely  to  devotion,  and  went  to  live  in 
the  island  of  Inchelrock  or  Inch-Cailliach 
in  Loch  Lomond,  where  for  ages  the 
parish  church  was  called  by  her  name. 
Her  son  Fillan  has  been  confounded 


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ST.  KETEVAN 


451 


with  St.  Fullan,  brother  of  SS.  Fursey 
and  Ultan,  mentioned  in  the  history  of 
Gertrude  op  Nivelle.  Both  Fillan  and 
Fullan  are  spelt  in  several  ways,  and 
their  dates  and  localities  are  obscure. 
Fillan,  the  son  of  Kentigerna,  is  said  to 
have  studied  in  a  dark  cell  where  he 
wrote  with  his  right  hand  by  the  light 
of  his  left. 

Colgan,  Acts  of  St.  Foelan^  Jan.  9. 
Forbes.  Butler.  Adam  King,  Am 
Catechism.    Smith  and  Wace,  "  Fillan." 

St.  Kfere,  probably  Cera. 

St.  Kerstin  or  Kestni,  Christina. 

St.  Ketevan,  Sept.  13  (Kethevan, 
Ketheon  ;  in  Persia,  Mariana),  M.  Of 
the  illustrious  race  of  Bagratis  Mukhran, 
she  was  married  to  David,  son  of  Alex- 
ander II.,  king  of  Cachetia.  David  re- 
belled against  his  father  and  usurped 
his  throne.  Alexander  solemnly  cursed 
his  son,  who  soon  afterwards  died  miser- 
ably. Ketevan  was  detained  in  the  house 
of  her  father-in-law  King  Alexander, 
and  her  son  Theimuraz,  still  a  child, 
was  sent  as  hostage  to  Abbas  II.,  king 
of  Persia,  to  whom  Cachetia  and  Karthlia, 
otherwise  Kastalenia,  were  at  that  time 
tributary.  In  1605  Constantino,  another 
son  of  Alexander,  assassinated  his  father 
and  his  second  brother  George  at  a 
banquet.  Ketevan  went  to  her  father's 
house,  where  she  remained  until  the 
Cachetians,  hating  the  tyranny  of  Con- 
stantino, invited  her  to  return.  A  battle 
was  fought  near  the  river  Alazan ;  her 
party  was  victorious  and  Constantino 
was  killed.  She  was  proclaimed  Queen 
of  Cachetia,  and  the  same  year  her  son 
Theimuraz  was  restored  to  her.  With 
the  consent  of  Shah  Abbas  of  Persia, 
she  placed  him  on  the  throne  of  Cachetia, 
and  soon  afterwards  married  him  to 
Anna,  the  daughter  of  Mamia,  king  of 
Gouri.  Anna  died  in  1609.  He  then 
married  Khorasana,  the  beautiful  sister 
of  Luarzab,  king  of  Karthlia.  Their 
father  George  IX.  had  been  poisoned  by 
order  of  Abbas,  in  1605,  and  as  it  did 
not  suit  his  views  to  have  Christian  kings 
ruling  in  his  two  tributary  kingdoms,  he 
declared  war  against  Luarzab,  and  Thei- 
muraz had  to  send  his  sons  Leo  and 
Alexander,  and  his  mother  Ketevan  as 
hostages  to  the  tyrant  who  detained  her 


for  ten  years  at  Shiraz.  During  her 
captivity  Abbas  devastated  Karthlia  and 
Cachetia  with  fire  and  sword,  the  first 
victims  being  6000  monks  who  were 
murdered  at  Garedji,  on  Easter  Day. 
When  the  two  kings  fled  to  Imeretia  to 
beg  help  from  King  George  II.,  Abbas 
determined  to  gain  by  fraud  what  he  had 
hitherto  failed  to  obtain  by  force.  He 
sent  flattering  messages  to  King  Luarzab, 
who,  deceived  by  them,  came  to  the 
court  of  his  enemy.  There  he  had  a 
bitter  foe  among  the  courtiers,  in  the 
person  of  his  brother-in-law  Murav, 
whom  he  had  condemned  to  death  for 
repudiating  his  wife,  Luarzab's  sister. 
Encouraged  by  this  man,  Abbas  had  him 
strangled  in  1 61 5, and  not  long  afterwards 
the  two  sons  of  Theimuraz  were  put  to 
death,  whereupon  their  father  determined 
to  make  another  effort  to  deliver  himself 
and  his  people,  and  raising  an  army, 
opposed  the  Persians  with  some  success. 
In  revenge,  Abbas  gave  orders  to  the 
governor  of  the  fortress  that  Ketevan 
should  be  put  to  death  by  torture  that 
very  day,  unless  she  abjured  the  Christian 
faith  and  become  a  Mohammedan.  Her 
treatment  had  varied  very  much  during 
her  ten  years'  captivity — treated  now  as 
a  sister  sovereign  and  honoured  guest, 
now  as  a  prisoner  of  a  hated  and  despised 
religion.  To  induce  her  to  renounce 
Christianity  and  become  a  Mussulman, 
flattery  and  fair  promises  had  been  freely 
used:  prospects  of  a  brilliant  second 
marriage  had  been  held  out  to  her.  Al- 
ternating with  these  were  threats  of  vio- 
lence, with  dark  hints  of  the  evil  that 
might  come  upon  her  family  and  country 
in  case  of  her  persistence  in  her  faith. 
She  was  not  allowed  free  intercourse 
with  her  grandsons,  who  were  her  fellow- 
prisoners  and  hostages.  She  had  long 
felt  that  her  death  might  come  any  day, 
and  carried  about  with  her  the  consecrated 
bread  that  she  might  not  die  without 
receiving  the  Body  of  the  Lord. 

Notwithstanding  the  fierce  disputes 
then  raging  between  the  Greek  and 
Roman  Churches,  some  Latin  Missionary 
Friars  of  the  Order  of  St.  Augustine, 
when  they  heard  the  sentence,  went  to 
the  governor  with  a  strong  remonstrance, 
and  besides  all  other  arguments,  offered 


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452 


ST.  KENOCE 


to  raise  in  the  Western  Church,  a  ransom 
of  twenty  thousand  roubles  for  her  life. 
The  offer  was  rejected  and  on  Sept.  12, 
1624,  the  sentence  was  carried  out  with 
great  cruelty.  She  was  laid  on  red-hot 
nails,  and  when  these  had  cooled,  heated 
iron  bars  were  placed  across  her  body. 
These  tortures  she  bore  with  silent  dignity. 
Next,  a  red-hot  iron  crown  was  pressed 
on  her  head.  Before  it  was  cool  she  had 
received  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  She 
was  attended  by  a  noble  lady  of  Qeorgia, 
and  by  a  priest  of  the  Greek  Church. 
The  friars  were  allowed  to  ransom  her 
dead  body,  and  she  was  buried  at  Alaverde 
in  Georgia  with  the  honours  due  to  a 
queen  and  martyr.  Luarzab  is  also 
honoured,  March  20,  as  a  martyr,  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Earthlia.  The  Augustine 
friars  who  witnessed  the  martyrdom  of 
Eetevan  eventually  sent  some  of  her 
relics,  as  those  of  a  saint,  to  Namur  in 
Belgium.  Grseco  -  Slavonic  Calendar. 
Neale,  Followers  of  the  Lord. 

St.  Kenoce,  Kkvoca. 

St.  Keve  or  Keva,  formerly  patron 
of  a  church  in  England.  Guerin.  Eew  (?). 

St.  Keverne  or  Kewerne,  Dec.  27. 
A  church  and  village  in  Cornwall  bear 
this  saint's  name.    Guerin.  Parker. 

St.  Kevoca,  March  13  (Evox, 
Kenoce),  V.  in  Scotland  in  655,  was 
nobly  born  and  beautiful,  and  endured 
persecution  to  avoid  marriage.  Mart,  of 
Aberdeen.  St.  Kevoca  is  the  same  as 
CaBmhog  or  Mokeevoc,  an  Irish  warrior. 
Perhaps  Mochoenoc,  husband  or  son,  of 
Nessa  (2).  Forbes. 

St.  Kew,  Ciwo,  or  Cwick,  Y.  Patron 
of  churches  in  Wales  and  Cornwall. 
Her  festival  is  the  Sunday  nearest  to 
July  25.  Perhaps  the  same  as  Kywe. 
Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Kewerne,  Keverne. 

St.  Keyna,  Feb.  27,  Oct.  8  (Cain, 
Ceineu,  Ceinwen,  Cenen,  Kayne  ;  in 
ancient  British,  Keyna  or  Keynvake), 
V.  -f-  400,  was  the  daughter  of  Braghan, 
prince  of  Brecknock.  He  had  many 
saintly  children :  by  some  accounts, 
twenty-four  daughters,  besides  sons. 
(See  Almheda.)  His  most  distinguished 
child  was  Keyna,  who  crossed  the  Severn 
and  chose  a  wood  for  her  solitary  abode 
where  now  stands  the  town  of  Cainsham 


or  Keynsham  on  the  Avon.  u  This 
place,"  says  Capgrave,  "swarmed  with 
serpents,  so  that  neither  men  nor  beasts 
could  inhabit  it ;  but  St.  Keyna  address- 
ing herself  to  her  heavenly  spouse,  ob- 
tained of  Him,  by  the  fervour  of  her 
prayer,  that  all  this  poisonous  brood 
should  be  changed  into  stones  perfectly 
resembling  the  winding  of  serpents :  of 
which  kind  many  were  to  be  seen  in 
that  neighbourhood  for  divers  ages."  A 
similar  miracle  is  recorded  of  Hilda. 
Keyna,  after  living  there  an  austere  and 
saintly  life  for  some  years,  made  a  pil- 
grimage to  St.  Michael's  Mount.  Her 
nephew,  St.  Cadocus,  son  of  her  sister 
Gladusa,  was  surprised  to  find  her  there 
and  persuaded  her  to  return  home  with 
him.  She  made  herself  a  small  habita- 
tion at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  in  her 
native  place,  and  obtained,  by  her  prayers, 
a  spring  of  water  which  was  helpful  in 
divers  infirmities.  Here  she  remained 
many  years  and  died.  A  gracious  smile 
and  a  beautiful  rosy  colour  appeared  on 
her  face.  She  gave  to  the  Cornish 
people  a  well  near  St.  Neot's,  which  has 
the  wonderful  property  of  conferring  the 
chief  domestic  authority  on  husband  or 
wife,  whichever  first,  after  marriage, 
drinks  of  its  waters.  The  parish  of 
Kenwyn  in  Cornwall  is  perhaps  called 
after  Keyna.  Brit.  Sancta.  Blight, 
Crosses  of  Cornwall.    Smith  and  Wace. 

St.  Keynvare,  Keyna. 

St.  Keynwen,  Keyna. 

St.  Kiara,  Ceba. 

St.  Kiduana,  possibly  a  misprint 
for  Triduana.    (See  Cinebia.) 

St.  Kigwe,  Feb.  8,  V.,  honoured  in 
Wales.  Stanton.  Possibly  same  as 
Kew. 

St.  Kilda  or  Kilder.  An  unknown 
saint  has  left  his  or  her  name  to  the 
island  anciently  called  Irte  or  Hirta,  and 
to  a  well  in  it.  Forbes. 

Some  writers  derive  the  name  from  a 
Saxon  word  signifying  a  spring  of  water. 
The  island  contains  particularly  good 
water. 

St  Kilhome.  The  church  of 
Clifton-upon-Teme  in  Worcestershire  is 
named  after  this  saint.  Parker. 

St.  Kinesdride,  Kynedride. 

St  Kinga,  Cunegund. 


ST.  KYNEBURGA 


453 


St.  Kinisdred,  Kynedbide. 

St.  Kinna  or  Kinnia,  Cinna. 

St.  Kinnock,  Kennocha. 

St.  Kirreque  or  Chindbeacha,  Nov. 

5,  V.  at  Dearcin.  Guerin.  Probably 
same  as  Eaibeoha. 

Kirschmerg.   (See  Triads.) 

Kisten  or  Justin,  Christina. 

SS.  Koldingamenses,  VV.  MM., 
nuns  of  Coldinghame.    (See  Ebba.) 

St.  Kombre,  Wiloepobtis. 

St.  Kristna,  Chbistina  (5). 

St.  Kummernisz  or  Kummebnus, 
Wilgefortis. 

St.  Kuneburg,  Kynebubga. 

St.  Kunegund,  Cunegund. 

St  Kunere,  Cuneba. 

St.  Kunhuta,  Cunegund  (3). 

St.  Kuninga,  Cunegund. 

St.  Kyneburga  (1),  Queen,  March 

6,  Sept.  15  (English  Mart.),  -f  680 
(Cunebubga,  Cunneberg,  Cunnybubbow, 
Cymburga,  Cyneburh),  Abbess  of  Dor- 
mundcaster  in  Northamptonshire.  Eldest 
daughter  of  Penda,  king  of  Mercia  (628- 
055).  Wife  of  Alchfrid,  king  of  Nor- 
thnmbria. 

Penda,  king  of  Mercia,  was  an  in- 
veterate heathen,  and  a  cruel  and  savage 
devastator  of  his  rivals  and  neighbours. 
He  had  many  children,  all  of  whom 
became  Christians  during  his  life.  Some 
were  eminent  for  their  sanctity,  or  their 
marriages  to  saints,  and  all  for  their 
generous  patronage  of  the  clergy  and 
strenuous  exertions  in  the  cause  of 
evangelization.  Kyneburga  is  the  only 
one  in  whose  name  churches  have  been 
dedicated. 

When  in  651,  Oswy,  king  of  Northum- 
bria,  succeeded  in  defeating  Penda  and 
bringing  him  to  terms,  one  of  the  chief 
conditions  of  the  treaty  was  that  Alchfrid 
or  Alfrid,  the  eldest  (illegitimate)  son 
of  Oswy,  a  pious  Christian  prince,  should 
marry  Kyneburga,  the  daughter  of 
Penda.  If  she  was  not  already  a  Chris- 
tian, she  became  so  on  her  marriage,  and 
kept  her  house  with  so  much  regard  to 
prayer  and  religious  observances,  that  it 
was  more  like  a  monastery  than  a  court. 
She  assisted  her  husband  in  the  conver- 
sion of  her  brother  Peada,  who  married 
Alchfrid's  sister. 

Alchfrid  joined  his  father  in  opposing 


Penda  in  651,  in  the  great  battle  where 
the  Mercian  king  fell,  fighting,  in  his 
eightieth  year.  Soon  afterwards,  in 
657-658,  Alchfrid  began  to  reign  in 
Northumbria  with  his  father.  He  was 
a  religious  man,  and  a  friend  of  the 
clergy.  St.  Wilfrid  lived  at  his  court 
for  three  years,  and  was  there  ordained 
priest.  Alchfrid  built  the  monastery  of 
Bipon,  and  the  smaller  one  of  Stamford. 
Alchfrid  and  Kyneburga  were  present  at 
the  Conference  of  Whitby  and  took  the 
Latin  side.  Kyneburga's  signature  fol- 
lowed that  of  her  brother,  King  Wulfere 
of  Mercia,  in  his  charter  giving  the  abbey 
of  Medehamstede  (Peterborough^  to  the 
Church,  in  656.  When  her  husband 
died  or  retired  to  a  monastery,  Kyne- 
burga left  Northumberland  and  became 
a  nun  near  Peterborough,  at  Dormund- 
caster,  of  which  she  was,  perhaps,  the 
founder.  It  was  afterwards  called  in 
her  honour,  Kyneburgcaster,  and  this 
was  shortened  to  Caster  or  Caistor. 
Here  Idabubg  or  Eadburg,  sometimes 
called  her  sister,  was  abbess,  and  her 
sisters  Kynedbide  and  Kyneswide,  who 
had  taken  the  veil  very  young,  were  nuns 
with  her.  She  had  another  sister,  Wil- 
bubga.  Kyneburga  was  abbess  of  Caster 
for  several  years. 

According  to  some  authorities,  Alch- 
frid and  Kyneburga  had  a  son,  Osric,  king 
7 18-729,  and  another,  St.  Bum  wold,  a  very 
precocious  infant  who  died  about  three 
days  old.  Eadburga  and  Eva  are  some- 
times called  the  daughters,  sometimes  the 
sisters  of  this  Kyneburga.  It  is  possible 
she  was  the  mother  of  Kynebubga  (2), 
abbess  of  Gloucester.  In  the  11th 
century  the  body  of  Kyneburga  (1)  was 
translated  to  Peterborough,  with  those 
of  her  sister  Kyneswide  and  their  kins- 
woman Tibba.  British  Mart.  Bode. 
Strutt.  Montalembert.  Hole,  in  Smith 
and  Wace.  Butler.  Stanton.  Miss 
Forster. 

St.  Kyneburga  (2),  March  6  (Ken- 
bebg,  Kenebubga),  -f  710,  first  abbess 
of  St.  Peter's,  Gloucester.  This  nunnery 
was  founded  in  681,  by  her  brother  Osric, 
who  is  variously  described  as  a  minister 
of  Ethelred,  king  of  Mercia  (brother  of 
Kyneburga  (1)),  and  as  king  of  the 
Hwiccii.    He  is  perhaps  the  same  as 


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454 


ST.  KYNEBURGA 


Osrio,  king  of  Northnmbria,  718-729; 
in  which  case  he  and  Kyneburga  (2) 
were  perhaps  the  children  of  Kyneburga 
(1).  Kyneburga  (2)  is  said  to  have  been 
succeeded  by  her  sister  Edburga  (3).  She 
has  been  supposed  to  be  identical  with 
Kyneburga  (1)  or  Kyneburga  (3).  Com- 
pare Bishop  Stubbs  in  Smith  and  Wace ; 
Miss  Arnold  Forster,  Dedications ;  and 
Stanton,  Menology. 

St  Kyneburga  (3),  June  25,  7th 
or  8th  century.  Stanton  says  all  we 
know  of  Kyneburga  of  Gloucester  is 
derived  from  the  lessons  of  her  office, 
compiled  after  her  translation  late  in 
the  14th  century.  According  to  these, 
she  was  of  a  royal  race  among  the  ancient 
Saxons,  and  a  royal  marriage  was  ar- 
ranged for  her.  To  escape  from  this 
earthly  tie,  she  fled  to  Gloucester,  where 
she  was  unknown.  She  there  engaged 
herself  as  servant  to  a  baker,  who  soon 
adopted  her  as  his  own  daughter.  His 
wife,  however,  was  jealous  of  her  in- 
fluence. One  day,  in  his  absence,  she 
murdered  the  holy  virgin  and  threw  her 
into  a  well,  afterwards  called  by  her 
name.  When  the  master  came  home, 
he  called  Kyneburga,  who  answered  from 
the  well.  The  body  was  taken  up  and 
reverently  buried  ;  after  a  time  a  church 
was  built  over  her  grave,  and  miracles 
attested  her  holiness.  The  Gloucester 
annals,  Camden,  and  Leland  all  represent 
her  as  the  first  abbess  of  St.  Peter's  at 
Gloucester,  founded  by  Osric,  king  of 
Northumberland,  where  Kyneburga, 
Edbubga,  and  Eva  or  Weede,  all  Mercian 
queens,  successively  presided  ;  but 
Stanton  thinks  this  seems  to  be  a  con- 
fusion between  Kyneburga  (1)  and  the 
baker's  maid.  Stanton,  Menology,  pp. 
C54,  632.    Compare  Weeda. 

St.  Kynedride  (1),  March  6,  May  31 
(Chinesdke,  Cinethrith,  Cynedridis, 
Kinisdrbd),  -f  c.  705.  Sister  of  Kyne- 
burga (1).  A  daughter  of  Penda,  the 
heathen  king  of  Mercia.  She  and  her 
sister  Kyneswitha  were  very  young 
when  their  father  died  in  655.  They 
were  brought  up  in  the  monastery  of 
Dormundcaster  and  early  consecrated 
themselves  to  God.  Kynedride  is  often 
left  out  of  the  number  of  the  sainted 
children    of    Penda,   but    is  placed 


amongst  them  by  Britannia  Saneta  and 
appears  in  Watson's  English  Mart,  and 
in  Lives  of  Women  Saints  in  England. 
She  is  perhaps  the  Abbess  Kynedride 
to  whom,  in  709,  was  sent  the  miracle- 
working  silken  robe  in  which  the  body 
of  St.  Wilfrid  had  lain.  Smith  and  Wace 
tell  of  the  robe  but  they  do  not  identify 
the  abbess  with  the  daughter  of  Penda. 
She  is  perhaps  the  same  as  Chidestre,  + 
701,  V.  daughter  of  Penda,  in  Newman's 
list.  It  does  not  seem  certain  that 
Kynedride  is  not  merely  another  name 
for  Kyneburg  or  Kyneswide. 

B.  Kynedride  (2),  Chinedritha,' or 
Cynedridis,  May  8.  10th  century.  Wife 
of  Herstan  and  mother  of  St.  Dunstan. 
In  924,  shortly  before  the  birth  of  her 
illustrious  son,  in  the  solemn  office  of 
Candlemas  Day,  in  the  Church  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  in  Glastonbury,  all  the 
lights  were  suddenly  extinguished,  but 
the  taper  which  Kynedride  held  in  her 
hand  was  re-lighted  from  heaven ;  and  all 
the  rest  borrowed  their  light  from  her. 
After  his  birth,  his  parents  were  favoured 
with  a  vision  in  which  the  future  sanctity 
of  their  son  was  revealed  to  them.  Ho 
was  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  for 
twenty-seven  years.  After  the  death  of 
Kynedride,  her  son  saw  her  soul  in  a 
vision  among  the  blessed  in  heaven. 
Brit.  Sancta.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Kynegild,  Guntild. 

St.  Kyneswide,  March  6  (Cynesuith, 
Kyneswitha),  nun  at  Dormundcaster. 
Daughter  of  Penda,  king  of  Mercia. 
Wife  of  Offa,  king  of  the  East  Saxons. 
Sister  of  Kyneburga  (1)  and  of  five 
kings,  some  of  whom  are  accounted 
saints.  Kyneswide  incited  her  brothers 
to  found  the  great  abbey  of  Medeham- 
stede,  afterwards  Peterborough,  and 
attended  its  dedication  in  656,  sanc- 
tioning Wulfere's  grants,  and  signing 
the  charter  with  her  mark.  Offa  had 
reigned  seven  years  when,  with  Kyne- 
switha's  approval,  perhaps  at  her  insti- 
gation, he  resolved  to  leave  her  and  his 
country.  In  conjunction  with  her  nephew, 
Kenred,  king  of  Mercia,  son  of  Wulfere 
and  Ermenilda,  he  endowed  the  new 
monastery  of  Evesham  founded  by  St. 
Wilfrid,  freed  it  from  all  temporal 
jurisdiction  and  witnessed  its  dedication 


ST.  LANGUIDA 


455 


in  709;  after  which,  the  two  young 
kings,  accompanied  by  the  Bishop  of 
Worcester,  travelled  together  to  Borne, 
and  became  monks  there.  Kyneewide 
became  a  nun  with  her  sisters  Kynkburga 
and  Etnedridb  at  Kyneburgcastor. 
Another  version  of  the  history  of  Kyne- 
switha  is,  that  she  was  betrothed  to  Offa, 
but  never  married  him,  having  persuaded 


him  to  make  a  vow  of  celibacy  and 
become  a  monk.  She  is  commemorated 
as  a  virgin  saint.  Strutt  Montalembert. 
Butler.    Brit.  Sancta. 

St  Kyngese,  Cunegund. 

St.  Kyria,  Cyria. 

St.  Kywe,  Feb.  8,  V.  Exeter  Mart. 
Perhaps  same  as  Kew. 


L 

St.  Lactissima,  Lactissima. 

St.  Laeta  or  Leta,  4th  and  5th  cen- 
turies. Daughter  of  Albinus,  prefect  of 
Borne,  a  heathen  ;  her  mother  was  a 
Christian.  Leta  married  Toxotius,  son 
of  St.  Paula.  They  had  a  daughter, 
St.  Paula  the  younger,  whom  they  con- 
seorated  to  God  from  her  birth.  In  403 
St.  Jerome  wrote  a  letter  to  Lseta,  giving 
her  advice  as  to  the  training  of  her  child. 
Jerome's  Epistles,  cvii.  (Freemantle). 
Tillemont. 

St.  Laetissima,  Lactissima,  or  Le- 
gi8Sima,  April  27.  M.  at  Nicomedia  in 
Bithynia.  AA.SS. 

St,  Lagsecha,  Lassecha. 

St.  LalToca,  niece  of  St.  Patrick,  and 
sister  of  St.  Echea. 

St.  Lamberta  or  Lamdoberta, 
honoured  at  St.  Jean  de  Conches. 
Guerin. 

St.  Lancia,  Lauce. 

SS.  Landaia  and  Mutiana,  July 
26.    Mart.  Corbejense.  AA.SS. 

St.  Landovenna,  Laudoveva. 

St  Landrada,  July  8,  V.  Abbess 
of  Belise  or  Miinster-Bilsen,  in  the 
diocese  of  Leyden,  +  680,  or  690,  or 
708.  Perhaps  the  same  as  Leandra. 
Patron  of  Miinster-Bilsen  and  of  Ghent. 
Represented  praying,  a  crucifix  coming 
down  to  her  surrounded  by  rays  of 
light,  and  clouds.  She  was  an  only 
child,  of  illustrious  birth,  and  her 
parents  wished  to  make  a  great  marriage 
for  her,  but  she  was  bent  on  leading  a 
celibate,  religious  life.  Her  asceticism 
was  such  that  she  never  would  use  a 
bath  or  a  soft  bed.  One  day  while  she 
was  praying  in  a  lonely  place,  she  saw 
heaven  opened,  and  a  cross  of  exquisite 
workmanship  descended  and  was  placed 


on  a  very  hard  stone  near  her.  At  the 
same  time  a  heavenly  voice  told  her  it 
was  a  gift  to  her.  She  worked  like  a 
strong  man,  clearing  away  briars,  digging 
up  stones,  and  carrying  them,  until  she 
laid  there  the  foundations  of  a  church  in 
honour  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  reared 
the  altar  with  her  own  hands.  The  cross 
sent  her  from  heaven  impressed  itself 
on  the  stone  as  on  wax,  and  might  be 
seen  in  the  church  many  years  after- 
wards, when  it  was  finished  and  con- 
secrated by  St.  Lambert,  bishop  of 
Maestricht,  who  died  in  709.  She  col- 
lected a  number  of  pious  women  about 
her  and  became  their  abbess.  She  edu- 
cated Amelberga  ^2)  in  her  monastery. 
It  is  told  in  the  third  Life  of  St.  Lambert 
(Sept.  17,  AA.SS.)  that  Landrada  on  her 
death-bed,  sent  for  him,  but  before  he 
could  arrive,  she  died.  She  appeared  to 
him,  however,  and  told  him  to  bury  her 
at  Winterhoven,  a  village  not  far  from 
Tongres  in  Belgium ;  but  the  people 
insisted  that  she  should  be  buried  in 
her  own  church.  He  said,  "  It  is  a  fine 
thing  to  rule  over  one's  fellow-citizens, 
but  it  is  very  difficult  to  please  every- 
body." He  did  as  they  bade  him,  but 
the  body  was  miraculously  translated. 
In  three  days,  her  grave  was  opened  and 
found  empty.  Messengers  were  sent  in 
all  haste  to  Winterhoven,  and  there  her 
sacred  body  was  found  in  the  place  of 
her  choice.  It  was  translated  with  those 
of  St.  Landoald  and  St.  Lambert  to 
Ghent  in  980.  AA.SS.  Cahier.  San- 
derus,  Flandria  illustrata. 

St.  Languida,  Oct.  21,  V.  Com- 
panion of  St.  Ursula.  Her  festival  is 
kept  May  8  at  Tournay,  where  her  relics 
are  preserved.  AA.SS.,  Prseter.  Migne. 


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456 


ST.  LANOPLEDIS 


St.  Lanofiedis,  Annofledis. 

St.  Lantia  or  Lantiana,  Lauce. 

St.  Lantilda,  abbess  of  Almeneches. 
8th  century.  Aunt  of  Opportuna. 
Laurent,  Hist,  de  Marguerite  de  Lorraine. 

St.  Lanty.  Lande  wednack  and  Lan- 
teglos  in  Cornwall  have  their  churches 
named  after  this  saint.  Parker. 

St.  Larcia,  Oct.  8,  9.  Wife  of 
Lisbius  or  St.  Lisbe.  She  was  converted 
at  Paris  by  seeing  St.  Denis,  M.,  carry 
his  head  in  his  hand  for  two  miles  to 
Mont  Martre.  Larcia  declared  herself 
a  Christian,  and  was  beheaded.  She  had 
a  son  Visbius,  a  confessor.  Their  names 
are  not  in  any  old  calendar.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lasra  or  Lasrea,  Lassara. 

St.  Lassa,  Feb.  9.  This  name 
appears  in  some  very  old  martyrologies 
as  one  of  a  number  of  martyrs  at  Mem  bras 
or  Membre8sa  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lassara  (1),  Lasra,  or  Lasrea, 
V.,  Feb.  1.  End  of  5th  or  beginning  of 
Gth  century.  Several  holy  virgins  of 
this  name  are  commemorated  by  the 
Irish :  one  was  a  friend  of  Brigid  (2). 
Brigid  and  some  of  her  companions  were 
on  a  visit  to  Lassara  at  her  church, 
when  one  evening  St.  Patrick  came  with 
a  great  number  of  friends  and  followers 
and  asked  for  hospitality  there.  The 
whole  community  were  disturbed  and 
perplexed,  and  said  to  Brigid,  "  How 
can  we  feed  so  great  a  multitude?" 
"  What  food  have  you  ?  "  asked  Brigid. 
They  answered,  "  We  have  only  twelve 
loaves,  a  little  milk,  and  one  sheep  which 
we  have  cooked  for  you  and  your  friends 
to  eat."  Brigid  said,  "That  will  be 
enough  for  us  all,  the  Holy  Scriptures 
will  be  preached  to  us,  and  so  we  shall 
forget  to  want  carnal  food."  They  all 
had  a  plentiful  supper,  and  the  fragments 
that  remained  were  more  than  the  food 
that  Lassara  had  first  set  before  them. 
Afterwards  she  offered  her  house  and 
church  to  Brigid  as  a  gift.  AA.SS., 
"St.  Brigid." 

St.  Lassara  (2),  Algasach  (i.e. 
Desiderosa),  March  29,  V.  in  Meath  c. 
540.  Daughter  of  Fergus.  She  may 
have  been  the  Lassara  who  took  the  veil 
under  St.  Finnian  of  Clonard  and  his 
sister  Regnach,  at  Kilreynagh,  and 
founded  a  church  at  Doire-mac-Aidme- 


cain.   Colgan.    Gammack  in  Smith  and 

Wace. 

St.  Lassecha,  Lagsecha,  or  Luigh- 
sech,  May  22.  Mentioned  in  the  Mart, 
of  Tamlayht.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Lassedia,  V.  in  Ireland.  Pro- 
bably same  as  Lassia  and  Lassecha. 
Migne. 

St.  Lassia,  Lasse,  or  Laisse,  April 
13.  V.  (Irish)  at  Cluain  Mind.  AAJSS^ 
Prseter.    Mart,  of  Tallaght. 

St.  Lateerin,  or  Latierna,  May  1, 
the  only  one  whose  name  is  known  of 
three  saintly  sisters  who  lived  in  very 
ancient  times  neir  Mill  Street  in  Co. 
Cork.  Lateerin's  cabin  was  at  Cullin ; 
one  of  her  sisters  lived  at  Kilmeen,  the 
other  at  Drum  tariff,  and  they  visited 
each  other  once  a  week.  As  their  houses 
were  separated  by  bogs,  angels  made  a 
firm  road  for  them  to  walk  on.  Lateerin 
only  allowed  herself  ono  meal  a  day,  and 
she  used  to  go  every  evening  to  the 
smith's  forge  for  a  live  coal  to  light  her 
fire  to  cook  her  food;  this  coal  she 
carried  home  in  her  skirt,  but  one  day 
as  the  smith  watched  her  walking  off 
with  the  bright  fire  in  a  fold  of  her  dress, 
he  exclaimed,  "  Ah  now,  Lateerin,  what 
lovely  white  feet  you  have ! "  The  saint 
had  a  single  moment  of  vanity,  for  which 
she  was  promptly  punished,  for  the  fire, 
hitherto  carried  with  impunity,  instantly 
burnt  a  hole  in  her  robe,  fell  down,  and 
scorched  her  feet.  She  was  ashamed  of 
herself  and  very  angry  with  the  smith, 
and  cried  out,  "  May  there  never  more 
be  a  smith  or  a  forge  in  Cullin ! "  and  it 
is  said  there  never  has  been.  Near  the 
site  of  the  old  church  there  is  a  holy 
well,  to  which  people  come  from'  great 
distances  to  be  cured  of  diseases,  and  an 
old  white  thorn  outside  the  churchyard 
is  said  to  mark  her  grave.  Either 
Lateerin  or  one  of  her  sisters  has  a  well 
at  Drum  tariff  which  many  persons  think 
they  must  visit  on  a  day  in  May,  on  pain 
of  having  no  luck  for  the  rest  of  the 
year.  O'Hanlon,  Fireside  Tales  of  many 
Countries, 

St.  Latina,  June  2,  M.  at  Borne. 
AA.SS. 

St.  Lauce  or  Lauciana,  Aug.  18,  V. 
M.  at  Amasa  in  Pontus.  AA.SS. 
Guerin, 


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ST.  LENE 


457 


St.  Lailda,  LAUTicA,or  Leutica,  May 
31,  M.  at  Gerona  in  Spain.  AA.SS. 
St.  Laudasia,  July  26,  M.  AA.SS. 
St.  Laudoveva,  Oct.  29  (Lando- 
venna,  Laudovena,  Loueve).  Once 
worshipped  at  Senlis,  where  her  relics 
were  kept  in  a  chapel,  founded  in  the 
11th  century  in  honour  of  St.  Frambald. 
She  is  called  Ste.  Loueve  in  a  MS.  in 
Gothic  characters  whioh  belonged  to 
that  church.  She  is  said  to  have  been 
a  queen  of  the  Franks  or  Bretons,  and 
sometimes  supposed  to  be  the  wife  of 
Eusebius,  a  king  of  the  Veneti  in 
Armorica.  AA.SS. 

St.  Laura,  Laurence,  Laurentia, 
Lorenza,  Oct.  19,  M.  864.  She  belonged 
to  a  noble  Mozarabic  family  of  Cordova. 
After  six  years  of  married  life  she  was 
left  a  widow  with  two  daughters.  She 
became  a  nun  under  Aurea  at  Cuteclara, 
and  succeeded  her  as  abbess  in  856. 
After  some  years  of  great  holiness,  she 
was  seized  by  the  Saracens,  beaten  and 
put  into  a  bath  of  boiling  pitch  in  which 
she  lived  three  hours  and  then  gave  up 
her  spirit.    AA.SS.  Eulogius. 

St.  Laurence,  Laurentia,  Lorenza, 
sometimes  Laura. 

St.  Laurentia  (l).  (See  Palatias.) 

St.  Laurentia  (2),  March  13,  Sept. 
8,  V.  M.    (See  Heremita.) 

SS.  Lauriana  and  Agrippina,  W. 
MM,  May  21  or  24  at  Corbie,  May  1  at 
Amiens.  Their  relics  were  taken  from 
Borne  to  Corbie.    Migne.  Guerin. 

St.  Laurina,  Nov.  3,  M.,  honoured  at 
Ajaccio.  Guerin. 

St.  Lauta,  June  1,  M.  with  St. 

AUCEGA. 

St.  Lautia,  Lauoe.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lautica,  Lauda. 

St.  Lea  (1)  or  Leva,  Sept.  28,  M.  in 
Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lea*  (2),  March  22,  +  c.  383. 
A  Roman  lady  of  rank  who,  after  her 
husband's  death,  renounced  the  world 
and  led  a  religious  and  penitential  life 
with  some  other  pious  women,  to  whom 
she  was  spiritual  mother.  She  died  at 
the  same  time  as  Consul  Praetextatus, 
who  was  a  heathen,  and  whose  life  had 
been  as  full  of  luxury  and  splendour  as 
hers  was  full  of  mortification.  Her  con- 
temporary, St.  Jeromo,  in  a  letter  to 


Maroella,  makes  an  edifying  comparison 
between  the  death  of  the  consul  and  that 
of  the  Christian  widow.  She  was  not 
worshipped  as  a  saint  in  the  early  Church, 
and  her  name  was  only  inserted  in  the 
martyrologies  in  the  1 6th  century.  R.M. 
St.  Jerome,  Ep.  23  (Migne).  Baillet. 
Butler. 

St.  Leah  or  Lia,  sister  of  Rachel 

(1). 

St.  Leandra,  Sept.  17,  V.  Perhaps 
same  as  Landrada.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Lechida,  Dec.  2,  V.  Patron  of 
Llanllechid  in  Caernarvonshire.  Memorial 
of  Ancient  British  Piety. 

St  Leda,  Lydia  (2). 

St.  Legadia.   (See  Lbocadia.) 

St.  Legissima,  L^tissima.  ' 

St.  Leian,  Lleian. 

B.  Lena  dall  Oglio,  Helen  (19). 

St.  Lene  (1),Natalene  or  Nataline, 
Nov.  12,  V.  M.    4th  century.  Patron  of 
Pamiers,  dep.  Ariege.  Ninth  daughter 
of  Fredelas,  governor  of  the  town  after- 
wards called   Pamiers.     He  was  so 
anxious  for  a  son  that,  on  the  appearance 
of  the  ninth  daughter,  he  went  into  a 
fury,  and  ordered  her  to  be  thrown  into 
the  Ariege,  but  three  luminous  crosses 
appeared  over  her  cradle,  and  while  the 
servants  were  preparing  to  execute  the 
orders  of  Fredelas,  a  man  (whom  an 
ancient    tradition    calls    St.  Martin) 
appeared,  took  the  child  and  gave  her 
to  a  nurse  who  brought  her  up  a 
Christian.    Lene  early  consecrated  by  a 
vow  of  virginity,  associated  herself  to 
other  holy  virgins.    She  devoted  herself 
particularly  to  the  poor  and  sick  in  the 
hospital  of  the  town.    Here  she  was 
seen  several  times  by  Alydanus,  a  lieu- 
tenant-general of  Fredelas,  who  tried  to 
seduce  her,  but  she  frustrated  all  his 
plans  and  attempts.    He  denounced  her 
to  the  governor  as  a  zealous  Christian. 
She  was  immediately  thrown  into  a 
dungeon,  and  then  dragged  through  the 
streets  before  being  led  to  the  tribunal 
of  Fredelas.    He  asked  her,  "  Who  are 
you  and  of  what  family ? "    "I  am  your 
daughter,"  said  Lene,  and  she  told  him 
all  her  life.    "My  daughter!"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  are  you  indeed  ?    I  will 
acknowledge  you  as  such  on  one  con- 
dition— that  you  renounce  your  religion." 


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458 


ST.  LENE 


"Never!"  cried  the  young  Christian. 
So  she  was  condemned  and  beheaded. 
Scarcely  had  her  head  rolled  on  the 
ground  than  she  took  it  up  in  her  hands,  to 
the  great  astonishment  of  the  spectators, 
walked  along  the  shore,  re-entered  the 
town  by  the  gate  of  St.  Helen,.and  walked 
to  the  Place  dn  Camp,  where  she  gave 
up  her  soul.  The  Fountain  of  St.  Nata- 
lene,  which  still  flows  near  the  cemetery 
of  St.  John,  first  spouted  up  miraculously 
where  her  head  fell.  An  oratory  was 
built  in  her  honour;  it  forms  part  of 
the  Church  of  Notre  Dame  du  Camp. 
Guerin. 

St.  Lene  (2),  Helen  (11). 

St.  Leoba  or  Leobgytha,  Lioba. 

St.  Leoberia,  Oct.  8,  companion  of 
Benedicta  (7). 

St.  Leocadia  or  Logaie,  Dec.  9, 
April  26,  V.  M.  304.  Patron  of  Toledo 
and  of  St.  Ghislain.  She  was  imprisoned 
at  Toledo  during  the  persecution  in  the 
reign  of  Diocletian.  While  there,  she 
heard  of  the  martyrdom  of  her  friend 
Eulalia,  and  prayed  to  be  united  to  her 
by  death.  She  died  in  the  prison.  She 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross  with  her 
finger  on  a  stone  in  the  wall,  and  the 
mark  of  the  cross  remained  impressed 
on  the  stone  as  if  traced  on  wax  or  soft 
clay.  According  to  another  account, 
she  was  killed  by  being  thrown  from  a 
high  rock  by  order  of  Dacian,  governor 
of  Toledo.  A  chapel  was  eventually 
built  on  the  spot  where  she  fell.  There, 
her  gravestone  was  removed  by  angels, 
that  she  might  arise  and  appear  to  St. 
Ildefonso  and  tell  him  that  the  treatise  he 
had  written  in  honour  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  was  commended  in  heaven.  She 
wore  a  mantilla,  and  before  she  dis- 
appeared, St.  Ildefonso  cut  off  a  piece  of 
it,  which  was  preserved  in  the  church  as 
a  relic,  doubly  sacred.  Three  important 
churches  in  Toledo  are  dedicated  in  her 
name.  Her  relics  were  moved  for  fear 
of  the  Moors,  and  taken  to  the  monastery 
of  St.  Ghislain  near  Hainault,but  restored 
to  Toledo  in  1589.  The  town  of  Ste. 
Locaie,  in  Lampourdan,  was  called  after 
her.  It  was  found  that  the  best  footmen 
came  from  Ste.  Locaie,  hence  they  were 
called  laquais.  Perhaps  she  is  the  Fame 
as  Gadia.   R.M.   AA.SS.,  Prseter.  Mrs. 


Jameson.  Flos  Sanctorum.  Helyot. 
Butler.  Cahier. 

St.  Leocippia,  Aug.  10,  M.  AA.SS. 

St  Leocritia,  Luoretia  (2). 

St  Leodegaria,  April  2,  sister  of 
St.  Urban,  bishop  of  Langres.  Honoured 
at  Dijon.  Stadler. 

B.  Leodegonta  with  her  son  St. 
Pharo,  Oct  28.  6th  and  7th  centuries. 
Wife  of  Agneric,  count  of  Burgundy. 
Mother  of  SS.  Walbert  and  Pharo, 
bishops  of  Meaux;  and  of  St.  Faba. 
Saussaye,  Appendix. 

St.  Leofrona,  Oct  11,  abbess  of  the 
monastery  of  St  Mildred.  Given  as 
Saint  and  Martyr  on  various  days  by 
reoent  authors,  but  neither  her  martyr- 
dom nor  her  worship  are  proved.  AAJSS. 
Bucelinus  (July  30)  says  she  was  martyred 
by  the  Danes  in  England  in  1024,  with 
St.  Mildred  and  several  monks  and 
nuns. 

St  Leogontia,  V.  of  Auvergne, 
died  with  signs  of  divine  grace  and 
glory,  and  rests  in  the  Church  of  St 
Cassius.    Saussaye,  Appendix. 

St.  Leomaie,  Neomadia. 

St.  Leonice,  Leontia. 

St.  Leonides  (l).   (See  Nimonia.) 

St.  Leonides  (2),  M.  with  St.  Lyre. 

St.  Leonilla  of  Langres  in  Cham- 
pagne, Jan.  17  (Leovilla,  Lonilla),  M. 
3rd  or  4th  century.  Grandmother  of 
"les  trois  jumeaux"  SS.  Speusippus, 
Eleusippus,  and  Meleusippus,  who  were 
natives  of  Cappadocia.  Their  mother 
was  a  Christian,  but  she  died  while  they 
were  infants,  and  their  father  brought 
them  up  heathens.  They  were  dis- 
tinguished by  their  enthusiasm  for  games 
and  spectacles  connected  with  the  wor- 
ship of  the  heathen  gods.  So  that  when 
after  their  father's  death,  his  mother 
Leonilla  converted  them  to  Christianity, 
the  change  in  their  habits  immediately 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  authorities. 
The  governor,  finding  them  determined 
to  persevere  in  their  new  opinions,  and 
being  reluctant  to  condemn  three  youths 
of  their  position  and  popularity,  sent  for 
Leonilla  and  advised  her  to  influence 
them  to  abjure  their  religion.  She  re- 
plied that  she  would  do  all  in  her  power 
to  secure  their  salvation.  He  did  not 
perceive  that  she  spoke  only  of  the 


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ST.  LIBARIA 


450 


salvation  of  their  souls,  was  content  with 
her  answer,  and  sent  her  to  the  prison 
where  they  were  immured.  She  there 
exhorted  them  to  despise  the  advantages 
of  this  world  and  to  brave  tortures  and 
death  for  the  sake  of  their  Master. 
Whan  they  were  again  brought  before 
the  governor,  he  was  surprised  and  ex- 
asperated to  find  them  more  resolute 
than  ever.  *He  had  them  hung  on  a 
tree  and  their  limbs  dragged  with  pul- 
leys. Under  this  torture,  they  thanked 
God  and  encouraged  each  other.  They 
were  then  burnt  alive.  Two  scribes 
whose  duty  it  was  to  write  the  account 
of  their  trial  and  execution,  were  con- 
verted by  the  sight  of  their  constancy, 
as  well  as  a  woman  named  Jonilla,  who 
left  her  baby  and  ran  to  the  judges 
declaring  herself  a  Christian  and  a 
candidate  for  martyrdom.  She  was  put 
to  death  with  Leonilla  and  the  two 
scribes.  The  priory  of  St.  Geomes, 
near  Langres,  is  said  to  mean  Saints 
Jumeaux.    B.M.    AA.SS.  Baillet. 

St.  Leonis,  Leonides. 

St.  Leontia,  Leonice,  or  Leontina, 
March  1,  Dec.  3, 6,  V.  M.  484.  Daughter 
of  St.  Germanus,  bishop  perhaps  of 
Peradamus  where  they  lived.  (See 
Dionysia(5>)  B.M.,Dec.  (3.  AA.SS., 
March  1. 

St.  Leotheria,  Lissiere. 

St.  Leovilla,  Leonilla. 

St.  Leptina,  Oct.  20  in  the  Greek 
Church.  Martyred  by  being  dragged 
on  the  ground.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lerama,  Calliope  Lerama. 

St.  Lerthana,  March  29,  +  7C8, 
abbess  of  Eildare.  Colgan. 

St.  Leta,  L^ta. 

St.  Lethere,  Lissiere. 

St.  Leuba,  Lioba. 

St.  Leuchtel,  Leuchtild  or  Leu- 

CHILDIS,  LlJFTHILD. 

St.  Leudeberta  or  Landeberta, 
Dec.  7,  Jan.  2,  Aug.  27,  a  nun  under 
Fara,  7th  century.  St.  Peter  appeared  to 
Leudeberta.  AA.SS.  O.S.B.  Bucelinus. 

St.  Leunuca  or  Leununcula,  Eunica. 

St.  Leupherina.  Honoured  in  the 
diocese  of  Vannes.    Mas  Latrie. 

St.  Leurinne,  Lheurinna,  or  Le- 
verina.  Honoured  in  Poitou.  Mas 
Latrie. 


St.  Leutica,  Lauda. 
St.  Leva,  Lea. 

St.  Levan,  Oct.  27.  Supposed  same 
as  Lewine.    AA.SS.,  "  la  and  Breaca." 

St.  Leverina,  Leurinne. 

St.  Lewine  or  Levinna,  July  22,  24, 
Y.  M.  A  British  maiden,  said  to  be  of 
royal  birth,  supposed  to  have  suffered 
martyrdom  from  some  pagan  Saxon  in 
the  7th  century.  Her  body  was  kept  in 
a  monastery  at  Seaford,  near  Lewes  in 
Sussex,  and  translated  in  1058  to  Berg 
St.  Winoc  in  Flanders,  where  her  feast 
is  observed,  July  24.  The  abbey  was 
burnt  and  her  body  in  it,  1558.  The 
history  of  the  translation  and  of  the 
miracles  then  wrought  was  written  by 
Drogo,  a  contemporary  historian.  These 
miraclos  are  recorded  also  by  the  Cal- 
vin ist  century  writers  of  Magdeburg. 
AA.SS.  Migne.  Butler.  Brit.  Sand. 
Martin. 

St.  Lheurinna,  Leurinne. 

St.  Lia,  Leah. 

St.  Libana  or  Libhan,  Dec.  18,  6th 
century,  Y.  honoured  in  Ulster.  She 
was  of  a  princely  family  and  had  for  her 
spiritual  director  St.  Comgall  of  Bangor. 
Lanigan. 

St.  Libania,  Aug.  18,  widow.  Per- 
haps the  same  as  Lubetia.  When  Helen 
(3)  found  the  cross  of  Christ  at  Jerusa- 
lem, she  found  also  the  crosses  of  the 
two  malefactors  who  had  been  crucified 
with  Him.  It  was  impossible  to  tell 
which  was  the  sacred  relic,  until  it  was 
discovered  that  one  of  the  throe  possessed 
miraculous  healing  powers,  shown  in 
the  first  instance  by  raising  a  dead  person 
to  life.  That  person  is  said  in  some 
forms  of  the  legend  to  have  been  a  Jew, 
who  at  once  became  a  Christian,  and 
eventually  Bishop  of  Jerusalem.  Other 
accounts  say  it  was  a  Jewess,  named 
Libania,  but  it  is  not  certain  that  she  is 
the  person  commemorated  on  Aug.  18. 
AA.SS.,  Prwter. 

St.  Libaria,  Livaria,  Liberata,  Li- 
berta,  Libraria,  or  Liberia,  Oct.  8,  per- 
haps 4th  century.  Patron  of  Conde  sur 
Marne.  One  of  five  saintly  sisters  of 
Toul,  Gertrude  or  Gontrude,  Manna, 
Oda,  and  Susanna.  Their  brothers,  SS. 
Eucharius  and  Elipins,  were  martyred  in 
the  diocese  of  Toul,  in  the  reign  of 


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ST.  LIBERA 


Julian  the  apostate.  The  names  and 
date  are  not  alike  in  all  accounts.  Sco- 
beria  is  perhaps  the  same.  AA.SS. 
Chatelain. 

St.  Libera.   (See  Lutrude.) 

St  Liberate  h\  Wilgeeortis. 

St  Liberata  (2),  Libaria. 

St  Liberata  (3),  Jan.  16,  V.  of 
Pavia,  c.  500.  She  and  her  sister  Speciosa 
lived  like  nuns.  They  were  said  to  be 
sisters  of  Homorata  and  Luminosa. 

St  Liberata  (4),  Libert^  or  Li- 
bertas,  Feb.  3  or  5,  V.  honoured  at 
Chaumont  not  far  from  Bethel  in  Cham- 
pagne. (See  Oliveria.)  Martin.  Migne. 
Mas  Latrie. 

St  Liberata  (5),  or  Libera,  Jan. 
15, 18,  supposed  6th  century,  V.  of  Como. 
Her  father  was  John,  a  nobleman,  dwel- 
ling at  the  foot  of  the  Cottian  Alps. 
She  and  her  sister  Faustina  (13)  hap- 
pened one  day  to  see  a  woman  weeping 
for  the  death  of  her  husband.  They 
thereupon  determined  to  abjure  matri- 
mony and  fled  from  their  parents  to 
Como,  where  they  took  upon  themselves 
the  Kule  of  St.  Benedict.  Their  father 
built  them  a  monastery  at  Como.  They 
died,  according  to  Bucelinus,  within 
three  days  of  each  other.  Their  bodies 
were  translated  into  the  cathedral  in 
1317.  They  are  honoured  at  Mantua 
and  Verona.  B.M.  AA.SS.  They  are 
mentioned  by  Ferrarius,  Baronius,  Gali- 
sinius,  Bucelinus,  etc. 

St  Liberatrix,  Wiloefortis. 

St.  Liberia,  Libaria. 

St.  Liberia,  Libaria. 

St.  Libertas  or  Liberty,  Liberata 
(4). 

St.  Libhan,  Libana. 
St.  Libiana.   Perhaps  same  as  Lu- 
betia. 

St.  Libosa,  M.  with  Antiga. 
St  Libraria,  Libaria. 
St  Libya,  Lybe. 

St  Liceria,  May  11  (Leotheria, 
Lethere,  Liotheria,  Lissiere,  Literia, 
Litheria,  perhaps  Eleutheria,  8th 
century,  V.  sometimes  called  M.,  but 
there  is  no  record  of  her  suffering 
martyrdom  or  a  violent  death.  She 
and  Ygora  were  sisters  of  St.  Ebbo, 
bishop  of  Sons,  who  died  in  750.  They 
gave  lands  to  his  monastery,  led  a  holy 


celibate  life  near  him,  and  were  buried 
with  due  honour  in  the  church  of  St 
Pierre  le  vif,  where  Liceria's  body  is 
preserved.    AA.SS.    Smith  and  Wace. 

St  Lictrude,  Lutrude. 

St  Lide  or  Lyde,  Aug.  8,  Dec.  18,  V. 
in  the  Scilly  isles,  one  of  which  is  named 
after  her.    British  Piety,  Supplement. 

She  is  thought  by  Leland,  the  anti- 
quary (16th  century),  to  be  a  woman,  but 
Stanton  thinks  there  is  better  authority 
for  identifying  Lide  with  St.  Elid,  bishop 
and  confessor. 

St.  Liduvine,  Lidwina. 

St.  Lidwig,  V.  One  evening  Lid  wig 
being  very  tired  and  thirsty,  asked  her 
father  to  bring  her  a  little  wine.  He 
knew  she  had  that  day  given  away  all 
she  had  in  the  house  to  some  poor  women. 
Nevertheless,  he  took  up  the  jug  to  go 
and  procure  some,  and  to  his  surprise  he 
found  it  full  to  overflowing:  the  wine 
was  red  and  good  and  wanted  no  water. 
It  lasted  from  the  feast  of  St  Remigius, 
Oct.  1,  until  that  of  the  Conception. 
Bagatta,  Admiranda. 

St.  Lidwina,  "the  incomparable 
sufferer,"  April  14,  Jan.  0  (Lidwid,  Lud- 
vina,  Lydwig,  Lydewigis,  Lytwdj),  V. 
1380-1433,  born  at  Schiedam.  Patron 
of  skaters.  "One  of  the  best  known 
saints  of  Holland  and  one  of  the  galaxy 
of  female  mystics  who  adorned  the 
Church  during  parts  of  the  14th  and 
15th  centuries."  From  the  age  of  seven, 
she  evinced  extraordinary  devotion  to 
the  Virgin  Mary,  and  when  sent  on  an 
errand  by  her  mother,  would  always  take 
the  opportunity  of  going  into  a  church 
and  saying  an  Ave.  At  twelve  she  made 
a  vow  of  virginity.  At  fifteen,  she  fell 
while  skating,  broke  a  rib,  and  sus- 
tained an  inward  bruise  which  destroyed 
her  health  and  eventually  brought  on 
dropsy.  The  first  four  years  of  her  ill- 
ness, she  had  a  perpetual  sense  of  her 
sufferings  and  ardently  desired  to  re- 
cover; afterwards  she  became  quite 
resigned.  The  last  thirty  years  of  her 
life  she  was  bedridden,  but  she  bore  her 
pains  piously,  even  voluntarily  increas- 
ing them  by  depriving  herself  of  the 
little  comfort  that  was  possible  to  her. 
She  was  shamefully  ill  treated  by 
soldiers  when  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 


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passed  through  Schiedam  in  1428.  The 
magistrates  promised  her  that  they  would 
complain  to  the  duke,  hut  she  said  that 
would  be  of  no  use,  that  God  would  judge 
the  offenders ;  and  in  fact  many  of  them 
died  violent  deaths  the  same  year.  She 
gave  to  the  poor  all  that  was  given  her 
as  alms,  except  what  she  absolutely 
required  for  her  existence.  Latterly  she 
did  not  wish  to  suffer  less,  but  only  to 
die  without  witnesses.  She  died  while 
the  child  who  was  in  attendance  on  her 
went  to  fetch  the  priest.  Lidwina's 
house  was  converted  into  a  monastery  of 
Grey  Sisters,  3rd  O.S.F.  The  Calvinists 
afterwards  made  it  a  hospital  for  orphans. 
The  chapel  in  which  her  body  lay  in  the 
parish  church  of  Schiedam  began  to  bear 
her  name  the  year  after  her  death,  and  a 
mass  was  sung  there  on  her  festival,  until 
the  Beformation;  but  she  was  never 
canonized  or  even  beatified  by  authority. 
She  was  regarded  as  a  saint  during  her 
life,  and  the  curate  who  visited  her  in- 
curred great  unpopularity  and  was  even 
in  danger  from  a  mob,  because  he  doubted 
the  reality  of  some  of  her  supernatural 
favours.  AA.SS.  Baillet.  Butler. 
Tablet,  Feb.  15,  1902.  H.  Choquet, 
Saints,  calls  her  "  the  most  holy  Lydwin 
of  Schiedam/'  and  says  that  she  had  the 
stigmata. 
St.  Liebe,  Lioba. 

St.  Liemania.   (See  Dabbrca  (1).) 

B.  Liliola  lived  in  the  7th  century. 
She  was  the  abbess  through  whose  in- 
fluence Rustioula,  abbess  of  Aries,  be- 
came a  nun.  AA.SS.  O.S.B., "  Rusticula." 

St.  Liliosa,  July  27.  M.  at  Cordova 
in  the  same  persecution  as  Natalia.  B.M. 

St.  Limbania,  in  French  Limbagnk, 
Sept.  6,  V.  A  member  of  a  rich  and 
noble  family  in  the  island  of  Cyprus. 
Lest  her  parents  should  compel  her  to 
marry,  she  fled  from  home  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  intending  to  go  wherever  the 
Spirit  of  God  should  direct  her.  She 
found  a  Genoese  ship  about  to  sail  from 
Cyprus,  and  arranged  to  go  in  it  accom- 
panied by  her  nurse  and  a  few  attendants. 
The  skipper  did  not  keep  faith  with  them. 
A  fair  wind  arose  and  he  set  sail  without 
them ;  but  when  he  had  proceeded  a  little 
way,  the  ship  stood  still  and  remained 
immovable  as  if  rooted  to  the  bottom  of 


the  sea  although  her  sails  were  set  and 
the  wind  fair.  The  sailors  grumbled  and 
the  master  perceived  that  it  was  not  the 
will  of  God  that  Limbania  should  remain 
in  the  island,  so  they  returned  to  the 
port  and  found  the  holy  virgin  in  a 
wood  with  her  nurse,  wild  beasts  lying 
quietly  at  her  feet.  They  took  her  on 
board,  and  had  a  fair  passage  to  Genoa, 
but  when  they  attempted  to  anchor  at 
the  usual  place  in  the  port,  they  were 
driven  by  a  furious  tempest  towards  some 
rocks  and  were  in  danger  of  perishing. 
Limbania,  awakened  by  the  cries  of  the 
terrified  mariners,  asked  what  was  the 
matter.  Hearing  that  they  were  being 
driven  on  the  rocks  close  to  St.  Thomas' 
Convent  (then  O.S.B.,  but  afterwards 
O.S.A.,  whence  that  order  claims  her  as 
a  member),  she  bade  them  be  of  good 
cheer,  as  that  was  the  end  of  her  journey. 
Accordingly,  when  they  had  put  her 
ashore  and  the  nuns  had  met  her,  the 
prow  of  the  ship  turned  round  without 
human  aid,  and  the  vessel  and  crew  went 
quietly  and  safely  back  to  their  accus- 
tomed anchorage.  Limbania  took  the 
veil  and  led  a  wonderfully  holy  and 
ascetic  life  in  the  convent  of  St.  Thomas. 
Finding  the  ordinary  austerities  not  hard 
enough  for  her,  she  begged  the  abbess  to 
allow  her  to  inhabit  a  dark  cell  under 
the  church.  Here  she  died  amid  miracu- 
lous manifestations  of  her  holiness. 
Limpen  considers  some  of  her  adventures 
more  wonderful  than  credible.  She  has 
been  worshipped  at  least  from  the  13th 
century,  but  there  is  no  certainty  as  to 
her  date  and  no  authentic  history  of  her 
life.    AA.SS.  Augu8tinian  Breviary. 

St.  Lindru,  Lutbude. 

St.  Lintild  or  Linthild,  Lufthild. 

St.  Lioba)  Sept.  28  (Leoba,  Leob- 

GYTHA,  LlEBA,  TBUTHGBBA,  TbUTHGYTH  ), 

V.  Abbess,  +  c.  772.  Patron  of  Bi- 
schofsheim.  Sometimes  represented 
holding  a  book  with  a  bell  on  it,  in 
allusion  to  her  mother's  dream. 

Her  parents,  Tinna  (or  Dimo)  and 
Ebba,  were  old  and  childless.  One 
night  Ebba  dreamt  that  she  gave  birth 
to  a  church  bell,  which  rang  as  she  held 
it  in  her  hand.  Her  old  nurse  foretold 
that  she  should  have  a  daughter  whom  she 
must  give  to  God  from  her  birth.  The 


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ST.  LIOBA 


aged  slave  was  set  free  on  the  fulfilment 
of  her  welcome  prophecy.  The  child  was 
called  Truthgeba  and  afterwards  sur- 
named  Leobgytha  or  Lioba  (greatly  be- 
loved). She  became  a  nun  under  Tetta, 
who  ruled  over  a  doable  community  in  the 
monastery  of  Wimbrun  (now  Wimborne). 
While  Lioba  was  there  she  had  a  dream. 
A  purple  thread  came  out  of  her  mouth. 
She  put  up  her  hand  to  remove  it,  but 
the  more  she  pulled  the  more  there  was 
to  pull,  until  at  last  her  hand  was  full ; 
then  she  began  to  wind  it  into  a  ball,  and 
she  wound  and  wound,  and  still  there 
was  more  and  more  coming  until  she 
awoke.  She  told  the  dream  to  a  young 
girl,  who  was  under  her  care,  and  bade 
her  go  and  tell  it  as  her  own  dream,  to 
an  old  nun  who  was  skilled  in  interpre- 
tation and  prophecy.  The  old  woman 
detected  the  ruse  and  instantly  pro- 
nounced the  dream  to  be  Lioba's,  and 
said  it  indicated  her  wisdom  and  useful- 
ness, and  portended  that  she  should  go 
and  do  good  to  many  souls  in  a  distant 
land. 

While  very  young,  Lioba  wrote  in 
Latin,  from  Wimborne,  to  her  kinsman 
Boniface,  the  apostle  of  Gonnany. 

"To  the  very  reverend  Lord  and 
Bishop  Boniface,  beloved  in  Christ,  his 
kinswoman  Leobgytha  the  last  of  the 
servants  of  God,  health  and  eternal  sal- 
vation.  I  pray  your  clemency  to  deign 
to  recollect  the  friendship  which  united 
you  to  my  father  Tinna,  an  inhabitant  of 
Wessex,  who  departed  from  this  world 
eight  years  ago,  that  you  may  pray  for 
the  repose  of  his  soul.  I  also  recommend 
.  .  .  my  mother  Ebba,  your  kinswoman, 
.  .  .  who  still  lives  in  great  suffering 
and  infirmity.  I  am  their  only  daughter 
and  God  grant,  unworthy  as  I  am,  that  I 
might  have  the  honour  of  having  you  for 
my  brother,  for  no  man  of  our  kindred 
inspires  me  with  the  same  confidence  as 
you  do.  I  send  you  this  little  present 
not  that  ...  it  is  in  any  degree  worthy 
of  your  attention  .  .  .  but  that  you  may 
remember  my  humility  and  that  notwith- 
standing the  distance  .  .  .  the  tie  of  true 
love  may  unite  us  for  the  rest  of  our 
days."  She  asks  his  prayers  and  apolo- 
gizes for  some  lines  of  poetry  which  she 
has  composed  and  ventures  to  send  him. 


She  adds,  "  I  have  learnt  all  I  know  from 
Eadburga,  my  mistress,  who  gives  her- 
self to  profound  study  of  the  divine 
law.  .  .  ."  (Mabillon.  Montalembert). 
Boniface's  answer  is  lost,  but  some  of 
his  letters  to  Lioba  and  the  other  nuns 
are  extant. 

In  7148,  St.  Boniface  wrote  and  asked 
Tetta  to  send  him  Lioba  and  some  other 
nuns,  to  supply  a  want  in  the  infant 
Church  of  Germany,  by  training  and 
settling  the  religious  communities  of 
women.  Tetta  was  unwilling  to  part 
with  her  best  nun,  whose  sanctity  was 
an  honour  to  her  abbey  and  who  was  be- 
loved by  the  whole  sisterhood  ;  but  she 
saw  the  need  for  her  in  Boniface's  newly 
planted  vineyard,  so  she  let  her  go.  She 
was  accompanied  by  Thecla  (10). 

St.  Boniface  placed  Lioba  over  a  large 
community  at  Bischofsheim,  and  gave 
her  authority  over  all  his  other  nunneries 
that  she  might  perfect  them  in  the  strict 
observance  of  the  Benedictine  Bule.  She 
understood  her  business  so  well  that 
very  soon  the  nuns  of  Bischofsheim  were 
able  to  teach  others,  and  many  of  them 
were  sent  to  preside  over  other  convents 
in  Germany.  She  was  very  fond  of 
reading  and  was  careful  to  take  the  mid- 
day sleep  enjoined  by  the  Benedictine 
Bule  and  to  prescribe  it  to  others,  saying 
that  want  of  sleep  destroyed  the  intellect 
and  particularly  the  power  of  reading. 
She  liked  to  be  read  to  while  she  slept. 

The  river  Tauber  ran  through  their 
grounds,  so  they  could  draw  water  and 
turn  their  mill  without  going  out  of  the 
gate.  One  drawback  against  this  advan- 
tage was  that  a  wretched  woman  who 
begged  at  the  gate,  threw  her  new-born 
infant  into  the  river.  The  crime  gave 
rise  to  a  cruel  scandal  implicating  one 
of  Lioba's  nuns,  who,  however,  through 
the  wisdom  and  saintliness  of  the  abbess, 
was  completely  cleared  of  all  suspicion. 

St.  Lullus,  bishop  of  Mayence  and 
friend  of  Charlemagne,  was  also  the 
friend  of  Lioba.  The  monks  of  Fulda 
(that  famous  seat  of  German  learning 
and  language),  with  whom  Lullus  had  a 
long-standing  dispute,  were  also  friendly 
to  Lioba,  and  she  seems  to  have  been  the 
only  woman  to  whom  they  granted  the 
privilege  of  admission  to  their  church. 


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She  used  to  leave  her  nuns  a  little  way 
off  and  proceed  to  the  church,  accom- 
panied only  by  one  old  nun. 

When  years  began  to  weigh  upon  her, 
she  felt  that  the  time  had  come  when  she 
should  resign  all  earthly  cares  into 
younger  hands,  and  prepare  herself  by 
stricter  devotion  and  quiet  meditation 
for  death.  She  inspected  all  the  monas- 
teries under  her  rule,  and  having  set 
everything  in  order,  she  left  Bischofsheim 
and  went,  by  advice  of  Lullus,  to  Scho- 
nersheim  near  Mayence.  St.  Hildbgard, 
the  wife  of  Charlemagne,  begged  her  to 
leave  her  solitude  and  come  to  Aix-la- 
Chapelle.  Lioba  went,  but  refused  her 
friend's  invitation  to  stay  even  for  a  few 
days.  She  took  an  affectionate  farewell 
of  the  empress,  saying  it  was  their  last 
meeting  in  this  world,  and  praying  that 
they  might  meet  without  shame  in  the 
day  of  judgment.  She  then  returned  to 
Schdnersheim,  where  she  died  very  soon 
afterwards. 

Her  body  was  taken  to  Fulda,  in 
obedience  to  the  will  of  St.  Boniface,  but 
the  monks  unwilling  to  open  his  grave, 
buried  her  near  the  altar  he  had  built  in 
honour  of  Christ  and  the  twelve  Apostles. 

Among  tho  miracles  of  Lioba,  it  is 
said  that  she  checked  a  fire  which  was 
raging  in  the  village  and  threatened  the 
monastery;  stilled  a  tempest;  and  re- 
stored one  of  her  nuns  from  the  point  of 
death  to  perfect  health. 

B.M.  Brit  Sancta.  Baillet.  Her 
Life,  AASS.  O.S.B.,  was  written  by  a 
monk  of  Fulda,  from  information  gained 
by  talks  with  four  of  her  nuns,  one  of 
whom  was  Agatha  (4). 

St.  Liobette.   (See  Lubetia.) 

St.  Liotheria,  Liceria. 

St.  Lioubette,  Lioba;  sometimes, 

LuBETrA. 

St.  Liourade,  Liberata. 

Liouvette,  Lioba. 

Lisanie,  Lizagne. 

St.  Lispet,  Elisabeth. 

St.  Lissiere,  Lioeria. 

St.  Literia  or  Lithebia,  Liceria. 

St.  Liutberg,  Feb.  28,  +  870. 
Adopted  daughter  of  Count  Umvan  and 
his  wife  Gisla,  daughter  of  Hessi.  Liut- 
berg  became  a  recluse  at  Halberstadt 
Pertz,  Monumenta  Germanise. 


St.  Liutgard,  Lutgard. 

St.  Liuthold,  Lufthold. 

St.  Livaria,  Libaria. 

St.  Livette,  Lioba. 

St.  Liurade,  Wilgefortib. 

St.  Lizaigne  or  Ltsanie.  Patron  of  a 
church  near  Jssoudun  in  the  diocese  of 
Bourges.    Migne.  Cahier. 

St.  Llechid,  Dec.  2,  first  half  of  Gth 
century.  Daughter  of  Ithel  Hael,  and 
founder  of  Llanllechid,  Caernarvonshire. 
Ithel  Hael  was  a  Breton  prince,  whose 
numerous  children  embraced  a  religious 
life  and  migrated  to  Wales,  where  they 
built  churches.  Eees. 

St.  Lleian.  Grand-daughter  of 
Brychan.  (See  Almheda.)  Wife  of 
Gafran  and  mother  of  Aeddan  Fradog, 
who  was  defeated  at  Arderydd  in  Soot- 
land,  and  fled  to  tho  Isle  of  Man,  where 
Lleian  also  settled.  The  chapel  of 
Llanlleian  is  perhaps  dedicated  to  her  ; 
but  perhaps  it  only  means  the  chapel  of 
the  nun.  Eees. 

St.  Locaye  or  Locaie,  Leocadia. 

St.  Lochina  or  Lochinia.  Sister  of 
St.  Fanchea. 

St.  Locusta  or  Lucusa,  May  21,  M. 
at  Csesarea  in  Cappadocia.  AA.SS. 

B.  Lodovica,  Louisa. 

St.  Lois.    (Sec  Eunice.) 

St.  Lollia.    (See  Proba  (2).) 

St.  Lolloca,  Lalloca. 

St.  Lombrosa,  Nov.  1,  in  tho  king- 
dom  of  Leon.    Mas  Latrio. 

SS.  Longa  (1,  2)  or  Longesa,  Sopt. 
28,  MM.  in  Africa.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lonilla,  Leonella. 

St.  Lorenza,  Laura. 

St.  Lota,  M.  with  Chariessa. 

St.  Loueve,  Laudoveva.  Cahier. 

B.  Louisa  (1)  of  Savoy,  July  24, 
Oct.  1,  1461  or  1463-1503.  Daughter 
of  B.  Amadeus  IX.,  third  duke  of  Savoy, 
by  Yolande,  daughter  of  Charles  VII.  of 
France.  At  eighteen,  her  uncle  Louis  XL, 
king  of  France,  married  her  to  Hugh, 
prince  of  Chalons,  Orbe,  etc.  Her  in- 
fluence over  him  was  very  beneficial. 
They  lived  at  the  Castle  of  Nozeroy  and 
ordered  their  house  in  the  most  exemplary 
manner.  After  eleven  years  of  marriage, 
Hugh  died.  Louisa  became  a  nun  in 
the  Franciscan  convent  of  Orbe.  She 
was  the  first  nun  to  receive  the  veil 


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B.  LOUISA 


under  the  reform  of  St.  Colette.  From 
her  entrance  she  would  not  be  called 
"Countess"  or  "Gracious  Lady,"  but 
"Sister  Louisa."  She  lived  there  a 
pattern  of  perfection  for  ten  years  and 
died  on  the  eye  of  St.  James  in  1503. 
Miracles  at  her  tomb  attested  her  holiness. 
She  was  locally  venerated  as  a  saint, 
but  only  beatified  more  than  three 
centuries  afterwards.  She  is  the  fifth 
saint  of  the  house  of  Savoy.  Bargener, 
Helvetia  Sancta. 

B.  Louisa  (2)  or  Ludovica  degli 
Albertoni,  Jan.  31,  4-  1533.  She  was 
a  member  of  the  ancient  and  noble 
family  of  the  Albertoni  As  a  widow  she 
was  enrolled  in  the  3rd  O.S.F.  She 
was  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Francis 
in  the  Trastevere  in  Rome,  and  was 
regarded  as  a  saint  and  worked  miracles. 
Her  worship  was  sanctioned  in  1671  by 
Clement  X.  B.M.  Lambertini.  Ana- 
lecta.    AAJSS.  Jacobilli. 

B.  Louisa  (3)  Torelli,  Oct.  28, 
1500-1560.  Countess  of  Guastalla. 
Married  (1)  Louis  Stanghi;  (2)  Antonio 
Martinenghi,  who  ill  treated  her  and 
who  had  murdered  his  first  wife ;  Louisa's 
brother  killed  him  in  a  duel.  She 
founded,  in  1557,  the  royal  college  of 
the  B.  V.  Mary,  called  "of  Guastalla," 
and  several  houses  and  orders,  intending 
the  members  to  make  themselves  useful 
to  society  by  helping  the  sick  and  train- 
ing the  young ;  but  eventually,  they  all 
joined  other  orders  or  set  up  a  rule  of 
cloister  for  themselves.  She  took  the 
veil  in  her  own  monastery  of  St.  Paul  at 
Milan  under  the  name  of  Paula  Mary, 
in  1536.  She  preached  so  well  at 
Venice  that  many  persons  of  both  sexes 
left  their  families  and  took  the  religious 
habit.  The  Venetian  governor  ordered 
her  to  leave  Venice.  She  went  to  Vicenza 
and  other  places  and  returned  to  Milan, 
where  she  died.  Collin  de  Plancy,  Saintes 
et  Bienheureuses.  A  Life  of  her  by  Eos- 
signoli  was  published  at  Milan  in  1686. 

B.  Louisa  (4),  or  Alotsia,  Sept  8, 
and  12,  -f  1628.  An  aged  Japanese 
woman,  martyred  at  Nangasaki  with 
twenty-seven  men,  many  of  whom  were 
of  the  O.S.D.,  and  some  of  the  O.S.F. 
She  was  one  of  the  205  beatified  with 
Lucy  de  Freitab. 


B.  Louisa  (5),  March  17,1592-1660, 
generally  called  Mademoiselle  Le  Gras. 
She  was  of  the  noble  but  not  rich 
Auvergnat  family  of  Marillac  and 
married  Antoine  Le  Gras,  secretary  of 
state  under  Marie  de  Medicis.  Louisa 
was  a  devoted  and  efficient  assistant  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  They  made  it 
their  business  to  look  after  galley  slaves, 
thieves,  foundlings,  and  all  who  were 
most  wretched  and  neglected,  and  those 
whom  other  charities  did  not  reach. 
Vincent  and  Louisa  are  remembered  as 
founders  of  the  wide-spread  Association 
of  Daughters  of  Charity,  to  be  found  in 
attendance  in  hospitals  and  asylums,  on 
battlefields,  and  in  charge  of  deserted 
ohildren,  attending  on  the  victims  of 
pestilence  or  leprosy,  and,  in  short, 
wherever  there  is  most  need  of  a  cheer- 
ful, helpful,  courageous  woman.  Life  of 
Mademoiselle  Le  Qrast  by  a  Frenoh 
Sister  of  Charity,  1883.  Live*  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul.  Migne,  Die.  Hag. 
Her  canonization  is  still  in  the  hands  of 
the  Congregation  of  Bites. 

Ven.  Louisa  (6),  Juno  21, 1836-1 870, 
V.  M.  Alice  O'SulHvan,  an  Irish  Sister 
of  Charity  of  the  Association  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  was  sent,  in  1863,  with 
others,  to  Shanghai,  to  take  care  of  a 
European  hospital  there.  As  all  the 
authorities  were  English  Protestants,  the 
Sister  Superior  who  was  French,  was 
much  discouraged,  and  thought  it  little 
short  of  a  miracle  that  Sister  O'Sullivan 
interpreted  all  the  requests  so  well  and 
always  put  the  case  no  nicely  that  the 
sisters  obtained  everything  they  wanted. 
Louise  (her  name  in  religion)  found 
China  and  the  Chinese  extremely  anti- 
pathetic. Her  life  was  a  continual 
struggle  against  a  violent  repugnance. 
She  confided  her  difficulties  to  the 
Father  General,  Monsieur  Etienne.  He 
authorized  her  to  go  home  with  Sister 
Azais,  the  inspector,  who  was  about  to 
return  to  France.  They  started  home- 
ward from  Pekin  visiting  on  their  way 
the  sisters  of  St.  Vincent  who  occupied 
the  house  of  the  Holy  Childhood  at 
Tientsin.  Those  sisters  were  over- 
whelmed with  work  and  short  of  hands. 
The  superior  was  much  hindered  in  the 
establishment  of  the  European  hospital 


ST.  LUCEJA 


465 


by  the  want  of  an  English-speaking 
assistant.  The  whole  community  had 
been  praying  that  help  might  be  granted, 
and  it  seemed  to  them  that  this  Irish 
sister  had  been  sent  in  answer  to  their 
prayers;  but  when  they  proposed  that 
she  should  stay  with  them  she  rejected 
the  idea  with  horror.  Her  heart,  foil  of 
the  joy  of  returning  to  Europe,  revolted 
more  strongly  than  ever  at  everything 
Chinese,  and  when  they  argued  the  matter 
with  her,  she  became  quite  angry.  She 
went  with  some  of  the  sisters  to  see  the 
new  church  of  Notre  Dame  des  Victories. 
When  they  had  said  some  prayers  there, 
Louise  remained  kneeling  before  the  cross 
while  the  others  went  to  look  at  the  out- 
side. When  they  returned  they  saw 
that  she  had  been  weeping,  but  she 
turned  to  them  with  a  joyful  face  and 
manner,  exclaiming,  "  I  am  not  going 
hornet"  She  ran  to  find  Sister  Aza'is 
and  declared  her  wish  to  remain  in  China. 
A  little  later  when  Aza'is  said,  "An 
revoir,"  Louise  answered,  "That  will 
not  be  in  this  world.  Ton  will  return, 
but  we  shall  all  be  gone."  She  wrote  to 
the  Father  General  thanking  him  very 
heartily  for  his  permission  to  return  to 
France,  but  saying  that  the  Blessed 
Virgin  had  told  her  to  remain  for  the 
rest  of  her  life  with  the  poor  Chinese. 
In  the  hospital,  the  school,  the  dispensary, 
by  the  bedside  of  poor  cholera-stricken 
natives,  there  was  no  more  enthusiastic 
worker  than  Louise.  She  was  always 
humbling  herself  with  the  consideration 
that,  while  her  companions  served  the 
Chinese  willingly,  she  still  suffered  from 
repugnance  to  this  duty. 

In  a  general  massacre  of  foreigners 
all  the  sisters  at  the  Mission  House — 
ten  in  number,  including  Louise — were 
murdered  by  a  mob.  Some  of  the  bodies 
were  impaled  and  exhibited,  others  were 
torn  in  pieces,  some  of  which  were  eaten 
by  the  people ;  the  remainder  burnt,  so 
that  when  afterwards  an  attempt  was 
made  to  collect  the  relics  and  bury 
them,  only  part  of  the  bodies  could  be 
found. 

Lady  Herbert,  First  Martyrs  of  the 
Holy  Childhood.  The  names  and  history 
of  the  other  nine  sisters  and  the  two 
missioners,  are  given  in  the  book  with 


many  interesting  details,  including  a 
letter  from  a  Scotch  Presbyterian  sailor, 
who  was  nursed  by  Sister  Louise  in  the 
hospital  up  to  the  day  of  the  massacre, 
and  who  vainly  tried  to  persuade  her  to 
seek  safety  at  the  English  Consulate. 
It  has  frequently  been  asserted  that  the 
canonization  of  Louise  O'Sullivan  is 
imminent. 

St.  Loumaze,  Neomadia. 

St  Louvece,  Lubetia. 

St.  Lubetia  Electa,  or  LouvfecE, 
Feb.  7,  honoured  at  Orleans  as  Liobette, 
Feb.  4.  Servant  of  Helen,  Empress. 
Possibly  same  as  Libania  and  Libiana. 
AA.SS.y'Pr&ster. 

St.  Lubove.  (See  Faith,  HorE,  and 
Charity.) 

St.  Luca  or  Lucy,  June  1,  V.  M. 
with  Auceoa. 

St.  Lucania,  March  19.  Mentioned 
in  Bede's  Martyrology.  Henschenius 
considers  it  is  a  mistake  for  Lucianus, 
a  martyr.    AA.SS.,  Prseter. 

St.  Lucee,  Lucegia  or  Ltjceja. 

St.  Lucegia,  May  18,  M.  Possibly 
same  as  Lucentia.  AA.SS.  Perhaps 
same  as  Luceja. 

St  Luceja  (1)  or  Lucy  (BJT), 
June  25,  V.  M.  c.  301,  a  nun,  was  carried 
away  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Borne 
by  Aucega,  a  barbarian  king  who  took 
her  to  his  own  country.  She  told  him 
to  beware  of  doing  her  any  harm  as  she 
was  the  wife  of  a  King  far  greater  than 
he,  and  able  to  take  instant  vengeance 
for  any  wrong  done  to  her.  He  asked 
contemptuously  who  could  prevent  his 
doing  what  he  chose  in  his  own  domin- 
ions. She  answered  that  she  was  devoted 
to  the  Almighty  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The 
king  was  afraid  when  he  heard  she  was  a 
Christian,  and  from  that  moment  treated 
her  with  the  greatest  respect,  and  gave 
her  suitable  apartments  that  no  one 
dared  to  enter  except  the  women  who 
were  to  wait  upon  her.  Whenever  he 
was  going  to  war  he  used  to  ask  her  to 
pray  for  him  that  her  God  might  give 
him  the  victory  over  his  enemies.  As 
long  as  Lucy  remained  with  Aucega 
everything  prospered  with  him.  When 
she  had  been  there  twenty  years,  the 
Lord  appeared  to  her  in  a  dream  and 
bade  her  return  to  her  own  country,  and 

2  H 


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ST.  LUCEJA 


there  suffer  martyrdom  for  His  sake. 
Luceja  told  the  king  her  dream  and  bade 
him  keep  her  there  no  longer,  bat  let 
her  go  home.  Aacega  said,  "  If  yon  go 
away,  how  can  I  stay  here  ?  My  enemies 
will  come  and  kill  me  and  take  away  my 
kingdom.  Your  God  has  fought  against 
them  for  your  sake;  but  now  you  are 
going  to  Borne,  I  will  leave  my  kingdom 
and  country  and  come  with  you."  She 
said, "  Come,  if  you  will ;  it  may  be  that 
my  Master  will  receive  you  also  into 
His  flock."  So  Aucega  left  his  posses- 
sions and  his  kingdom,  his  wife  and 
children,  and  accompanied  Luceja  as  her 
servant. 

When  they  arrived  in  Borne  a  persecu- 
tion was  raging  against  the  Christians. 
As  Luceja  made  no  secret  of  her  religion 
and  history,  she  was  soon  arrested  and 
brought  before  the  prefect  of  the  city, 
who  asked  her  if  she  was  a  Christian. 
She  said  she  was,  and  had  returned  from 
her  twenty  years'  captivity  on  purpose 
to  receive  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  The 
prefect  told  her  that  by  order  of  the 
emperor,  Christians  must  sacrifice  to 
the  gods  or  be  put  to  death.  She 
answered,  "  I  have  told  you  that  I  am 
ready  to  die ;  my  God  deigned  to  call 
me  out  of  the  land  of  the  barbarians  for 
this  cause."  He  at  once  condemned  her 
to  be  beheaded.  Aucega  then  said  to 
the  prefect,  "Command  me  also  to  be 
beheaded  with  her,  for  I  am  her  servant 
and  disciple."  The  prefect  asked  him 
who  he  was.  He  said,  "  I  am  Aucega, 
the  king,  who  took  Luceja  captive  when 
I  was  fighting  against  the  Bomans ;  and 
her  God  has  prospered  me,  for  her  sake, 
during  the  twenty  years  that  she  has 
lived  in  safety  and  honour  in  my  house. 
But  as  her  God  appeared  to  her  and 
bade  her  come  to  Borne  to  be  put  to 
death,  I  chose  to  come  and  die  with  her 
rather  than  to  live  in  my  kingdom  with- 
out her."  The  prefect  said, "  But  if  you 
are  not  a  Christian,  how  can  you  die 
for  the  sake  of  her  God?"  Aucega 
answered,  "  I  think  that  the  shedding  of 
my  blood  will  make  me  a  Christian,  and 
that  Luceja's  God  will  not  cast  me  off." 
The  venerable  king  was  then  condemned 
to  death.  When  the  prefect  next  went 
into  the  Pretorium,  twenty  other  persons 


offered  themselves  as  candidates  for  the 
honour  of  martyrdom. 

AA.SS.  (See  Julia  op  Troyes.) 
Compare  Aucega. 

St  Luceja  (2),  June  26,  V.  M.  at 
Alexandria.  AA.SS- 

St  Lucella  (1)  or  Lucilla,  March 
25,  M.  with  more  than  400  others,  at 
Nictea  in  Bithynia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lucella  (2),  May  7,  M.  in  Africa. 
AAJSS. 

St  Lucella  (3),  Bucella. 

St.  Lucella  (4),  May  10,  M.  at  Tar- 
sus, in  Cilicia.  AAJSS. 

St.  Lucentia,  June  4,  V.  of  Provins, 
dep.  Seine-et-Marne.  Supposed  to  have 
lived  and  died  there.  Possibly  same  as 
Luceoia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lucetella,  or  according  to  some 
old  calendars,  Luca  and  Telia,  March  13. 
Mentioned  among  several  MM.,  the  place, 
time,  and  manner  of  whose  martyrdom 
are  not  known  with  certainty.  AA.SS. 

B.  Luchina,  Lucina  (5). 

St  Luciana,  May  18,  M.  at  Con- 
stantinople. AA.SS. 

St  Lucida,  Jan.  3,  M.  in  Africa* 
AAJSS. 

St.  Lucilla  (1),  9ct.  31,  V.  M.  c.  259. 
Daughter  of  Nemesius,  a  deacon.  She 
was  blind  from  her  birth,  and  was  taken 
by  her  father  to  be  cured  and  baptized 
by  St.  Stephen,  pope.  Many  others  were 
converted  and  baptized  on  account  of 
the  miracle.  The  Emperor  Valerian 
ordered  Nemesius  to  be  imprisoned  and 
Lucilla  to  be  given  in  charge  to  a  wicked 
woman,  named  Maxima.  After  a  few 
days  Nemesius  and  Lucilla  were  taken, 
without  trial  or  further  ceremony,  to  the 
temple  of  Mars  in  the  Via  Appia,  and 
there  Lucilla's  throat  was  cut,  before 
her  father's  eyes.  He  rejoiced  to  see 
her  go  before  him  to  the  martyr's  glory. 
He  was  beheaded  between  the  Via 
Latina  and  Via  Appia,  Aug.  25.  B.M. 
Martyrum  Acta.    Mart,  of  Salisbury. 

St  Lucilla  (2).   (See  Flora  (1).) 

SS.  Lucilla  (3,  4,  5),  MM.  on  differ- 
ent days;  one  is  also  called  Lucella. 
AA.SS. 

St  Lucina  (1),  June  30,  +  70.  She 
was  a  disciple  of  the  Apostles,  who, 
under  Nero,  relieved  the  necessities  of 
the  saints  at  Rome,  visited  the  Christians 


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ST.  LUCINA 


467 


in  prison,  and  buried  the  martyrs.  B.M. 
Canisius.  Tillemont. 

St.  Lucina  (2)  buried  St.  Cornelius, 
pope,  in  252.  Tillemont  says  there  were 
at  least  three  Lucinas  who  ministered 
to  the  persecuted  Christians;  but  the 
Bollandists  (AA.SS.,  June  30)  think 
this  Lucina  may,  by  some  mistake,  be 
Lucina  (1). 

St.  Lucina  (3),  May  11,  +  350. 
Anicia  Lucina  was  great  grand-daughter 
of  the  Emperor  Oallienus  (254-268); 
daughter  of  Sergius  Terentius,  twice 
prefect  of  Rome ;  and  wife  of  Faltonius 
Pinianus,  proconsul  of  Asia  in  the 
reigns  of  Diocletian  and  Maximianus. 
One  of  the  principal  officers  under  Pini- 
anus persecuted  the  Christians  with 
great  cruelty,  and  one  day  the  devil  took 
possession  of  him,  dragged  him  out  of 
his  chariot  and  tore  and  tormented  him 
horribly  for  several  hours,  when  he  died 
invoking  the  saints  whom  he  had  put  to 
death.  Pinianus  was  horrified  at  his 
sudden  and  terrible  death,  and  became 
very  ill ;  all  his  physicians  despaired  of 
his  life.  Lucina  attributed  his  illness 
to  his  being  polluted  with  the  blood  of 
the  innocent  Christians,  and  sent  secretly 
for  certain  Christian  prisoners,  among 
whom  was  St.  Anthimus,  a  priest.  She 
promised  that  if  they  would  cure  her 
husband  she  would  reward  them  liberally 
and  send  them  safely  away  to  any  place 
they  chose  to  name.  They  replied  that 
if  she  wished  her  husband  to  recover, 
she  must  exhort  him  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian, and  that  they  would  be  sufficiently 
rewarded  by  his  conversion.  To  the  per- 
suasions of  his  wife,  Pinianus  answered 
that  he  would  be  a  fool  indeed  who  did 
not  believe  in  a  God  who  could  restore 
lost  health  and  recall  to  life  those  for 
whom  the  grave  was  already  prepared. 
Lucina  then  brought  the  Christians  into 
the  room  where  Pinianus  lay  half  dead. 
He  expressed  his  impatience  to  be  cured, 
and  they  said  that  he  must  give  up  all 
trust  in  medical  science,  as  only  Christ 
could  cure  him.  He  answered,  "Cure 
me  then,  that  I  may  believe  your  God 
to  be  all-powerful."  Anthimus  exhorted 
him  to  believe  that  which  he  was  going 
to  tell  him.  Pinianus  replied,  "  Unless 
I  believed  with  all  my  heart,  I  would 


not  have  had  you  brought  into  my  room." 
"  Hear  then,"  said  Anthimus,  "  what  it 
is  that  you  believe:  The  Lord,  whom 
we  worship,  is  one  God  who  made  heaven 
and  earth."  When  he  had  told  him  in 
few  words  the  gospel  narrative,  and 
the  Saviour's  last  commission  to  His 
disciples,  he  added,  "In  His  name  we 
lay  our  hands  upon  you,  believing  that 
He  will  fulfil  His  promise."  Pinianus 
also  prayed  to  Christ;  the  Christians 
blessed  him,  and  immediately  he  sat  up  ; 
and  soon,  wondering  at  his  new-found 
strength,  he  arose  from  his  bed  and 
praised  and  thanked  the  Lord.  Then 
they  sent  for  five  other  Christians,  who 
were  still  in  the  prison,  and  they  prayed 
with  Pinianus  and  Lucina,  and  instructed 
them  and  all  their  household  in  the 
Christian  religion  for  seven  days.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  they  baptized  them. 

Pinianus  released  all  the  Christians 
from  the  mines  and  prisons,  and  had 
them  brought  to  his  own  house,  where 
he  washed  their  feet  and  kissed  their 
hands  and  provided  carriages  and  every- 
thing they  wanted,  and  sent  them  safely 
to  their  own  homes.  Some  of  them  he 
sent  to  live  on  his  property  at  Auximi 
(now  Osimo)  in  Piceno,  and  there,  some 
few  years  after  the  conversion  of  Pinianus, 
some  of  those  who  had  been  his  first  in- 
structors, were  martyred. 

Pinianus  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in 
good  works  and  particularly  in  kindness 
to  the  persecuted  Christians.  Lucina, 
after  his  death,  strove  beyond  her  strength 
to  do  good,  and  as  she  used  to  fast  three 
days  together,  St.  Sebastian  appeared  to 
her  and  encouraged  her  in  her  works  of 
charity  but  recommended  her  to  content 
herself  with  fasting  one  day  at  a  time, 
and  to  use  a  little  wine,  according  to  the 
advice  of  the  Blessed  Paul.  He  told  her 
that  the  priests  who  were  hiding  on 
account  of  the  persecution  could  not 
come  to  her  to  refresh  her  with  their 
counsel  and  to  say  mass;  but  that  a 
crow  would  come  to  her,  bringing  a  nut 
which  she  was  to  take  in  the  name  of 
Christ.  After  this,  every  Sunday  or 
solemn  anniversary,  about  the  fifth  hour, 
a  crow  used  to  come,  bringing  a  very 
large  sweet  nut  in  its  beak.  On  other 
days  it  came  at  a  different  hour. 


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ST.  LUCINA 


St.  Beatrice  came  to  Lucina  after  the 
martyrdom  of  her  brothers,  SS.  Simplicius 
and  Faustinus,  and  stayed  with  her  seven 
months.  Daring  all  that  time  two  crows 
came  every  day,  each  bringing  a  nnt. 
After  the  martyrdom  of  Beatrice,  Lucina, 
terrified  at  the  severity  of  the  persecution, 
prepared  to  flee  from  Borne ;  but  Beatrice 
appeared  to  her  and  told  her  to  stay  where 
she  was,  for  in  that  month  peace  should 
be  given  to  the  Church ;  and  so  it  came 
to  pass. 

Among  those  whom  Lucina  entertained 
and  befriended  wereSS.  Cyriacus,  Memmia, 
and  Juliana  (4).  Lucina  died  in  peace 
at  the  age  of  ninety-five. 

AA.SS., "  Anthimius  et  Socii."  Tille- 
mont. 

St.  Lucina  (4),  daughter  of  Mab- 
menia. 

B.  Lucina  (5)  or  Luchina  of  Soncino, 
Aug.  23,  +  1480.  Margaret  Stropeni 
was  born  at  Soncino,  a  little  town  of 
Lombardy,  between  Brescia  and  Cremona. 
As  a  child  she  seemed  disposed  to  religion 
and  virtue,  but  as  she  grew  up  she  be- 
came very  vain  of  her  beauty  and  very 
fond  of  dress  and  admiration  and  amuse- 
ment. She  was  of  low  birth  but  so 
beautiful  that  she  had  many  suitors. 
She  married  a  young  man  of  one  of  the 
principal  families  of  the  place,  and  took 
his  name,  Lucina  or  Luchina,  in  token 
of  her  affection  for  him.  They  led  a  very 
worldly  life,  devoted  to  show  and  amuse- 
ment. She  had  a  son  and  a  daughter, 
who  died  in  infancy.  In  1470,  during 
the  pontificate  of  Pius  II.,  the  republic 
of  Soncino  sent  away  the  monks  who 
were  living  amongst  them  and  brought 
into  their  place  some  reformed  Domini- 
cans from  Venice.  Among  these,  B. 
Mateo  Carero  of  Mantua  effected  many 
reforms  and  conversions  at  Soncino. 
One  of  his  converts  was  Lucina,  who 
after  much  opposition  succeeded  in  per- 
suading her  husband  to  give  up  the 
worldly  and  frivolous  life  they  had 
hitherto  led.  She  made  a  general  con- 
fession, and  with  his  consent  she  took 
the  habit  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Dominic.  He  disliked  it  extremely,  and 
the  monks  advised  her  to  obey  him  and 
live  in  peace ;  so  she  left  off  the  religious 
habit  and  wore  instead  a  very  scanty 


black  gown  and  shoes,  but  no  stockings. 
She  did  the  servile  work  of  the  house ; 
her  husband  was  angry,  and  she  gave  it 
up.  She  then  received  pilgrims  and 
nuns,  and  her  husband  was  bored  with 
them,  but  at  last  was  reconciled  to  her 
new  interests  and  habits.  Soon  she  began 
to  work  miraculous  cures,  and  procured 
by  her  prayers  that  Boniface,  marquis  of 
Montferrat,  should  have  a  family.  She 
died  at  the  age  of  fifty-five.  After  her 
death  she  performed  more  miracles. 
Her  story  is  given  by  Lopez,  Pio,  and 
Kazzi  in  their  histories  of  the  Domini- 
cans. 

St.  Luciola,  March  3,  M.  in  Africa 
with  Gaiola  and  many  others.  AA.SS. 

SS.  Luciosa  (1,  2,  3,  4),  MM.  at 
different  times  and  places.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lucosa,  March  5,  M.  at  Antioch, 
with  33  others.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lucretia  (1),  Nov.  23,  V.  M. 
at  Merida  in  Spain,  under  Diocletian. 
Patron  of  Merida.  B.M. 

St.  Lucretia  (2)  or  Leocbitia  of 
Cordova,  March  15,  V.  M.  859.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Saracens,  learnt 
Christianity  from  a  relative  named 
Litiosa,  and  was  baptized  secretly. 
When  her  parents  discovered  that  she 
was  a  Christian  they  beat  and  ill-used 
her.  She  fled  to  the  protection  of  St 
Eulogius,  bishop  of  Toledo,  who  at  first 
concealed  her  in  his  house.  She  led  a 
life  of  great  austerity  and  piety  hidden 
now  in  one  place,  now  in  another,  until 
at  last  she  was  found  by  her  parents  in 
the  church  of  St.  Zoilus,  with  St.  Eulo- 
gius. When  Eulogius  was  beheaded, 
they  tried  to  persuade  Lucretia  to  return 
to  her  allegiance  to  her  parents  and 
prophet,  but  on  her  persistence  in  her 
faith,  she  also  was  beheaded  and  thrown 
into  the  river  to  be  eaten  by  fishes ;  as, 
however,  her  body  appeared  for  a  con- 
siderable time  standing  in  the  water,  the 
Christians  took  it  and  buried  it  in  the 
church  of  St.  Genet,  martyr.  B.M. 
AA.SS.,  "St.  Eulogius,"  by  Alvar,  an 
eye-witness.  Martin. 

St.  Lucusa  (1)  or  Luesa,  May  10, 
M.  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lucusa  (2),  Locust  a. 

St.  Lucusta  or  Luousta,  May  19, 
M.  in  Africa.  AAJ3S. 


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ST.  LUCY 


469 


St.  Luesa,  Lucusa  (l). 

St.  Lucy  (1),  April  22,  2nd  century. 
A  poor  widow  of  Lyons,  in  whose  house 
SS.  Epipodius  and  Alexander  were  con- 
cealed during  the  persecution  of  the 
Christians  in  that  city,  in  177.  When 
they  were  discovered  and  hurried  away 
to  their  trial  and  martyrdom,  Epipodius, 
in  his  haste,  left  one  of  his  shoes,  which 
Lucy  preserved  as  a  sacred  treasure  and 
which  was  afterwards  found  very  useful 
as  a  cure  for  the  plague.  AA.SS., 
Prseter. 

St  Lucy  (2)  of  Campo  Yaooino, 
Aug.  25,  Oct.  26,  V.  M.    Mas  Latrie. 
St.  Lucy  (3),  June  3,  M.  at  Borne. 

AA  SS 

St.  Lucy  (4),  June  26,  M.  in  Egypt. 
Guerin. 

St.  Lucy  (5)  of  Campania,  July  6. 
Taken  and  tortured  in  one  of  the  perse- 
cutions. The  prefect  seeing  that  she 
was  miraculously  defended  against  all 
harm,  released  her  and  gave  her  a  house 
and  women  to  attend  upon  her.  Here 
she  lived  in  peace,  praying  for  her 
benefactor.  After  twenty  years  she  and 
her  maids  desired  martyrdom,  so  they 
went  and  gave  themselves  up  at  the 
tribunal  where  Christians  were  con- 
demned. They  were  all  beheaded. 
B.M.    Menology  of  Basil. 

St.  Lucy  (6)  of  Eome  and  St. 
Geminian,  Sept.  16,  MM.  under  Dio- 
cletian, in  290.  Their  worship  is  very 
ancient,  but  their  history  is  only  known 
from  fabulous  acts.  Lucy  had  been  a 
widow  thirty-six  years  and  was  seventy- 
five  years  old,  when  she  was  accused  by 
her  son,  Euprepius  or  Eutropius,  of 
being  a  Christian.  Diocletian  sent  for 
her  and,  after  some  attempts  at  per- 
suasion, he  ordered  her  to  be  plunged  in 
a  caldron  of  boiling  pitch,  where  she  lived 
for  three  days,  singing  praises.  He  sent 
a  messenger  to  see  whether  she  was  yet 
reduced  to  cinders,  and  hearing  that  she 
was  unhurt  and  singing,  he  ordered  her 
to  be  carried  round  the  city  loaded  with 
great  weights.  As  she  came  opposite 
the  house  of  Geminian  his  numerous 
idols  fell  down  and  broke ;  a  dove  from 
heaven  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  three 
times  over  the  head  of  Geminian,  and 
looking  up,  he  saw  heaven  open.  He 


immediately  followed  Lucy.  While  she 
was  undergoing  torture  he  entreated  for 
instruction  and  baptism.  A  priest, 
named  Protasius,  who  had  dreamt  of 
him,  came  in  haste,  taught  him  the  first 
lessons  of  Christianity,  and  baptized  him. 
Seventy-five  persons  were  converted  by 
seeing  the  courage  and  hearing  the 
answers  of  the  new  convert.  Their 
judge  threw  himself  with  his  horse  from 
the  stone  bridge  into  the  river ;  his  body 
was  never  found.  Lucy  and  Geminian 
were  beheaded,  and  were  buried  by 
Maxima.   AA.SS.    Flos  Sanctorum. 

St.  Lucy  (7),  Luceja. 

St.  Lucy  (8)  of  Syracuse,  Dec.  13, 
303.  Her  name  is  in  the  Canon  of 
the  Mass.  She  is  one  of  the  four  great 
patronesses  of  the  Western  Church,  and 
patron  of  Syracuse,  of  Mantua,  of  the 
labouring  poor,  of  tillers  of  the  ground, 
of  sight  and  the  eyes,  against  dysentery 
and  hemorrhage  of  all  sorts. 

[Represented  carrying  her  eyes  in  a 
dish. 

There  are  three  different  accounts  of 
this  saint.  First,  that  given  by  Mrs. 
Jameson,  apparently  the  oldest : — 

Lucy  lived  at  Syracuse  with  her 
mother  Eutyohia,  who  betrothed  her 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  to  a  young  pagan 
nobleman.  Eutychia  suffered  from  a 
painful  disease.  Lucy  persuaded  her  to 
make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  tomb  of 
Agatha,  who  appeared  to  Lucy,  assured 
her  of  her  mother's  cure,  and  promised 
that  as  Catania  had  been  defended  by 
Agatha,  so  Syracuse  should  evermore  be 
protected  by  Heaven  for  the  sake  of 
Lucy.  Eutychia  being  healed,  was  per- 
suaded to  allow  her  daughter  to  remain 
unmarried  and  to  give  her  dowry  to  the 
poor.  The  young  man  to  whom  she 
was  betrothed  denounced  her  as  a  Chris- 
tian before  the  governor,  Pascasius,  who 
spoke  insultingly  to  her.  As  she  openly 
defied  him,  he  ordered  her  to  be  dragged 
away,  but  it  was  found  that  neither  strong 
men  with  ropes  nor  magicians  with  their 
spells  could  move  her  an  inch ;  so  Pasca- 
sius had  a  fire  lighted  to  burn  her  where 
she  stood ;  but  as  the  flames  had  no 
power  against  her,  one  of  the  servants 
killed  her  by  plunging  a  dagger  into  her 
throat.  The  Christians  buried  her  on  the 


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ST.  LUCY 


spot,  and  a  church  was  afterwards  built 
there  and  called  by  her  name. 

The  second  legend  is  that  a  youth  was 
in  love  with  Lucy  and  continually  pro- 
tested that  it  was  her  beautiful  eyes  that 
gave  him  no  rest  and  made  him  persecute 
her.  She  called  to  mind  the  words  of 
Christ,  "  If  thine  eye  offend  thee,  pluck 
it  out,"  and  fearing  that  her  eyes  should 
cause  the  final  destruction  of  her  lover 
and  herself,  out  out  her  eyes  with  a  knife 
and  sent  them  to  him  in  a  dish.  (This 
incident  is  told  also  of  Lucy  (17),  Me- 
dana  (1)  and  Triduana.)  He/filled  with 
remorse  and  admiration,  became  a  Chris- 
tian and  a  pattern  of  virtue.  Lucy's 
faith  and  courage  were  rewarded  by  the 
restoration  of  her  eyes,  more  beautiful 
than  before. 

Vega,  in  Flos  Sanctorum,  gives  the  first 
of  these  two  legends,  making  no  mention 
of  eyes,  but  there  is  a  woodcut  at  the 
top  of  the  chapter,  in  which  she  is 
represented  bearing  her  eyes  in  a  plate. 

The  third  story  of  St.  Lucy  is  that 
she  suffered  martyrdom  by  having  her 
eyes  put  out;  but  this  is  not  an  old 
legend. 

Another  was  told  to  me  in  a  church  at 
Milan,  in  explanation  of  a  picture 
there: — Her  eyes  were  put  out  by  a  Roman 
emperor  whose  love  she  despised.  The 
Lord  gave  her  a  new  pair  of  eyes  to 
reward  her  virtue,  and  she  ever  after 
carried  the  old  ones  in  her  hand. 

B.M.  According  to  Alban  Butler 
(Lives),  she  was  honoured  at  Home,  in 
the  6th  century,  among  the  most  illus- 
trious of  the  virgins  and  martyrs  whom 
the  Church  celebrated,  as  appears 
from  the  Sacramentary  of  St.  Gregory. 
Her  festival  was  kept  in  England  until 
the  Reformation,  as  a  festival  of  the 
second  rank,  in  which  no  work  was  done 
except  tillage,  etc.  Her  body  was  trans- 
lated to  Metz  by  Otho  I.,  emperor.  Mr. 
Swainson,  Weather  Folk-lore,  quotes, 
"  Lucy-light,  the  shortest  day  and  the 
longest  night." 

St  Lucy  (9)  of  Cyrene,  early  in  the 
4th  century.    (See  Cyprilla.) 

St  Lucy  (10),  V.,  +  800,  seventh 
abbess  of  Horres  at  Treves.  Saussaye, 
Appendix. 

§t.  Lucy  (1 1)  of  Sarapigny,  Sept.  19, 


f>th,  6th,  or  11th  oentury.  Patron  of 
Sampigny,  and  of  Mont  Ste.  Lucie. 
Represented  on  her  tomb,  dressed  as  a 
princess,  keeping  sheep. 

The  tradition  is  that  she  was  the 
daughter  of  a  king  of  the  Scots  and 
was  religious  from  childhood.  She  never 
appeared  in  public  except  at  church  or 
to  give  alms.  One  day  she  heard  a 
sermon  in  which  the  preacher  quoted  St. 
Matthew,  "If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go 
and  sell  that  thou  hast  and  give  to  the 
poor  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in 
heaven."  She  determined  to  leave  the 
court,  her  family  and  country.  She 
crossed  the  sea  and  travelled  through 
part  of  France.  When  she  arrived  in 
Lorraine,  the  Mouse  was  so  swollen  that 
she  could  not  cross  it,  but  she  took 
refuge  on  a  neighbouring  hill.  There 
she  met  a  labourer,  named  Theobald,  who 
received  her  charitably.  Perceiving 
something  superior  about  her,  he  offered 
to  feed  her  in  his  hut  as  long  as  she  chose 
to  stay.  She  accepted  his  hospitality,  on 
condition  that  she  might  work  as  a 
servant  and  have  the  humblest  offices 
to  perform.  She  kept  the  sheep  and 
did  the  work  of  the  house,  which  was 
beyond  her  strength,  but  the  grace  of 
God  sustained  her,  and  the  joy  she 
felt  in  seeing  herself  servant  to  a  poor 
villager  so  elated  her  that  she  found 
nothing  too  hard.  Theobald  appreciated 
her  services  so  much  that  at  his  death, 
as  his  wife  and  children  had  died  before 
him,  he  left  her  all  his  property.  Having 
renounced  a  kingdom  for  the  love  of 
poverty,  she  did  not  care  to  attach  her- 
self to  a  little  farm,  but  sold  it  and  gave 
all  to  the  poor  with  the  exception  of  the 
house,  which  she  converted  into  a  church 
in  honour  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  the  Queen 
of  the  angels,  and  the  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul.  She  made  a  grotto  inside  the 
church,  where  she  spent  the  rest  of  her 
days  in  prayer  and  mortification.  A  rude 
seat  is  still  shown  in  the  rock,  where  she 
rested  when  she  could  no  longer  resist 
sleep.  She  once  carried  live  coals  in 
her  gown  without  burning  it.  She  was 
about  forty  when  she  died.  Her  father 
came  to  fetch  her  body  but  it  was  found 
impossible  to  move  the  cart  on  which  it 
was  ;  he  therefore  took  the  head  and  left 


B.  LUCY 


471 


the  body.  The  place  was  called  in  her 
honour,  Mont  Ste.  Lucie  and  Mont  de  la 
Vierge.  The  wood  that  she  planted  at 
her  hermitage  has  a  peculiar  scent  found 
nowhere  else.  Other  miracles  are  re- 
corded of  her,  but  the  most  remarkable 
is  that  Louis  XIII.  having  heard  that 
her  aid  had  been  successfully  invoked 
by  several  barren  women,  brought  his 
queen,  Anne  of  Austria,  there,  in  1638, 
after  twenty-three  years  of  marriage. 
She  descended  into  the  cave  and  sat  in 
the  saint's  chair  and  soon  became  the 
mother  of  Louis  XIV.  Childless  women 
still  sometimes  climb  up  Mont  Ste.  Lucie, 
descend  into  the  grotto  and  sit  in  St. 
Lucy's  chair,  in  the  hope  that  she  will 
send  them  children. 

She  was  canonized  early  in  the  12th 
century  by  Henry,  bishop  of  Verdun, 
brother  of  Stephen,  king  of  England. 

AA.SS.    Butler.  Martin. 

B.  Lucy  (12),  Sept.  12,  +  1130,  a 
nun  at  Calatagirona  in  Sicily,  and  after- 
wards at  Salerno,  where  she  died.  Pro- 
bably same  as  Lucy  (16).  AA.SS. 

B.  Lucy  (13)  of  Stifonte,  Dec.  13, 
Nov.  7.  12th  century.  Order  of  Ca- 
maldoli.  Founder  of  the  convent  of 
Stifonte  near  Bologna.  She  was  a  good 
and  beautiful  girl,  lived  piously  in 
Bologna  and  held  in  great  veneration 
the  sacred  relics  with  which  that  city 
had  been  enriched  by  its  holy  bishop, 
St.  Petronio.  Like  many  others,  she 
was  stirred  up  to  greater  fervour  of 
devotion  by  the  fame  of  the  revival  of 
religion  and  the  founding  of  the  Order 
of  Hermits  of  Camaldoli  by  St.  Romo- 
aldo.  Under  the  influence  of  this  en- 
thusiasm, Lucy  and  some  of  her  friends 
left  their  homes  and  built  a  church  in 
honour  of  St.  Christina,  with  a  little 
hermitage  for  themselves  on  the  hill  of 
the  seven  fountains  (Sette  Fonti,  corrupted 
into  Stifonte).  The  example  of  their 
holy  poverty  and  other  virtues  drew 
many  persons  to  attend  the  services  in 
their  church,  and  soon  Lucy  discovered 
that  a  young  nobleman  came  every  day 
and  stood  under  the  window  through 
which  she,  from  her  hermitage,  heard 
mass,  apparently  for  no  more  devout 
purpose  than  to  gaze  at  the  fair  young 
nun.    She  called  to  mind  the  words  of 


the  bishop  who  had  placed  the  sacred 
veil  on  her  head  :  "  Let  it  separate  your 
eyes  for  ever  from  the  eyes  of  men,"  and 
she  was  careful  to  give  no  answering 
glance ;  but  still  he  came,  and  she  found 
it  expedient  to  take  means  that  he  should 
not  see  her.  When  he  found  that  his 
love  was  quite  hopeless  and  reflected 
that  she  was  to  him  "  a  thing  enskied 
and  sainted,"  he  left  his  native  place 
and  wandered  in  new  countries  and 
amongst  barbarous  people.  Just  then 
all  Christendom  was  horrified  by  the 
news  that  the  Holy  Sepulchre  was  in  the 
hands  of  Mohammedans,  and  they  began 
to  take  the  cross  and  stream  eastward 
for  the  liberation  of  the  tomb  of  the 
Lord.  Lucy's  lover  joined  the  crusaders, 
and  it  happened  that  the  very  day  he 
left  Europe  was  the  day  of  Lucy's  death ; 
but  he  did  not  hear  of  it.  He  went  to 
the  wars,  praying  his  guardian  angel  to 
offer  to  Lucy,  in  case  of  his  death,  that 
heart  which  he  had  left  in  the  church  at 
Stifonte.  He  was  not  one  of  those  who 
courted  martyrdom,  but  when  he  found 
himself  a  prisoner  and  was  told  that  his 
last  hour  was  come,  unless  he  would 
accept  the  religion  of  his  cantors,  he  had 
no  idea  of  renouncing  the  faith  of  Christ, 
so  turned  his  heart  to  his  lady-love, 
saying,  "  O  Lucy,  if  thou  still  livest  on 
earth,  sustain  with  thy  prayers  him  who 
has  loved  thee  so  much :  if  thou  art  in 
heaven,  ask  of  the  Lord  that  I  may  be 
delivered  from  my  cruel  enemies  or  may 
have  courage  to  die  like  a  Christian 
soldier."  Immediately,  with  the  tears 
of  earnestness  on  his  cheeks  and  the 
fetters  on  his  feet,  he  fell  into  a  deep 
sleep.  When  he  awoke  he  heard  the 
sound  of  church  bells,  and  found  himself 
at  the  gate  of  the  monastery  of  Stifonte, 
still  wearing  his  chains,  and  Lucy,  more 
beautiful  than  ever,  was  standing  before 
him.  He  exclaimed,  "  Lucy !  dost  thou 
still  live  ? "  and  she  answered,  "  I  live 
the  life  eternal ;  go,  lay  thy  fetters  on 
my  tomb  and  thank  God  that  thy  prayer 
was  heard.  Be  assured  that  I  love  thee 
with  perfect  charity ;  if  thy  love  is  per- 
fect, thou  shalt  see  my  imperishable 
beauty  and  share  with  me  the  joys  of 
heaven." 

Lucy  was  known  to  be  a  saint,  and 


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472 


B.  LUCY 


the  convent  was  called  by  her  name. 
Pius  VI.  approved  her  immemorial  wor- 
ship. 

A.  B.M.,  for  Order  of  Camaldoli.  Bu- 
celinns.  Gaspar  Bombaci,  Scena  de' 
sacri  e  dey  profani  amori.  Sismondi, 
Republics. 

B.  Lucy  (H)  Ubaldini,  13th  cen- 
tury. Sister  of  B.  Jane  and  niece  of  B. 
Clara  Ubaldini  ;  all  Franciscan  nuns  in 
the  convent  of  Sta.  Maria  di  Monticelli 
at  Florence.  Brocehi. 

B.  Luqr  (15)  Bufalari,  July  27, 
Aug.  1 1,  +  in  the  odour  of  sanctity,  1350. 
Sister  of  B.  John  of  Kieti,  of  the  noble 
family  of  Bufalari.  Prioress  of  the 
Order  of  Hermits  of  St.  Augustine 
called  Mantellate,  particularly  appealed 
to  for  those  possessed  by  devils.  Her 
immemorial  worship  was  confirmed  by 
the  Congregation  of  Rites,  July  28, 1832. 
A.RM.  Diario  di  Roma,  May  16, 1832. 
t  B.  Lucy  (16),  Sept  26,  3rd  O.S.F., 
lived  not  later  than  the  beginning  of  the 
15th  century.  She  was  born  at  Calata- 
giro  in  Sicily.  When  she  was  six  years 
old,  she  went  into  the  vineyard,  unknown 
to  her  mother,  and  climbed  up  a  fig  tree 
to  eat  the  figs.  A  storm  came  on,  and 
the  tree  was  struck  by  lightning;  she 
fell  to  the  ground,  but  was  unhurt 
While  she  stood  stunned  and  wet,  St 
Nicolas  appeared  to  her  and  told  her  he 
had  saved  her  on  account  of  her  parents' 
devotion  to  him.  This  incident  made 
a  deep  impression  on  her.  She  grew  up 
charitable  and  devout.  A  nun  of  Salerno 
came  to  visit  her  relations  in  Sicily. 
On  her  return  to  Salerno,  Lucy  was 
easily  persuaded  to  accompany  her. 
This  she  did  without  the  consent  of  her 
father  and  mother,  and  lived  with  the 
parents  of  her  new  friend  at  Salerno 
until  the  nun  died,  when  she  joined  the 
Franciscan  sisters  at  St.  Mary  Magdalene, 
while  her  parents  mourned  her  as  dead. 
Romano  Seraphic  Appendix  to  the  R.M. 
AA.SS.    Probably  same  as  Lucy  (12). 

B.  Lucy  (17),  Dec.  3,  supposed  -f 
1420,  O.S.D.  or  Order  of  Fontevrault. 
Represented  in  secular  dress  with  a  pair 
of  eyes  in  a  cup.  Patron  against  sundry 
kinds  of  sickness.  The  same  story  is 
told  of  her  as  of  Lucy  (8),  Triduana, 
and  Medana  :  it  is  given  in  an  old 


manual  in  a  convent  at  Seville.  Pio. 
Oynecseum.    Raderus,  Be  Csecis  Sanctis. 

St.  Lucy  (18)  of  Foligno,  Dec.  9,  + 
1499,  V.  Abbess,  O.S.F.,  gave  the  name 
of  her  patron  saint  to  a  convent  at 
Foligno,  about  1435.  She  was  sent  by 
her  superiors  in  1448,  with  twenty-two 
companions,  to  the  Franciscan  convent 
of  St  Mary  of  Mount  St.  Lucy  at  Peru- 
gia, to  reform  it.  The  nuns  elected  her 
abbess  in  1459,  and  again  in  1473.  She 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty.  Jacobilli, 
Santi  delV  Umbria. 

B.  Lucy  (19)  Bartolini  Rucellai 
or  Camilla,  Oct  29, 1465-1520.  Founder 
of  the  convent  of  St.  Catherine  of  Siena, 
at  Florence.  Her  parents  and  her  hus- 
band belonged  to  three  of  the  most  im- 
portant families  in  Florence.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Domenico  Bartolini; 
her  mother  was  Ermellina  Corbinelli. 
Her  grandfather  Nero  Bartolini  was 
Gonfaloniere  in  1439  and  held  other 
distinguished  appointments.  She  mar- 
ried, in  1484,  Ridolfo  Rucellai,  or  Oricel- 
larii.  The  Oricellarii  took  their  wealth 
and  name  from  introducing  the  use  of 
a  lichen  (oricello)  in  dyeing  wool.  They 
were  as  distinguished  for  their  learning 
as  for  the  important  offices  they  held. 
Camilla  and  her  husband  lived  for  many 
years  in  the  vineyard  close  to  the  Loggia 1 
near  the  palace  of  the  Rucellai.  When, 
in  1490,  Jerome  Savonarola  came  for 
the  second  time  to  Florence,  preaching 
reformation  of  life  and  inveighing  especi- 
ally against  luxury,  numbers  of  people 
crowded  to  his  preaching  and  services. 
Many  took  vows  of  chastity.  Ridolfo 
and  Camilla  having  no  children,  thought 
they  might  as  well  take  the  vows.  So 
they  had  a  solemn  public  divorce  in  the 
famous  Dominican  church  of  St.  Mark, 
in  presence  of  the  vicar,  of  the  Arch- 
bishop Rainaldi  Orsini  and  an  im- 
mense concourse,  on  May  8,  1496  (or 
1494,  according  to  Razzi).  The  archi- 
episcopal  notary  drew  up  the  deed; 
Ridolfo  immediately  became  Brother 
Theophilus  or  Timothy,  and  took  the 
Dominican  habit  in  the  convent  of  St. 
Mark,  from  the  hands  of  Savonarola. 

1  These  Loggie  or  Portici  were  used  by  the 
nobles  to  transact  their  business  in  shelter  from 
the  heat,  and  the  children  played  there. 


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B.  LUCY  DE  PREITAS 


478 


Ridolfo  either  pined  for  the  comforts  of 
secular  life  or  found  some  of  the  rules 
and  reforms  puerile  and  inexpedient  for 
a  grown  man.  In  seven  months  he  re- 
turned to  the  world.  Meanwhile,  Camilla 
had  taken  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Domi- 
nic, and  spent  her  whole  time  in  pious 
exercises.  Eidolfo  wanted  her  to  come 
back  to  him,  but  she  would  not.  He 
was  angry,  and  dying  soon  after,  he  left 
ber  nothing  but  her  dowry,  without  the 
furniture  and  other  things  that  a  man 
usually  left  to  his  wife.  In  1500  she 
wished  to  be  more  perfect.  She  changed 
her  name  to  Lucy  and,  with  the  help  of 
three  sisters  of  the  name  of  Rosellia, 
built  a  monastery  of  the  third  Order, 
near  that  of  St.  Mark,  and  subject  to 
its  prior.  Her  community  soon  num- 
bered more  than  a  hundred.  They 
unanimously  elected  Lucy  prioress.  She 
declined,  saying  she  was  unworthy.  Her 
refusal  was  not  accepted,  and  prioress 
she  had  to  be.  At  first  they  had  no  rule 
of  enclosure  nor  monastic  vows.  They 
lived  by  their  work  and  by  alms ;  but  as 
the  sisters  of  penance  in  other  places 
were  assimilating  themselves  to  the 
cloistered  nuns,  these  desired  the  same 
greater  perfection  and,  in  1510,  the 
General  of  the  Order  gave  them  the  three 
vows.  Lucy  gave  the  habit  with  her 
own  hands  to  seventy  nuns.  From  the 
day  of  her  death  she  was  accounted  a 
saint.  The  nuns  of  her  convent  soon 
obtained  permission  to  invoke  and  honour 
herassuch.  AA.SS.  Brocchi.  Razzi. 
Pio. 

B.  Lucy  (20)  de  Valcadare,  Jan.  12, 
3rd  O.S.P.,  +  1530.  Migne.  Stadler. 
Mas  Latrie. 

B.  Lucy  (21)  of  Narni,  Nov.  15, 
16,  +  1545,  O.S.D.  Pounder  of  the 
Dominican  convent  of  St.  Catherine  of 
Siena,  at  Ferrara.  She  solemnly  affirmed 
at  Viterbo,  April  17, 1496,  that  Catherine 
of  Siena  had  obtained  for  her,  from  God, 
the  favour  of  being  marked  with  the 
wounds  of  Christ,  in  February  of  that 
year.  This  happened  at  the  time  that 
an  amendment  was  contemplated  of  the 
bull  of  Pope  Sixtus  IV.,  forbidding  all 
representations  of  women  saints  marked 
with  the  wounds  of  Christ.  The  amend- 
ment was  made  soon  after.  Lucy  founded 


the  convent  at  Ferrara  in  1501  and 
governed  it  for  two  years.  She  was 
succeeded  by  Veronica,  disciple  of 
Antonia  Guaineri.  She  lived  for  forty 
years  a  nun  in  her  own  convent,  a  model 
of  all  virtues  and  of  great  humility  and 
asceticism.  A.RM.>  Nov.  16.  AA.SS., 
"  Christina  of  Stumbela  "  and  "  Antonia 
Guaineri." 

B.  Lucy  (22)  de  Freitas,  Sept.  10, 
12,  3rd  O.S.F.  M.  in  Japan  in  1622. 
She  married  Philip  de  Freitas,  a  Portu- 
guese Christian.  (The  name  is  spelt 
Fleites  in  some  accounts.) 

Towards  the  end  of  the  16th  century  a 
band  of  European  missionaries  made  an 
effort  to  revive  the  faith  of  the  Christians 
in  Japan  and  to  make  new  converts. 
The  rulers  of  the  country  at  first 
encouraged  them,  but  after  a  time 
persecutions  arose.  The  attendant  cir- 
cumstances make  them  in  many  ways 
very  like  the  persecutions  of  Christians 
in  the  early  Church,  under  the  Roman 
empire:  the  hideous  ingenuity  of  the 
tortures;  the  barbarity  of  the  ordinary 
punishment  of  offenders  against  the  laws ; 
the  crowding  of  the  prisons;  the  occa- 
sional willingness  of  the  rulers  to  let 
the  condemned  escape  punishment  on 
the  least  sign  of  submission;  the  con- 
sideration shown  to  offenders  of  high 
rank,  women  being  imprisoned  in  their 
own  houses  and  sometimes  put  to  death 
there,  to  avoid  the  disgrace  of  a  public 
execution;  and  on  the  other  hand,  the 
eagerness  for  martyrdom  of  some  of  the 
converts ;  the  courage  and  patience  under 
suffering  of  women  and  children;  the 
impunity  with  which  many  Christians 
attended  the  martyrdom  of  others,  openly 
encouraging  them  and  claiming  their 
bodies  as  sacred  relics ;  the  crowds  who 
begged  the  blessing  of  those  about  to  be 
put  to  a  death  of  disgrace.  A  distinctive 
feature  of  the  Japanese  persecution  was 
the  use  of  the  natural  hot  springs  and 
sulphurous  craters  as  a  means  of  torture 
for  their  victims.  Before  the  executions, 
in  some  cases,  smiling  children  from 
amongst  the  company  of  confessors  ran 
about  distributing  to  the  Christians,  pieces 
of  paper  which  were  afterwards  kept  as 
relics.  Thousands  suffered  for  their 
faith.    Conspicuous  amongst  the  women 


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474 


B.  LUCY  DE  PREITAS 


in  a  list  of  205  martyrs,  commemorated 
Sept.  12,  is  B.  Lucia  de  Freitas,  a  native 
of  Japan.  She  spent  her  life  in  devotion 
and  active  benevolence ;  she  visited  the 
sick  in  the  hospitals  and  her  charity 
was  open-handed  to  all  who  were  in  need, 
especially  Christians.  It  was  perhaps 
after  her  husband's  death  that  she  took 
the  3rd  Order  of  St.  Francis.  She  thence- 
forward led  a  celestial  life,  and  in  time 
of  persecution,  her  house  was  open  to  all 
missionarieSjpriests,  and  religious  persons. 
One  of  those  who  enjoyed  her  hospitality 
was  Father  Richard  of  St.  Anne.  It 
came  to  her  knowledge  that  one  of  the 
Christians,  John  Feizo,  was  going  to 
abandon  the  faith.  She  went  to  him  and 
upbraided  him.  This  made  him  so 
angry  that  he  threatened  to  kill  her; 
whereupon  she  drew  a  scimitar  from  one 
of  the  attendants  and  presented  it  to 
him,  saying,  "  Strike !  M  When  con- 
demned to  death,  she  took  out  her 
crucifix  and  said,  "  Willingly  will  I  die 
for  my  God."  She  was  imprisoned  in 
her  own  house  for  a  year. 

At  last  the  time  was  fixed  for  the 
great  martyrdom.  Lucy,  who  was  now 
eighty  years  old,  was  one  of  the  happy 
band  of  thirty-three  confessors  of  Nanga- 
saki,  among  whom  were  also  Father 
Charles  Spinola  and  Father  Richard 
who  had  been  her  guest.  The  walk  to 
the  place  of  execution  was  more  like  a 
triumphal  march  than  the  procession  of 
a  number  of  unfortunates  doomed  to  the 
death  of  criminals.  A  chorus  of  Christian 
hymns  and  psalms  sounded  loud  and 
cheerful,  and  these  occasionally  ceased 
while  one  or  other  of  the  confessors 
spoke  words  of  comfort  or  remonstrance 
to  the  spectators.  Lucy,  in  particular, 
spoke  like  a  great  preacher.  In  the 
dress  of  a  tertiary  of  St.  Francis,  she 
headed  the  march,  holding  her  crucifix 
on  high;  and  beside  her,  radiant,  in  a 
dress  of  white  velvet,  walked  Mart 
Mourayama.  Lucy,  to  encourage  the 
women  who  were  with  her,  reminded 
them  that  perhaps  the  holy  Virgins, 
Agatha,  Cecilia,  and  Agnes,  were  even 
more  delicate  than  any  of  them,  saying, 
"  God,  who  strengthened  them,  will 
support  us  also.  We  women  shall  be  as 
strong  as  men."    The  guards,  irritated, 


snatched  her  crucifix  from  her  and  broke 
it  in  pieces,  at  the  same  time  tearing  her 
Franciscan  habit  The  stakes  for  burn- 
ing the  confessors  were  set  up  near  the 
site  of  the  martyrdom  of  1597.  When 
Lucy  and  her  companions  arrived,  they 
exchanged  salutations  with  their  spiritual 
fathers.  Lucy,  who  had  prayed  that  she 
might  have  a  good  priest  near  her  at  her 
death,  was  tied  to  a  stake  near  Father 
Spinola,  who  gave  her  absolution.  The 
wood  for  burning  the  martyrs  was  first 
soaked  in  the  sea  to  prolong  the  process. 
Spinola,  worn  out  with  suffering  and 
fatigue,  was  the  first  to  die.  So  many 
years  of  apostolic  labour  and  the  rigours 
of  captivity  had  only  left  him  life  that 
he  might  sacrifice  it.  After  one  hour, 
his  black  cotton  cassock  took  fire  and  he 
was  suffocated  in  an  instant.  A  quantity 
of  water  was  thrown  over  him,  to  stop 
the  burning  and  prolong  his  sufferings, 
but  the  blessed  Charles  was  already  in 
heaven  and  the  cruelty  only  had  the 
effect  of  preserving  the  body  entire  with 
the  cassock  adhering  to  it.  The  bodies 
were  strictly  guarded  for  three  days, 
lest  any  of  the  Christians  should  take 
them. 

Any  persons  coming  too  near  the  place 
were  beaten  and  insulted.  A  pious 
woman  who  approached  with  the  object 
of  venerating  the  relics,  was  beheaded 
there  and  then.  Leo  Soukezayemon, 
Mary  his  wife,  and  Thomas  his  god- 
father, were  killed  on  the  spot  for  trying 
to  take  the  arm  of  one  of  the  martyrs. 

Great  trouble  was  taken  utterly  to 
destroy  all  relics  and  religious  objects ; 
they  were  burnt,  the  ashes  put  in  sacks 
and  taken  out  to  sea  and  sunk,  and  the 
ships  that  had  carried  them  were  care- 
fully washed.  The  body  of  Mary 
Mourayama  was  excepted. 

In  Europe  steps  were  taken  towards 
the  recognition  of  the  martyrs  as  saints. 
The  cause  was  introduced  by  Pope 
Urban  YIU.  at  the  instance  of  the  King 
of  Spain  and  the  Counts  of  Tassaroli,  to 
whose  family  Spinola  belonged ;  but  the 
persecution  was  raging  so  fiercely  and 
so  many  of  the  witnesses  had  fled  or 
been  banished,  that  it  was  impossible  to 
make  the  necessary  inquiries  and  verifica- 
tions, and  other  delays  and  difficulties 


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ST.  LUDMILLA 


475 


occurred.  These  were  finally  surmounted 
and  on  July  7,  1867,  205  martyrs  were 
beatified.  The  most  illustrious  figure 
amongst  them  was  that  of  B.  Charles 
Spinola,  a  Genoese  missionary  of  noble 
birth  and  of  the  Society  of  J esus :  twenty- 
four  of  them  were  women  and  some  were 
children.  The  names  of  the  women  are 
Agnes,  Apollonia,  two  Catherines, 
Clara,  Domenioa,  Frances,  Isabel, 
Louisa,  Lucy  de  Freitas,  another  Lucy, 
three  Magdalenes,  seven  Marys,  Monica, 
Susan,  Thecla.  They  were  put  to  death 
at  different  dates  during  persecutions 
extending  from  1617  to  1632. 

Mart.  Bom.  Seraphica,A.B.M.  Catahgo 
e  brevi  Memorie  dei  ducento  e  cinque 
Beati  Martini  nel  CHappone.  Pages, 
Histoire  de  la  Beligion  Chrflienne  au 
Japan. 

B.  Lucy  (23),  Oct  2,  M.  1622,  at 
Nangasaki  (according  to  Pages,  it  was 
at  Chendai),  with  her  husband,  6.  Lewis 
Giachioi  or  Yaldohi,  and  their  sons, 
Andrew,  aged  eight,  and  Francis,  four. 
Lewis  was  condemned  to  be  burnt;  as 
he  was  coming  out  of  the  place  where  he 
had  heard  his  sentence,  he  met  his  wife 
and  children,  who  had  just  been  ordered 
to  be  beheaded.  They  were  executed 
before  his  eyes,  and  he  was  stationed 
about  six  feet  from  the  wood  that  was  to 
roast  him  slowly  to  death ;  but  he  was 
so  worn  out  with  all  he  had  suffered 
that  his  martyrdom  was  over  in  half  an 
hour.  Authorities,  same  as  for  Lucy  de 
Freitas. 

St.  Ludgard  sometimes  means  Lut- 
gard,  sometimes  Leodegarius  or  Leger 
(Oct  2),  bishop  of  Autun,  M.  678. 

St.  Ludmilla,  Sept.  16  (Ludivilla, 
Ludmila,  Lydmily),  M.  c.  927.  First 
martyr  and  first  Christian  princess  of 
Bohemia.  Often  called  Queen  and  often 
Duchess.  First  native  patron  saint  of 
her  country  and  ancestor  of  several  of 
the  others.  Represented  holding  in  her 
hand  her  veil,  the  instrument  of  her 
martyrdom. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  Slavibor,  a 
powerful  prince  of  Bohemia,  and  was 
born  at  Mielnik,  anciently  called  Bssow. 
She  was  the  wife  of  Borivoi  or  Borziwoy, 
duke  or  chief  prince  of  Bohemia.  They 
were  heathens,  and  besides  the  idols  in 


the  temples,  they  had,  like  tho  other  rich 
and  powerful  personages  of  the  country, 
a  great  gold-faced  wooden  idol  of  their 
own.  About  870  Borivoi  paid  a  visit  to 
Swatopluck  or  Swentopolk,  prince  of 
Moravia,  who  with  St.  Methodius,  the 
apostle  of  Bulgaria  and  bishop  of  Mo- 
ravia, made  a  pious  plot  for  the  con- 
version of  his  guest.  At  dinner  Borivoi 
had  to  sit  on  the  ground  among  the 
heathens  and  the  dogs,  while  the  Chris- 
tians sat  at  the  prince's  table.  Metho- 
dius remarked  to  his  host  that  it  was  a 
pity  the  Bohemians  were  heathens  and 
obliged,  as  such,  to  sit  on  the  ground. 
Borivoi  asked  what  advantage  conversion 
and  baptism  would  bring  him.  The 
bishop  held  out  to  him  hopes  of  eternal 
life,  promising  him  a  place  higher  than 
that  of  any  king  or  prince  in  this  perish- 
able world,  and  spoke  so  earnestly  and 
well  that  Borivoi  agreed  to  accept  Chris- 
tianity for  himself,  his  wife,  and  his 
people,  and  invited  Methodius  to  come 
and  teach  in  Bohemia. 

Borivoi  and  Ludmilla  were  baptized 
in  871  and  this  is  the  first  occasion  on 
which  their  names  are  mentioned,  and 
the  earliest  event  in  the  authentic  history 
of  Bohemia.  Enthusiastic  Christians, 
they  were  driven  out  of  their  country  by 
the  followers  of  the  old  gods,  or  rather 
by  those  who  abhorred  the  restraints  of 
Christian  morality.  They  were  recalled, 
however,  and  reigned  seven  years,  after 
which  they  retired  to  Tetin,  giving  the 
throne  to  their  son  Spitihnew.  Two 
years  afterwards,  on  the  death  of  the 
new  king,  the  people  again  brought  back 
Borivoi  and  Ludmilla,  who  set  the  affairs 
of  the  state  in  order,  and  established  as 
king  their  younger  son  Wratislaus. 

Under  the  influence  of  St.  Methodius, 
Borivoi  and  Ludmilla  built  several 
churches,  one  was  that  of  the  B.  V.  Mary 
at  Prague  which  was  rebuilt  in  the 
12th  century  and  now  contains  tho 
oratory  of  St.  Ludmilla  and  other  inte- 
resting survivals  of  ancient  times :  it  is 
called  the  Teyn  church  and  is  next  in 
importance  to  the  cathedral. 

Borivoi  died  in  or  before  894.  Wrat- 
islaus reigned  well  for  a  time,  but  his 
wife  Drahomira,  although  she  pretended 
to  be  converted,  soon  became  a  fierce 


Digitized  by  Google 


476 


ST.  LUDMILLA 


persecutor  of  the  Church.  They  had 
twin  sons,  St.  Wenceslaus  whom  they 
allowed  Ludmilla  to  adopt,  and  Bolealans 
the  cruel  whom  they  brought  up  them- 
selves; and  a  daughter  Pribislawa. 
Wratislaus  died  in  916  and  is  buried  in 
the  church  of  St.  George,  which  he  built 
at  Prague  and  which  became  a  famous 
nunnery  under  his  granddaughter 
Mlada. 

Wenceslaus,  the  much-beloved  hero 
and  patron  saint  of  Bohemia,  was  then 
eight  years  old.  He  was  taken  to  Wisse- 
grad  and  set  up  on  his  father's  throne  for 
all  the  people  to  see  and  acknowledge  as 
their  leader.  This  throne  consisted  of 
an  immense  hewn  block  of  stone,  which 
anciently  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
fortress  at  Wissegrad  in  the  open  air, 
but  was  removed  in  the  10th  century  to 
Prague,  where  it  may  still  be  seen. 
Great  importance  attached  to  the  stone, 
the  man  who  was  crowned  sitting  on  that 
stone  was  king  indeed  and  his  person  was 
sacred.  When  the  young  prince  had 
been  received  and  acclaimed  by  his  sub- 
jects he  returned  to  live  with  his  grand- 
mother at  Tetin.  Ludmilla  had  been 
appointed  regent  by  her  son,  but  his 
widow,  Drahomira,  by  gifts  and  wiles, 
won  over  the  chief  personages  and  got 
the  power  into  her  own  hands.  She 
persecuted  the  Christians,  destroying  the 
churches  and  killing  or  banishing  the 
priests.  In  vain  Ludmilla  resigned  all 
claim  to  power  and  withdrew  from  public 
life,  devoting  herself  to  prayer  and  works 
of  cljarity.  Drahomira  said  to  herself, 
"  How  long  shall  I  submit  to  have  this 
woman  superior  to  me?"  Ludmilla 
hearing  that  her  life  was  threatened,  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Sacrament  and  prepared 
for  death.  At  last  by  bribes  and  promises 
Drahomira  engaged  two  of  the  princes  to 
murder  her  mother-in-law.  With  an 
armed  band  they  burst  into  her  apartment 
in  the  night  and  rudely  awoke  her ;  they 
dragged  her  from  her  bed  and  gave  her 
but  a  short  time  to  pray  in  her  oratory. 
She  requested  them  to  out  off  her  head 
with  a  sword,  but  instead  they  strangled 
her  with  her  own  veil,  knocking  her  head 
against  a  stone,  on  which  are  shown  to 
this  day,  the  stains  of  the  martyr's  blood. 
She  was  buried  at  Tetin  and  began  im- 


mediately to  work  miracles.  Drahomira 
was  frightened  when  she  found  she  had 
murdered  a  saint,  and  a  revulsion  set  in 
against  her.  Her  son  Wenceslaus  com- 
manded her  to  leave  meddling  with  the 
affairs  of  the  nation  and  retire  to  her 
own  province.  There  is  a  doubt  about 
the  year  of  Ludmilla's  death,  Palacky 
says  927  is  the  most  likely  of  the  different 
dates  given.  A  few  years  afterwards, 
when  Wenceslaus  built  the  cathedral  at 
Prague  he  removed  her  venerable  body 
thither.  The  present  cathedral  of  Prague 
was  built  in  the  12th  century,  just  in 
front  of  the  old  one,  and,  like  it,  is  dedi- 
cated in  the  name  of  St  Vitus.  Here 
lies  St.  Ludmilla  and  here  is  kept  her 
pearl-bedecked  golden  crown,  beside  the 
sword  of  St.  Wenceslaus,  still  used  in  the 
coronation  of  Bohemia's  kings.  Here 
also  sleeps  Wenceslaus,  in  a  chapel  called 
by  his  name,  paved  with  Bohemian 
precious  stones ;  his  tomb  of  gold  is  gone 
but  his  helmet  and  coat-of-mail  and  the 
great  iron  ring  of  the  church  door  which 
he  grasped  as  he  fell  by  his  brother's 
hand  are  kept  in  veneration  near  him, 
and  it  is  said  that  he  still  appears  when 
Bohemia  is  in  dire  need,  leading  on  her 
army  or  bringing  a  band  of  saints  and 
angels  to  her  aid. 

For  many  years  Ludmilla  was  the  only 
native  female  patron  saint  of  Bohemia, 
her  colleagues  being  her  grandson  St. 
Wenceslaus,  his  servant,  and  two  ancient 
saints.  In  course  of  time  six  women 
were  promoted  to  the  honour  of  sharing 
with  her  the  patronage  of  her  country : 
three  of  these  were  her  descendants, 
Przbislawa  her  granddaughter,  Mlada 
her  great  grand  daughter,  and  Kunhuta 
(Cunegund)  daughter  of  Ottocar  II.  As 
tor  Drahomira,  when  she  had  added  to 
her  many  crimes  that  of  stirring  up  one 
of  her  sons  to  slay  the  other,  Balbinus 
testifies  that  it  is  certain  that  the  earth 
opened  and  swallowed  her  up  and  that  a 
pillar  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  city  of 
Prague  to  mark  the  spot  and  prove  the 
story. 

Palacky,  Bohmen.  AAJ3S.,  Sept  16 
and  28.  Dlugosch,  Hist.  Polonicse. 
Eneas  Silvius,  Hist.  Bohemise.  Martinov. 
Le  Mire,  De  Rebus  Bohemicis.  Balbinns, 
Miscellanea  and  Hist.  Ducibus  ac  Regibus 


ST.  LUPARIA 


477 


Bohemise.  Chanowski,  Vestigium  Bo- 
hemisB  Pise.    Schultz,  Guide  to  Prague. 

St.  Ludvina,  Lidwina. 

St.  Lufthild,  Jan.  22  (Leuchteldis, 

LlNTHILD,  LUFTELDIN,  LlJFTOLD,  LUTFOLD, 

etc.),  date  unknown.  Represented  hold- 
ing a  distaff.  Her  Life  by  Cornelius 
Curtius,  among  other  legends,  contains 
the  following.  Her  father  had  a  long- 
standing dispute  about  the  boundary  of 
his  property,  and  one  day  he  took  Luft- 
hild out  behind  him  on  his  horse.  She 
took  her  distaff  and  spindle  with  her  to 
avoid  idleness.  In  whatever  direction 
she  drew  the  thread  and  spindle,  there 
the  fields  were  severed  apart  by  distinct 
boundaries ;  on  another  similar  occasion 
a  trench  was  ploughed  up  in  wondrous 
fashion,  which  is  called  St.  Leuchthild's 
Dyke  unto  this  day :  thus  disputes  were 
adjusted  and  litigation  laid  to  rest  by 
her. 

While  she  was  still  at  a  very  tender 
age,  her  stepmother  set  her  to  keep  the 
wild  geese  out  of  her  father's  field,  and 
once  when  they  did  a  great  deal  of  mis- 
chief, whether  by  the  fault  of  the  young 
saint  or  not,  the  stepmother  beat  her 
with  great  cruelty,  which  Lufthild  bore 
with  perfect  meekness.  The  stepmother 
next  accused  her  to  her  father,  of  wasting 
and  giving  everything  to  the  idle,  useless 
poor.  So  he  went  to  meet  her  as  she 
was  carrying  bread  to  the  poor,  and  asked 
what  she  had  in  her  robe.  Lufthild  was 
so  frightened  that  she  could  not  answer. 
He  seized  her  and  was  going  to  beat  her, 
but  first  looked  into  her  bundle,  where 
the  bread  meantime  was  turned  into 
pieces  of  charcoal.  After  this,  her  step- 
mother watched  her  so  closely  that  she 
could  get  nothing  to  give  away ;  but  she 
could  not  rest,  so  great  was  her  desire 
to  do  good.  She  drew  near  to  her  step- 
mother, when  she  had  just  finished 
making  the  bread,  to  ask  of  her  but  one 
loaf,  holding  out  the  fold  of  her  robe  to 
receive  what  her  petition  might  win. 
Thereupon,  an  attendant,  out  of  sheer 
wantonness  and  perverseness,  taking  up  in 
a  shovel  some  live  embers,  poured  them 
into  the  bosom  of  the  maiden.  Her  father, 
a  hard-natured  and  unkind  man,  so  far 
from  punishing  the  wrong  done  to  so 
gentle  and  dutiful  a  daughter,  assailed  her 


at  the  instigation  of  her  stepmother  more 
bitterly  than  ever,  with  reproaches  for 
continuing  to  bestow  stolen  bread  upon 
the  poor.  When  she  grew  older  she  led 
a  solitary  religious  life  in  a  little  cell 
near  the  church,  and  there  she  died  and 
began  immediately  to  work  miracles. 
Among  others,  she  cured  several  persons 
of  dangerous  bites  of  dogs. 

Mons  St.  Lufthildis,  in  the  diocese  of 
Cologne,  was  already  so  called  in  1260, 
and  Lufthild  was  honoured  and  accredited 
with  miracles  in  1222.  An  old  bell  in 
the  16th  century,  bore  an  inscription 
indicating  that  her  worship  was  of  long 
standing  when  the  bell  was  new.  It 
was  as  follows : — 

"  Leuchtel  binn  ich  gnandt. 
Der  Nam  iff  der  alter  Klocken 
1st  mir  wolbekant 
Sancta  Levchtildi8  Virgo 
Ora  pro  nobis 
anno  domini  millesimo  qvingen- 
TESIMO  tricesimo  OCTAVO." 

AA.SS. 

St.  Lugusta,  Lucusta. 

St.  Luighsech,  Lassegha. 

St.  Luina,   (See  Priscilla  (4).) 

St  Luitberga,  Liutberg. 

St.  Lumbrosa  (i),  Luminosa. 

St.  Lumbrosa  (2)  or  Lombrosa, 
Nov.  1,  V.  at  Caea  in  Leon,  Spain,  M.  c. 
830  by  the  Saracens.  Patron  of  Jaen 
and  Sahagun.  She  was  one  of  those 
nuns  who  lived  near  a  monastery  of  men. 
She  was  buried  in  a  marble  tomb  in  the 
chapel  of  St.  Mantius  in  the  Benedictine 
monastery  of  Sahagun.  So  great  was 
the  devotion  of  the  people  that  they 
made  a  hole  in  the  tomb  and  abstracted 
the  greater  part  of  her  relics.  AA.SS. 
Yepez. 

St.  Luminosa  or  Lumbrosa,  May  9, 
+  476,  sister  of  Honorata  of  Pavia. 

St.  Luna  Mista,  Summista. 

St.  Lunicia,  June  7,  M.  in  Africa 
(Greven).  Henschenius,  AA.SS.,  sup- 
poses the  name  to  be  a  mistake  for 
certain  names  of  men. 

St.  Luparia  the  elder  and  St. 
Claudia  Luparia,  her  daughter,  Feb.  22 
(Spanish  Martyrology).  The  conversion 
of  the  mother  is  attributed  to  St.  James 
the  Apostle.     The   Bollandists  were 


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478 


ST.  LUPITA 


uncertain  whether  to  include  her  among 
the  saints. 

St  Lupita,  Oct.  10,  a  sister  of  St. 
Patrick,  said  to  have  been  brought  a 
captive  with  him  to  Ireland  and  buried 
at  Armagh.  Worship  uncertain.  AA.SS. 
(See  Darerca  (1)  and  Ergnata.) 

St.  Luta  of  Droma  Airbreah,  April 
30,  Irish  V.   Mart,  of  Tallaght.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lutfold,  Lufthild.  Cahier. 

St.  Lutgard,  June  16  (Luitgard, 
Ludgabd),  V.  +  1240.  Cistercian  nun 
of  Aquina  or  Aywieres  in  Brabant. 

Represented  (1)  with  a  censer  beside 
her,  from  which  incense  ascends  to  Qod, 
to  express  the  constant  prayers  and  fasts 
which  for  fourteen  years  she  offered  up 
to  appease  the  anger  of  Heaven  by  expi- 
ating the  sins  of  heretics  and  bad 
Christians  ;  (2)  embracing  a  crucifix. 

Her  father  was  a  citizen  of  Tongres 
near  Liege  ;  her  mother  was  of  higher 
birth.  The  father  gave  twenty  marks  of 
silver  to "  a  merchant  to  increase  for 
Lutgard's  dowry.  She  was  worldly 
though  not  bad.  She  liked  to  be  neat 
and  well  dressed.  The  merchant  made 
voyages  to  England  and  instead  of 
doubling  the  money,  he  lost  nearly  all 
of  it.  The  mother  said  they  were  not 
able  now  to  live  according  to  their 
station  and  must  retire  from  the  world. 
Lutgard  was  unwilling  at  first,  but  after 
a  time  consented  to  become  a  boarder  in 
the  convent  at  St.  Tron,  not  far  from 
Tongres.  She  had  some  offers  of  marriage 
from  persons  she  had  known  in  her 
richer  days,  and  one  of  them  tried  to 
carry  her  off  by  force ;  but  through  her 
love  of  Christ  and  the  influence  of  the 
pious  nuns,  she  overcame  all  earthly  incli- 
nations and  took  the  veil  in  1203.  She 
was  elected  prioress  in  1215,  but  declined, 
not  thinking  herself  fit  for  the  office ;  but 
she  could  only  obtain  her  discharge  by 
leaving  the  convent.  She  was  advised 
to  go  to  the  Cistercian  monastery  of 
Aquiria  or  Aywieres;  but  she  objected 
as  they  spoke  French.  After  consulting 
Christina  (9),  she  went,  and  lived  there 
more  than  thirty  years,  with  great 
sanctity  and  many  miracles.  She  was 
sought  as  abbess  for  other  communities, 
but  always  excused  herself  on  the  ground 
of  her  ignorance  of  French,  which  she 


never  would  learn.  She  had  many  visions 
and  spiritual  gifts.  Christ  showed  her 
His  wounded  heart,  to  wean  her  from  all 
earthly  love.  Another  time  He  appeared 
to  her,  showing  His  wounds  to  the  Father 
to  stop  the  thunderbolts  ready  to  strike 
the  earth  polluted  by  the  crimes  of  the 
Albigenses. 

Yepes  (Sermon  50)  tells  that  she 
saved  her  friend,  the  Abbot  Simon,  from 
purgatory ;  also  that  the  soul  of  Pope 
Innocent  HI.  was  doomed  to  eternal 
punishment  but  the  B.  V.  Mary  inter- 
ceded for  him  and  his  sentence  was  com- 
muted to  purgatory  until  the  day  of 
judgment ;  Lutgard  had  pity  on  him ; 
she  and  her  sister  nuns  joined  in  prayers 
for  him :  and  before  long  he  was  released 
from  purgatory  and  appeared  to  her  to 
thank  her  for  her  good  offices. 

She  is  said  to  have  been  marked  with 
the  stigmata.  When  she  meditated  on  the 
holy  mysteries  of  the  Passion  of  the 
Lord,  her  whole  body  distilled  blood, 
and  as  soon  as  the  meditation  was  over, 
this  manifestation  stopped.  The  last 
eleven  years  of  her  life  she  was  blind 
and  thanked  God  for  this  privation  as  it 
left  her  free  to  meditate  on  heavenly 
glory.  From  this  time,  she  constantly 
saw  heavenly  apparitions.  She  died  at 
the  end  of  her  third  fast  of  seven  years. 
She  was  never  canonized.  She  is  often 
styled  Abbess,  but  in  fact  she  always 
refused  to  accept  that  dignity. 

B.M.  Baillet.  Preger.  Bucelinus. 
Cahier.  Lenain.  Two  of  the  twelve  very 
interesting  letters  of  Jacques  de  Vitry 
(1210-1219)  are  addressed  to  her. 

St.  Lutrude,  Sept  22  (Lictrude, 
Lindru,  L intrude,  Liutdrudk,  Lut- 
trudb).  4th,  5th,  or  6th  century.  The 
third  of  seven  daughters  born  in  one 
day,  at  Pertois  in  Champagne,  to  the 
pious  Sigimar  and  Lutrude.  Her  sisters 
were  Imma  or  Aim^e,  Othilda  or  Hoylda, 
Pusinna,  Francula,  Lihebata  or  Libera, 
Matilda  or  M£nehould.  They  were  all 
instructed  by  Eugenius,  a  good  priest 
through  whom  their  parents  gave  alms 
and  to  whose  prayers  they  commended 
themselves.  When  the  children  were  ten 
years  old,  St.  Alpwin,  bishop  of  Chalons- 
sur-Mame,  went  round  his  diocese 
preaching    and   confirming.  Sigimar 


ST.  LYA 


470 


took  his  seven*  daughters  to  him  to 
receive  the  sacred  veiL  He  divided  his 
property  among  them  at  his  death  that 
each  might  have  a  place  in  which  to 
serve  God  in  solitude.  He  gave  Lutrude, 
who  was  his  favourite,  a  place  called 
after  him,  Mons  Sicmari.  She  was  the 
first  to  leave  her  home.  By  the  advice 
of  Eugenius,  she  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Rome,  lived  there  for  three  months  with 
Justina,  a  devout  woman ;  then,  in 
obedience  to  a  vision,  returned  to  her 
own  country  still  accompanied  by 
Eugenius.  They  had  failed  to  procure 
the  relics  they  wanted  at  Home,  but 
were  directed  in  the  same  vision,  to  get 
them  at  the  monastery  of  St.  Maurice  in 
Switzerland,  on  their  way  home.  Passing 
through  Eavenna  on  their  journey, 
Lutrude  saw  a  maid-servant  come  out  of 
a  house,  and  said  to  her,  "  Go  back  into 
the  house  and  tell  your  mistress  that  a 
pilgrim  asks  her  hospitality."  The 
woman  answered,  "You  cannot  lodge 
here,  for  my  mistress's  daughter  is  at 
the  point  of  death."  Lutrude  said 
"  Would  my  presence  in  the  house  cause 
the  death  of  your  mistress's  daughter?  " 
The  maid  went  back  and  gave  the 
message.  The  mistress  ran  to  the  door 
and  led  Lutrude  into  the  room  where 
the  dying  girl  lay,  and  told  her  with 
tears  that  she  had  not  been  able  to 
obtain  of  God  that  she  might  die  and 
her  only  daughter  live.  Lutrude  threw 
herself  on  the  floor  and  prayed,  then 
arose,  took  the  maiden's  hand,  and  raised 
her  up  in  perfect  health.  The  girl  who 
had  not  spoken  for  three  days  said, 
"  You  have  come  in  a  good  hour,  servant 
of  God,  to  save  me  from  premature  death 
and  to  rejoice  the  hearts  of  my  parents ; 
and  now  I  pray  you,  give  me  food  and 
drink  with  your  own  hands  and  take  the 
veil  off  your  own  head  and  put  it  on 
mine  and  let  me  remain  with  you  the 
rest  of  my  life."  Lutrude  replied,  "  You 
cannot  accompany  me  on  my  pilgrimage 
on  account  of  your  beauty;  but  if  you 
persevere  in  serving  God,  you  shall  be 
with  me  in  the  glory  of  God."  The 
parents  begged  Lutrude  to  stay  with 
them,  but  as  she  would  not  be  per- 
suaded, they  conducted  her  with  great 
honour  to  the  next  town  on  her  way. 


This  incident  is  also  told  of  Sabina  of 
Samos. 

When  Lutrude  arrived  at  St.  Moritz 
and  told  the  Abbot  George  of  her  dream, 
he  gave  her  some  relics  of  St.  Maurice 
and  his  companions  of  the  Theban  legion 
and  accompanied  her  to  her  home,  where 
he  encouraged  and  assisted  her  to  build 
a  church  in  honour  of  St.  Maurice  and 
have  it  consecrated  by  her  own  bishop. 
She  built  herself  a  cell  close  to  the 
church  and  lived  a  very  ascetic  life 
there,  taking  no  food  but  barley  bread 
and  water  once  or  twice  a  week ;  if  any- 
thing better  was  brought  to  her  she  gave 
it  to  sick  people.  One  day  messengers 
came  and  told  her  that  her  sister  Pusinna, 
who  lived  in  the  village  of  Bansion  in 
Picardy,  was  ill  and  begged  to  see  her. 
She  prayed  all  night  that  she  might  be 
permitted  to  see  her  sister  before  her 
death.  Early  next  morning  she  set  out 
with  Eugenius.  They  found  Pusinna 
at  the  point  of  death.  She  had  not 
spoken  for  five  days  but  had  made  signs 
to  ask  if  her  sister  was  coming.  The 
moment  Lutrude  came  into  the  house, 
Pusinna  sat  up  and  thanked  God;  she 
told  her  sister  she  should  die  happy  as 
she  had  seen  her  face  again,  and  bogged 
her  to  stay  there  until  after  her  burial. 
Then  while  they  both  wept  and  prayed 
in  each  other's  arms,  Pusinna  died. 
Lutrude  buried  her  near  a  church  of  St. 
Mary's  at  Corbie  in  Picardy. 

Lutrude  returned  to  her  own  cell  and 
resumed  her  saintly  life  until  she  de- 
parted full  of  days  and  good  works  and 
the  angels  took  her  soul.  Her  body 
was  buried  before  the  altar  of  her  church 
of  St.  Maurice,  and  a  few  days  afterwards, 
a  glass  bottle  of  oil,  which  was  kept  before 
her  tomb  and  had  only  once  been  filled, 
began  to  run  over.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  oil  on  the  ground  and  people 
came  from  all  directions  to  get  it,  and  it 
cured  all  sorts  of  evils.  AA.SS.  Baillet. 
The  names  of  the  seven  sisters  are  not 
alike  in  all  accounts  and  some  of  them 
occur  in  other  groups  of  saints. 

St.  Lya,  June  1 ,  M.  Wife  of  Stephen, 
a  German.  He  was  tortured  with  his 
four  sons  at  Pallonia  and  miraculously 
released  from  prison;  they  were  after- 
wards put  to  death  at  Antissa.  Lya 


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480 


SS.  LYBE  AND  LEONIS 


hearing  of  it,  camo  from  Firmana  where 
she  lived,  bringing  her  remaining  son 
Mark,  a  baby  at  the  breast,  and  accom- 
panied by  her  brother  John,  a  deacon. 
She  expired  while  praying  at  the  tomb 
of  her  husband  and  sons,  and  is  counted 
among  the  martyrs.  This  happened 
during  an  invasion  of  barbarians  when 
Italy  was  devastated,  first  by  Parthians, 
and  then  by  Saracens  from  Cilicia  during 
the  reign  of  the  Emperors  Justin  and 
Louis  the  Pious.  The  Bollandists  reject 
the  story  as  fabulous,  on  the  grounds 
that  no  such  places  as  Antissa  and 
Pallonia  were  ever  heard  of  in  Italy; 
that  the  two  emperors  lived  three 
centuries  apart;  and  that  the  inroad  of 
barbarians  cannot  be  identified  with 
any  invasion  recorded  in  history.  The 
bodies  of  the  martyrs  are  said  to  have 
been  found  at  Antissa  in  1039.  AA.SS., 
Prseter. 

SS.  Lybe  or  Libya,  and  Leonis  or 
Leonides,  MM.  at  Palmyra  in  Syria, 
June  15,  25.  Lybe  was  beheaded,  her 
sister  Leonis  burnt.  They  are  mentioned 
in  Bryene's  exhortation  to  Febbokia  (1). 
B.M.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lydia  (1),  Aug.  3.  1st  century. 
Patron  of  dyers.  St.  Paul,  the  apostle, 
went  into  Macedonia  in  obedience  to  a 
vision,  and  at  Philippi,  the  capital,  he 
went  with  his  companions  to  a  place  by 
the  riverside  where  prayer  was  wont  to 
be  made.  They  sat  down  and  spake  to 
the  women  who  resorted  thither ;  Lydia 


was  one  at  them;  she  was  a  seller  < 
purple  and  a  native  of  Thyatira  in  Lydii 
It  has  been  supposed  that  she  was  calle 
Lydia  at  Philippi  from  the  name  of  he 
country,  and  is  therefore  one  of  th 
many  famous  saints  whose  real  name 
are  not  known.  She  may,  however,  ha? 
been  christened  by  this  name,  by  whicl 
she  was  already  commonly  called.  Shi 
and  her  household  were  baptized,  anc 
she  invited  the  Christian  preachers  tc 
Stay  in  her  house.  They  did  so,  and  ii 
was  while  lodging  with  her  that  SS. 
Paul  and  Silas  were  cast  into  prison  on 
the  accusation  of  certain  men  out  of 
whose  slave  they  had  cast  a  spirit  of 
divination.  On  their  liberation  from 
prison  they  visited  Lydia  before  they 
departed  from  Philippi.  In  all  probability 
she  was  one  of  those  labourers  in  the 
apostolic  work,  whom  St.  Paul  mentions 
in  his  epistle  to  the  Philippians  iv.  3. 
Acts  xvi.  9.  B.M.  AA.SS.  Baillet. 
Smith's  Die.  of  the  Bible. 

St.  Lydia  (2),  March  27,  M.  2nd 
century.  Wife  of  Philetus,  a  senator. 
They  were  martyred  in  Illyrioum,  with 
their  son  and  daughter  Macedo  and 
Theoprepedes,  and  fifty-five  other  persons, 
in  the  reign  of  Adrian.  They  are  all 
erroneously  claimed  as  Spaniards,  and 
Lydia  is  called  Leda  by  the  writers  of 
that  country.    JUT.  AA.SS. 

St.  Lydmily,  Ludmilla. 

St.  Lydwig>  Lydewiges,  Lydwyn  or 
Lytwyn,  Lid  win  a. 


END  OF  VOL.  I 


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